Postmodernism and its Challenge to the Discipline of History: Implications for History Education

YILMAZ K.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, vol.42, no.7, pp.779-795, 2010 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 42 Issue: 7
  • Publication Date: 2010
  • Doi Number: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2009.00525.x
  • Journal Name: EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Communication & Mass Media Index, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Philosopher's Index, Sociological abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.779-795
  • Keywords: Postmodernism, History education, Historiography, Philosophy of history, Social studies education, Epistemology, POSTSTRUCTURALISM
  • Marmara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

There is a confusion over and inchoate understanding of how the past is made understandable through postmodernist historical orientation. The purpose of the article is to outline the characteristic features of the postmodernist movement in social sciences, to explain its confrontation with history, to document its critique of the conventional practice of history, and to discuss its implications for history education. The postmodernist challenge to the foundations of the discipline of history is elucidated with an emphasis on its epistemological underpinnings. Implications of postmodernism for the teaching and learning of history are discussed.