Mapping Historical Consciousness

Mental Maps of Time and Space among Secondary School Students from Ten Locations around the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas

Abstract

The article investigates the temporal and spatial structure of historical consciousness among secondary school students from ten locations around the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. It examines what eras and spaces in history that are important to the students, and discusses how the mental maps of individuals at a certain location are affected by geopolitics and interpretations of historical experiences.

The results are mainly based upon one open survey question: Write down the name of as many important historical figures as possible within five minutes. Psychological theories of memory are used in order to explain how such simple memory retrieval can be used in studies of historical consciousness. The data from the survey is presented in the form of maps, using techniques of mental mapping developed by geographers,

The empirical investigation reveals three categories of historical consciousness: national, found in Italy and Morocco, Americanized, found in Sweden, and multipolar, found in Estonia and on Åland and Malta. The article argues that each of the three strands of historical consciousness is linked to specific historical and geopolitical circumstances.