The
Teaching of History as a Means of a Better Understanding of Democracy
University
of Pécs, Department of Medieval and Early Modern History, Hungary
Abstract:
After the political change of
1989/90 the countries of the Soviet bloc found themselves in an entirely new situation which would have
presupposed a comprehension of democratic values. As evidence shows, however,
the transition from dictatorship to democracy has not been an easy road. No
wonder, the people had not been trained to grasp the meaning and the advantages
of a democratic political system. Almost two decades have passed since the
change and there is still a great deal of confusion about the basic elements of
democratic institutions. Throughout history, a number of political regimes conceived
of the people as mere subjects. The creating of a society composed of
self-conscious and self-confident citizens instead of a mass of people to be
governed is a difficult task that involves the ability to estimate the values
of democracy. The status of the ¨citoyen¨ simply cannot be a gift from above.
History is an indispensable tool in throwing light on how a democratic
political system works. The method must inevitably be based on comparison. Once
people are instructed about the fundamental differences of slave- holding,
feudal, absolutist, autoctratic, dictatorial as well as democratic social
systems they will certainly be given invaluable assistance. My 10 – minute
presentation intends to be a contribution based on experience in teaching history
to university and grammar- school students alike.
Key words: citizen vs. subject,
democracy, dictatorship, civic society, vassalage, autocracy vs. absolutism,
constitutionalism, the teaching of history