Teaching European History in the 21st Century

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The Department of History and Art History will lead an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership aimed at internationalising history teaching on university level. 

The project Teaching European History in the 21st Century (TEH21) brings together experts in the fields of European history, innovative didactic methods, and the development of innovative teaching materials from seven countries (Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands). The project will run over three years and has a budget of over 430.000€.

The focus of the project is the collaborative development of English-language teaching material for courses in early modern, modern and contemporary European history that allows higher education institutions to internationalise their curriculum.

Strengthening democratic citizenship

TEH21 aims to promote internationalisation by producing innovative and accessible teaching material that facilitates student mobility, combats "brain drain" and strengthens democratic citizenship culture. The curricula at history departments will be made more diverse and more accessible, giving learners a more internationally oriented education, which not only addresses the demands of the internationally oriented labour market of the 21st century, but also contributes to the aim of a diverse, connected and inclusive Europe.

Blended learning

The project also addresses the challenges of higher education in the 21st century by producing innovative teaching material that follows the principles of blended learning: making use of digital technologies, the project brings together visual and textual sources and makes them accessible for innovative use in the classroom.

European cultural heritage

Finally, TEH21 aims to promote the interaction with Europe's diverse cultural heritage by integrating historical primary sources and case studies into the teaching material, promoting innovative use in classroom situations and the wider knowledge of local, regional and European cultural heritage. 

The participating institutions are Utrecht University, Charles University Prague, University of Sheffield, University of Lille, Humboldt University Berlin, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, and EUROCLIO - European Association of History Educators. Over the course of the next three years, staff and students from all participating partners will visit each other for workshops, conferences and shared seminars.