The Notion of Culture in the Course 'Meeting of Cultures'. An Analysis of an Optional History Course in the Finnish Upper Secondary School from the 1990s to the 2010s

Authors

• Jan Löfström Jyväskylän yliopisto

Abstract

The article discusses the optional history course ‘Meeting of Cultures’ in the Finnish upper secondary school. The focus of the course is on the history of societies outside Europe. The article analyses the aims of the course and the contents of the textbooks, and it also discusses the questions in the Matriculation Examination history exam that relate to the course. It maintains that, despite its positive elements, the course can be criticized for reproducing a static view of cultures and cultural encounters. The course does not address the processes of meaning-giving in cultural encounters but offers a conventionally political historical narrative of the encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans. It does not support critical reflexivity regarding the notions of culture and the political uses of cultural categories. The article suggests that perspectives derived from anthropology and cultural studies could be fruitful when reforming the course.