Nations and Nationalism in a Comparative European Study Erasmus Project

Project Title

Nations and Nationalism in a Comparative European Study

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The project “Nations and Nationalism in a Comparative European Study” takes its clue from the current challenge Europe is facing due to the increasing attractiveness of parties with national agendas. The project involves schools from five countries which, in addition to similarities, also have significant differences in the subject: Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Hungary. Five schools will participate in the project: four high schools and one vocational school. A total of 100-150 students and more than ten teachers will be directly involved. Other staff of the schools, as well as parents and diverse educational partners will also be involved in the project. In addition to continuous project work, during which the schools are in contact via eTwinning, four short-term exchanges of students and a joint teacher seminar are intended to guarantee the success of the project. On the one hand, these short-term exchanges are aimed at a common content-related examination of the subject area; on the other hand, they – as well as the teacher seminar – focus on the acquisition of media skills, because the aim of the project is to ensure that the students present the results of their work to each other and – at the least – to the various school publics with the help of explanatory videos the students will create. In addition to the content and media dimension, the linguistic dimension also plays an important role, since the students have to express their findings and communicate in a foreign language, as English will be their common project language. Students should, on the one hand, develop an awareness of the similarities and differences of their respective national stories in a European context by studying different concepts of ‘nation’ and different forms of nationalism. On the other hand, they should reflect the significance of these concepts for the history of Europe in the past, present and future. The range of concepts discussed is broad: from the concept of a Europe of mother countries (de Gaulle; AfD) to the construction of a European nation (Ulrike Guérot).

Many key qualifications of students are promoted. Overall, the project takes a propaedeutic approach. The students deal with various historical and social-scientific theoretical approaches to nationalism, reflect them critically and develop analytical guiding questions (reflection and question competence). For this purpose, a common reader is developed in advance. By applying different types of research learning, they use these approaches and check their respective plausibility on the basis of historical material (archive work, examination of historical research literature, exploration of national places of remembrance). Thus different methodological competences of the pupils are promoted.

They continue to present and compare their results to each other with the help of explanatory videos. Together, they then develop additional explanatory videos that aim to look at nations and nationalisms from a European perspective. In the long term, we will make the learning products created by the students permanently available to all students of the participating schools via the respective learning platforms and thus also make them available for educational use in classrooms. In addition to the media competence of the students, this work also promotes their orientation competence. With this project work and the associated learning products, we do not only expect an increased understanding of the importance of nation, nationalism and nation-state in European history – as a long-term benefit –, but above all a reflection on the challenge posed by nationalist agendas for the political idea of a united Europe as a peace project.
In addition, the project, with its exchanges and trips, aims to promote the mobility of students with regard to their future studies or professional life.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 127109 Eur

Project Coordinator

Markgraefler Gymnasium Muellheim & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Lycée européen
• Liceo Scientifico Statale Plinio
• Budapesti Gépészeti SZC Öveges József Szakgimnáziuma és Szakközépiskolája
• Östra reals gymnasium