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In this project we examine the role of history in peace education in the Israeli-Palestinian context through the lens of the German historian Reinhart Koselleck. We claim that history is a non-redundant part of peace education in intractable regions, and that the contemporary interpretation of Koselleck gives us the opportunity to shed new light on history as peace education in the Israeli-Palestinian context. We present two positions which exemplifies history as peace education, namely the two ‘new historians’ Benny Morris and Ilan Pappe. We analyse the foundation of Morris and Pappe, and criticise them through a combination of the Koselleckian perspective and the critical tradition of the Israeli philosopher Ilan Gur-Ze’ev. Lastly we discuss how the Lens of Koselleck argues for a re-evaluation of history in peace education in contemporary Israel-Palestine.

: The historical and cultural relations between Iceland and Denmark date back to the Viking age. Today the connection between the two countries are less visible but can be tracked in the Icelandic Educational system where the Danish language is being taught from 7th-10th grade. We investigate the relevance of the Danish language within the Icelandic education system and the experience of the language by interviewing students, politicians, and experts within the field of education as subjects for the study. The findings emphasize how the subjects make meaning of the relevance of the language through their lived world. It can be concluded that it is not only the history between the two countries that dominates the importance of Danish being taught as a subject within the Icelandic education system, but moreover also the important part the language take in connecting Iceland to the rest of the Nordic community in regards to education, labor market, and politics.

Through this paper we examine the process of how an object can exist in different spatial contexts, and how these contexts have an impact on the character of the object. Our interest lies in how a specific spatial context has the power to define an object, and vice versa, i. e. how the object can produce an impact over a specific space, defining people’s interaction within that space and with the object. The main focus of analysis is a caravan, which has been part of a redesign and refurbishing of the shelter Mændenes Hjem (under the project Radical Horisontality by artist Kenneth A. Balfelt) and is currently exhibited at Statens Museum for Kunst. By exploring the transition of locations that has experienced this object we are able to define the caravan and its spatial environment – in the past and now. Further on we argue how the use of art and beautification of spatial surroundings influence the users, when at the same time we discuss the social practices and processes of contemporary art. Additionally, we challenge observations and findings through a theoretical context about the interaction with museums (art)objects. Our findings suggest that there is a distinct change of identity of the caravan according to its spatial context. This change is based on the current consideration of the caravan as an art piece, although the original intention – to create a space that promotes a unique social interaction among users/visitors -, and the use of it as such is fairly consistent.

This project deals with the perception of the exhibition Riverbed by Olafur Eliasson. We aim to find out, how the exhibition was encoded by the artist and decoded by students. In order to examine this topic, a focus group discussion has been conducted and a “quick and dirty” survey at Louisiana served as a supplement to get a deeper insight. The theoretical frame is given by Stuart Hall’s four step model of encoding and decoding. In order to examine the production stage of Riverbed, a monological interview with Eliasson was taken into account. The main finding of this research is that meaning-making of an abstract artwork as Riverbed cannot be regarded as a linear transmission process from sender to receiver, but must be approached in much more flexible and complex terms.

In this project, we discuss the phenomenon of UAV warfare. By conducting a discourse analysis of two speeches, one conducted by then counterterrorism advisor John Brennan and one by President Barack Obama, we investigate how UAV use is justified. We briefly discuss the historical background and contemporary public opinion in order to contextualize the discourse presented in the two speeches. The discourse analysis is structured in three analytical categories: how are representations of identity are articulated, how the speakers make claims about the future and finally the specific nature of the justifications of UAV use. Finally, we discuss how our empirical findings relate to the discussion of the changing nature of warfare, as well as we present a brief critique of a position in the current UAV debate. Our main argument in this discussion is that UAVs should be discussed within the social, discursive practice they are used, and not regarded merely as technological objects distinct from the context they exist in.

Abstract This project is about the Viking Age in Scandinavia and its relation to English history. During the project I attempt to define some of the main factors that the Viking Culture affected in early English society, and to what extent this impact had on the future of England. One of the most prevalent relations between these two cultures is the trade going on between them, and how this shaped new power relations, and thus also changed the development of English, and Scandinavian culture. Although the nation with which England at this time had most interaction was the newly formed Denmark, the definition of Viking Culture is made of the entire Scandinavian Viking culture, since this was more or less one culture at that time.

This project deals with addressing low interest in history outside of school, for the target group, male and female students from age 15 to 20. We created the campaign Daily Dose of History, which contains a print media element that leads to an (unmade) website and App. The aim of Daily Dose of History, is to provide the target group with easily digestible historical facts. The project at hand, has two principal aspects 1) testing assumptions regarding low interest in history and 2) getting actual feedback on the printed media product (posters). To analyze and expand on the feedback collected from focus group interviews, we chose the apply theories from Windahl, Rogers and Schrøder. This analysis has generated a greater understanding of our target group and their perception of the product.

Paradoxically, despite its reputation as a “green” leader, Denmark has the highest levels of waste and incineration per capita, as well as low levels of household recycling. Incineration ranks low on EU and Danish waste strategies, due to its negative environmental impact. While much social science research on waste management focuses on behavioral change at the individual level, this study explores how urban Danish household recycling habits and waste management, with an inclination towards incineration, are shaped by social, political and historical structures. Using a reflexive hybrid constructivist-structuralism epistemology, inspired by Bourdieu’s Logic of Practice, Schnaiberg’s Treadmill of Production and Hannigan’s Claims-making Process, the research project utilized an inductive qualitative approach. A three-pronged research design included: an exploration of the current household recycling practices using research diaries and secondary data, a historical inquiry into notable shifts in waste management related to incineration since 1850, and a case study of ARC/Amagerforbrænding, a Danish incineration facility. The study found that, due to a complex interweaving of the investigated structures, incineration was favored over recycling within the institution of waste management, with the exception of times when risk has felt sufficiently “real” by Danish citizens. This occurred through the political claims-making process, where the public collectively misrecognized that the economic benefits of incineration is the driving mechanism and underlying factor behind waste management decisions in Denmark, rather than ambitions to meet environmental goals.

This project sets out to investigate the role of security in the Chinese Western Development Plan (WDP) and its application in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, along with the consequences of this for the Uyghur community. The analysis of this project begins by unraveling the historical role of security and the central components in the Sino-Xinjiang relation. Combined, these form the context from which the WDP was formulated and implemented in Xinjiang. Through an analysis of the rhetoric of the WDP we establish that the role of security accords with that of a non-traditional security agenda, as opposed to the previously dominant traditional-military security agenda in Sino-Xinjiang relations. However, this change in the role of security remains rhetoric, as the traditional-military security agenda that re-emerges with the formation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Global War on Terror not only co-exists with but gains prominence over the non-traditional security agenda of the WDP. As a consequence, the Uyghur population of Xinjiang continues to be sidelined by the Chinese government, despite the promise of the WDP.

Summary The Future About the Past is an examination and discussion of non-traditional ways of engaging with a difficult past. In this case the past in question is South Africa’s and its difficult memories of racism. Specifically it is an analysis of the 2009 science-fiction film District 9, directed by the South African Neill Blomkamp. In the project the idea of depicting history on film is discussed, especially inspired by the thoughts of the historian Robert A. Rosenstone. He argues that film can be depictions of the past – and therefore history in its own right and should not be judged on the same scale as written history. From that starting point, I go on to discuss historiography in a South African context and include thoughts on depictions of South Africa on film and cinematographic examples as such. I attempt to analyse District 9 from a historical point of view, especially focusing on what role the film can play in engaging with a difficult past and what it may say about the white, Afrikaans speaking minority’s view of their past. I conclude that the film has its merits as a way of depicting history, but has an underlying problematic view of history that includes racist stereotypification. The analysis leads to a discussion of the possibility of using film when engaging with a painful past. In this case I use examples from the discussion of depictions of Holocaust and argue that alternative films, for example science fiction, have the possibility of engaging with a difficult past in a better way than mainstream cinema and possibly written history.