Från definierat förflutet till utstakad framtid - En begreppshistorisk analys av kulturbegreppet i läroplaner, 1962–2011

Författare

Lotta Johansson

Summary, in English

When the concept of multiculturalism was introduced to the Swedish national curriculum in the 1990's, a new democratic vision was added to the educational agenda: the school as a creator of a multicultural society. Based on a conceptual analysis of Swedish national curricula from 1962 until today, this study outlines how the concept of culture is subordinated to references of an “objective time”, being divided into parts of its own temporalities. The study shows that elements referring to the past are more prominent in the concept of culture than elements referring to either the present or the future. The past is through its main concept ‘cultural heritage’ seen as a unified greatness of great importance; meanwhile a sincere complexity is apparent in the conceptualisation of the present. Conceptualisations of the future in relation to culture are mainly expressed through the ambition of shaping a multicultural society. A denial of the complexity of culture is made through both the singularity of cultural heritage and also of a clearly defined future. Based on this analysis, this article contends that the singularity of the past could be a potential obstacle to future multiplicity, and thereby – a multicultural society.

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