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This article presents a study of how the concept of historical consciousness is defined, applied and justified in Swedish history didactical research. The study finds that there is a common ground for understanding what  a historical consciousness is, but that the concept is applied in a variety of ways. It is suggested that this variation is one reason why the concept is generally believed to be difficult to define and apply, since the application of the concept influences how a historical consciousness is interpreted. It is also suggested that the concept could be rendered more versatile by further theoretical investigation into how the concept’s definition and applications are connected.

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the concept of historical consciousness. It argues that a focus on the epistemological problems of the concept can be a way of constructing a theory of the concept that both incorporates the diverse perspectives that exist in research about the concept and specifies how a historical consciousness can be developed in an individual.

This paper presents a theoretical approach to analysing educational media using the concept of historical consciousness. The concept of historical consciousness is defined and operationalised and its relevance for analysis of historical media discussed. One aspect of the theoretical framework proposed is then applied in an analysis of a history textbook account. The analysis finds that while the framework may be applied in analysis of textbooks, its results regarding historical consciousness are tentative and in need of further investigation from the perspective of how its users perceive and appropriate the textbook account. Still, it is argued that the framework proposed may be useful since it specifies how a historical consciousness may be manifested and what methodological approaches that can be used when analysing it.