The Graz City Park as an Out-of-School Learning Place

Learning to Think Historically in Public Space

Abstract

In the present text, selected memorials in the Graz city park are modeled as an out-of-school place of learning, where a significant development of contemporary Austrian history, namely the transformation of official and public remembrance of National Socialism, can be critically reflected on the basis of historical-cultural manifestations. For this purpose, historical-cultural competence is first described as a central learning objective of history lessons in schools, and then the three phases of the transformation are worked out with Heidemarie Uhl's theory development. In a further step, an out-of-school learning arrangement based on the monument landscape of the Graz city park is presented and based on the results of a student thesis, its didactic effectiveness is finally discussed.