Dominium terrae? The Rise of the West during the Age of Discovery as a possible analytical paradigm in history teaching in Germany and Spain

Abstract

This article provides an in-depth analysis and discussion of the global-historical theory of the so-called Rise of the West during the Early Modern Age and the commonly named Age of Discovery. This theory is covered from the point of view of history education in order to question and provide a criticial examination of the framework. On the one hand, the controversial state of research of the topic is outlined, focusing on the main theoretical debates and some of the most noteworthy ideas under discussion. On the other hand, a discussion is also provided regarding some of the special requirements and essential conditions for an implementation of the idea of the Rise of the West in the curriculum. These notions are linked to both the traditional and current narratives that can be found in the German and Spanish national contexts. From this point of view, the politics of history of both nations are outlined, and, in addition, in order to provide some exemplifications, a selection of history textbooks from previous decades have been also examined in order to analyze the way some of the narratives and these themes are presented. A series of categories, including historical myths, and the Rise of the West as a special category, as well as its institutional dimensions are also discussed in order to showcase the potential of the theory and some of the shortcomings that were detected from the perspective of history education.