Parliamentary history in Norwegian school textbooks (1800–2000)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates how the Norwegian Parliament has been treated in history textbooks between 1800 and 2000. It also includes coverage of the medieval assemblies known as ting. Writing national history was affected by the Union with Sweden 1814-1905. In the early nineteenth century, authors often omitted parliamentary history as it had involved conflict with the Swedish king Carl Johan (reigned 1818–44). Over time, the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly and Norwegian Parliament became important topics. In the 1890s, textbooks began presenting recent history from a nationalist point of view. This continued after independence had been achieved in 1905. As the scene of the most important struggles in society, parliament often dominated such narratives. During and after the Second World War, some textbooks included mild criticism of the constitution and parliament. The constitution had not allowed poorer people to vote and parliament had collaborated with the German occupants. Parliamentary history received declining emphasis between 1950 and 2000. This stemmed from more international history and social history being included in curricula. Democratization remained central when considering the nineteenth century, and in the 1990s religious and ethnic minorities began to be included in the narrative of how the constitution had emerged in 1814.