The call to decentre both the nation state and Europe from our historical narratives has been meet with mixed reactions, whether in the academic discipline of history, in works on popular history, or in the field of education. In the case of Norway, however, the new school curriculum in history from 2020 can be read as having heeded this call. The new curriculum has almost entirely done away with specific events, periods, or places, giving instead broad topics and processes to be studied, but without tying them to specific historical, political, or geographical contexts. Indeed, no other state than Norway is mentioned, and even Norway is mentioned only a handful of times. This is true both for the high school subject of history, as well as for the elementary and middle school subject of social sciences (samfunnsfag) which incorporates history. Yet how does this translate into practise?
This contribution will attempt to give one possible answer to this question by analysing the narratives about the Ming-dynasty admiral Zheng He in a new 7th grade textbook called Arena 7. In the teacher’s guide to the textbook it is stated that the example of Zheng He was chosen in order to “show the pupils that Europeans not necessary were the best and first at everything.”, thus trying to challenge Eurocentric narratives. Yet is that what actually happens in the text? In what sort of context is the story of Zheng He placed? And what other narratives are at play in his presentation? 

This article aims to explore perspectives on the past, with a lens on the historical and geographical otherness – and a specific interest regarding how global history is treated, in Norwegian history teaching. In 2020 Norway got a new national curriculum, Kunnskapsløftet LK20, which is seen by many as historically open regarding the content. Rather, it focuses on big themes, and about training the pupils in certain skills and competences. This has raised debates and concerns, not least of which is from what perspectives history is taught. One perspective is the one this article is especially taken with: the conditions for the teaching about otherness in history – both in time and space. The term otherness relates to topics that the pupils usually have little knowledge about, or can relate to in their daily lives, such as the field of global history and the historical Silk Road. This article looks into how the curriculum and the didactical teaching resources that are produced to fit LK20 treat the historical and geographical otherness. Methodologically the article will perform a discourse analyze on school reform documents and also analyze textbooks from first grade to tenth grade, to get an impression on which perspectives are dominating and to say something about the priorities that are made. This must additionally be seen in a wider context, in terms of critique on eurocentrism and post-colonial perspectives, and also opens up to a discussion on the role of global history in the context of history teaching in Norwegian classrooms.

"Beyond the Fishbowl" advocates for a paradigm shift in global history education, emphasizing the transformative power of prolonged cultural immersion for educators and the value of diverse student perspectives. Drawing from experiences across multiple continents and educational systems, the paper argues that transient academic experiences are insufficient for developing a truly global historical perspective. The study explores four key points: the inadequacy of brief academic exposures, the importance of linguistic immersion, the significance of student perspectives in enriching historical interpretations, and the necessity of extensive travel as a solution for a more nuanced approach to global history. Through case studies from Italy, the United States, Brazil, Mongolia, and China, the paper demonstrates how prolonged cultural engagement reshapes understanding of world history. It introduces innovative methodologies like conceptualizing daily experiences as "living archives" and recognizing "embodied knowledge" in historical interpretation. The approach addresses contemporary issues in global history, including challenging Eurocentric narratives, incorporating marginalized perspectives, rethinking local-global historical relationships, and examining concepts of modernity across cultures. By interweaving the author's journey with diverse student voices, the paper provides a roadmap for enhancing global history education. It argues that true understanding requires not just academic study, but deep engagement with diverse cultures and active learning from varied student perspectives, promoting a truly global, multi-vocal approach to historical understanding.

In our project, we investigate what different meanings (e.g., economic, ecological, cultural, recreational) school textbooks have presented about forests in Sweden and Finland (1972–today). Our ENIUGH paper will especially look at how the textbooks portray Swedish and Finnish forests and forestry in relation to forests and forestry in the Global South: whereas forestry in the Nordic countries is often described as “renewable” and “sustainable”, forest and biodiversity loss are conventionally portrayed as something taking place in the forests of the Global South (where Nordic forest companies are also active). This paper builds on a sample of textbooks from the subjects of biology, geography, social studies and history, asking how the binary “renewable” Nordic forests / “unsustainable” forests of the Global South relates to what we know of the sustainability of forests from other sources. The different textbooks offer conflicting and competing narratives over several decades that enable a critical discussion of this theme related to the conference themes “Nordic (post)colonialism” and “global environmental history”.

University education in Classics and ancient history used to be the history of the Greco-Roman roots of Western Civilisation. In the past Classical education had elements of regulating elite access in many countries. This is no longer the case. Since the 1970s scholars of the ancient world increasingly and with considerable success emphasised social history, gender history and history from below, in attempts to open the field, retain relevance, and bolster recruitment. The Global turn in historical studies since the start of the 21st century, however, posed new challenges. How can a field that was born from the idea that certain parts of the historical past had special value and prestige adept to an academic landscape that increasingly no longer accepts this premise and to a steadily more diverse student body? This paper, by an active participant in this discourse, addresses strategies to meet the global challenge in the teaching and dissemination of ancient history, drawing on textbooks, curricula, exhibitions and public dissemination, by European and North American academics, arguing that ancient history remains relevant in a globalised past.