1. Project title

CLIOHNET: Creating Links and Innovative Overviews to Enhance Historical Perspective in European Culture

2. Summary of the project

CLIOHnet is a Socrates-Erasmus Thematic Network formed to address the task of bringing a critically founded historical perspective to bear on the challenges facing European society and education today. Its name stands for "Creating Links and Innovative Overviews to Enhance Historical Perspective in European Culture". Both as a research area and as a subject widely taught and studied in Universities and schools at all levels, history is undergoing a rapid transformation, often perceived as a crisis. The Network utilises the remarkable opportunities created by the swift expansion of contact between diverse European cultural and educational traditions to bring a supranational, diachronic and comparative approach to the study and teaching of history. CLIOHnet works on a variety of levels. In each country -- about ten in each of the three planned years of activities -- a national workshop for teachers, students, researchers and other interested citizens is held. Five Task Forces address certain priority areas, for now: gender and equal opportunities issues; racism and ethnicity; the use of ODL and ICT in achieving a new historical perspective; history teaching/learning at high school level; the broadening of the historiographical space to include Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries. There is a work group on history and humanities in scientific and technological curricula. CLIOHnet disseminates the insights it develops in a variety of ways. Each Task Force is responsible for publicising the results of its work. The Network as a whole is carrying out a project entitled "Clioh's Workshop II" under the Culture 2000 programme of the Education and Culture Directorate General of the European Commission, publishing multinational, multilingual books and videos. It has collaborated closely in the Tuning Educational Structures in Europe Project, to set up common reference points, subject specific competences and level descriptors for history curricula. It collaborates in Tuning II, developing criteria for learning and teaching methodologies. It is now testing the applicability of its findings to transnational evaluation in the framework of the TEEP 2002 Pilot project. It operates a web-site (www.clioh.net) and a mailing list. It is engaged in producing a pan-European directory of historians, historical associations and bodies; it encourages publications relating to its objectives on the specialised press and in the media. It is carrying out an analysis on the status of history in Europe today, giving both an overview of the present situation and recommendations for action. CLIOHnet is currently engaged in extending its links outward towards interested institutions in countries not yet admitted to Socrates programmes, particularly in South East Europe, Russia and the Mediterranean area. It promotes reciprocal knowledge and collaboration in the areas of research and innovation in higher education throughout its network.