Historie i Pergament og Piksler - En Analyse av Historiefortelling i Lærebøker og Historisk Dataspill

Abstract

The thesis at hand explores the differences in using the Viking-era as a historical theme in educational literature in Norwegian videregående skole, equivalent to Upper Secondary School, how these books differ from each other’s narration of the era, and how the historical computer game “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” presents the Viking-era. The present thesis is presented as a contribution to the ongoing discussion on using computer games as a part of learning new subjects, or as part of formal education. While the thesis does not consider whether historical games should be included in formal education as an interactive medium of learning in a formal educational setting such as school. The thesis does however largely note that learning can be done anywhere at any time and that times are changing. The aim is to unite information and presentations about the same historical era on different platforms, so that readers, researchers, and teachers may broaden their view on the ways their students might learn new information, here specifically in the subject of history.

The research is based on two narrative analyses of two educational books used in multiple classrooms in Upper Secondary School in Norway, and a narrative analysis of the historical computer game “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla”. The two books are both released after the year 2020 and are produced in line with the new curriculum requirements from LK20. After the narrative analyses, the results are compared to each other in a comparative analysis and discussion. Though the books and the game differ in their most basic background and uses, they both present a story that can be analyzed in mostly the same manner with narratology. While their range also differ, both parts have the most central aspect to be analyzed and thus can be compared in the end. This thesis provides some insight in how these differences manifests, and how this affects the narrative. This thesis concludes that the books present the same metanarrative, but the books and game present different metanarratives. However, this thesis notes that one of the books and the game seem to have some similarities in connection to a genetical narrative.