Partnership and dialogue are central concepts in national heritage management. This article problematizes the concepts on the basis of a theme project conducted in a high school, where the aim has been to give the pupils insight into history-making processes. The school project was carried out as part of the public activity in a major contract archaeology project. The text has a self-reflexive perspective, analysing mobilization processes in connection with the establishment and implementation of the theme project. The article shows the pragmatic attitude of the institutional actors to different educational ideals, with partnership as an instrument on its own in terms of market aspects. This raises ethical questions about the pupils and the conditions for the desired partnership.
This study apply to a broad understanding of the term Middle-Ages as an analytical concept to show how values and norms of actions are established and negotiated through contemporary uses of history. It contributes to the analysis and discussion of central tensions in memory policy between, on one hand, the representative democratic system, and on the other hand, a direct democracy based on the idea of everyone's ability and right to participate in the use of the history. In two case studies, that maps the use of the Middle-Ages in the county of Östergötland, this study shows how this tension effects and is handled by Stakeholders in every day praxis. One case focus on a conflict between, on one hand, ancient remains of human skeletons from a medieval gallows hill, and on the other hand, private business development due to the construction of a new factory in the town of Vadstena. The other case analyses a broader use of the Middle-Ages as resources in regional and local development policies in the town of Skänninge. The study analysis varied situations where Stakeholders are mobilized around different problems. It focus on how these processes are carried out and which recourses that are used, both rhetorical and through actions. The study shows how values of the past is created, produced and negotiated in contemporary processes of mobilization which are related to terms such as Preservation, Experience and Local policies. It also shows how traditional institutional structures creates barriers that prevent fruitful cooperation between the Stakeholders, and the broader use of the past that the national policies are asking for.