Simone Weil and the teaching of history

Simone Weil (1909-1943) is widely known for her metaphysical writing; on the other hand, the pedagogical side of her thought has not yet been studied extensively. Her writing contains numerous references to educational issues, especially the topic of attention and the relationship between physical work and education. This article discusses some of the contributions of Weil’s thought with reference to the teaching of history, from the point of view both of criticising the exploitation of this subject by political powers and of proposals which bring out the importance of the study of the past as a way of emancipating human beings