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The perspective of history
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Earlier historians believed that education in the history department would separate the social classes into two groups, the educated versus the uneducated. Knowledge of history should not be determined by society. You either know your material or you do not completely understand it due to how it is explained. What I did not know, was that our family trees provide us with an understanding of how our families contributed to our ever changing history. Predicting our futures with history can be challenging because we sometimes receive uninformative facts that our teachers or modern historians might not know. For example, Howard Zinn wrote a chapter in his book A People’s history on Christopher Columbus and why we should not celebrate Columbus
What is history? Many believe that history is what is read in textbooks, or what is seen on the news. If Susan Griffin were asked that question, she would probably argue that history is much more than that. It is about the minds and souls of the people who went through the historical event, not simply what happened. In her essay, Griffin incorporates stories of people from totally different backgrounds, and upbringings, including herself, all to describe their account of one time period. Each person’s history is somehow connected with the next person’s, and each story contr...
Peter N. Stearns quotes, “History provides a terrain for moral contemplation” (Why Study History?). In other words, learning history gives individuals a chance to test her or his moral sense. Stearns also quotes, “A study of history is essential for good citizenship” (Why Study History?). This implies that it stimulates a young persona’s interest for national identity and patriotism. Furthermore, Marcus Geduld states, “learning from the past can sometimes help us improve our chances of survival and happiness in the present and future” (Why Should We Learn History?). To clarify, Geduld is indicating that persons can learn from the mistakes of individuals, when they learn about history. Last but not least, as citizens in the United States, we have the obligation to learn about history for the persistence of
People study history because they wish to strengthen human connections. The same can be drawn about the pursuit of genealogy. Whether it be connections to nobility, to a specific ethnic group or a specific event in history, there are diverse motivations to study genealogy According to Francois Weil, “Genealogy provides a powerful lens to understand personal and collective identities.” In essence Weil’s Family Trees: A History of Genealogy in America is a study of American identity over a span of four centuries through a discussion of genealogy and family history.
Love is not given, but is instead earned. From this simple concept arises the existence of the thin line between lust and love, becomes hazardous during the unstable bond and passion between Neil and Brenda in Roth’s Goodbye Columbus. The presence of greed and selfishness within Brenda, unfortunately takes a toll on the chance of a healthy relationship, and eventually foils their armour. Continuously, she denies Neil of his true identity, and slowly creates a mask for him to cover up and hide himself in shame. The life of Neil’s present is Brenda’s past, and she strives to gain his trust in order to reform his life in the similar fashion. In the end, it proven that their love for one another is not authentic, and instead is mutated into something
“Why Western History Matters” is an essay adapted from a speech Donald Kagan delivered to the National Association of Scholars, and was reprinted in the December 28, 1994, issue of the Wall Street Journal. Throughout Kagan’s essay, he describes the essential need for the college course, Western History. He does so by examining older cultures and explaining why they were quintessential to the past and to our future development as a society. I strongly concur with Kagan’s standpoint of the necessity of history, and the realization of how exactly our flourishing society came about. History is a key constituent in determining who we are; for to determine who we are one must first know from whence they came. In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
Overall if it wasn't for my ethnicity, religion, and income I would not be the person I am today with the same values and morals. It is apparent social classes are revolved around income and power and people are born into social class but that does not mean a person has to stay in that social class. As for myself being raised a catholic Latina, with working middle class parents my destiny does not have to be the same. Sociologically, social structure affects almost everything in our life from our ambitions to our social life and the way we interact with others. sociological imagination helps us to understand the effects of social forces on our lives.
History is indeed made up of significant events which shape our future and outstanding leaders who influence our destiny.
In the essay Haunted America, Patricia Nelson Limerick ponders whether or not there is any benefit for society to have historical knowledge. Limerick contradicts herself numerous times in her opinion on the usefulness of history. She implies that there are many lessons that can be learned from history. However, Limerick is disappointed in the human race because it fails to learn from the mistakes of others. She therefore wonders, "What do we gain besides a revival and restoration of the misery?" (Limerick, 473). Based on Limerick's examination of people and history, one can conclude that objectively history is useless, however, theoretically, people would be much better off if they learned from the lessons that the past presents.
In Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States he discusses his views and opinions on war in general and the harsh realities of America. He specifically talks about the Spanish American War, the Filipino American War, World War I and World War II. He mentions how America became apart of these wars and while discussing these wars, Zinn mentions many groups and people who opposed these wars. He also shines light upon how the United States responded to these people. Zinn gives his readers the bitter taste of America’s reality; he explains that America is not all that great and prestigious as some people describe it to be. Zinn also covers the injustice colored people and workers faced he breaks away from the standard textbook
How has education depicted from history? Pepellashi tells us how education descended from history. It all started when the U.S. did not have any vision of education for the American people. The piece states that education comes from this one model that everyone followed, “the Prussian model”. This model shapes that students are being enforced to learn in an easy way rather than a difficult way. The student does not acknowledge what he/she is being taught, so this student obeys to whatever he/she learns. They are being thought to follow authority, a way a life that everyone has lived on. Pepellashi says that “Maybe we would respect authority more while blindly following authority less if education followed t...
Howard Zinn’s main purpose for writing “A People’s History of the United States” is to present history through an objective point of view. One of the ways Dr. Zinn refines the reader's perspective on historiography is through his own personal perspective on the subject. For example, on page ten of his book he writes, “The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex.” This message is significant because it serves as a synopsis on what his book focuses on. Zinn implies that although the context of a situation is immutable, the conflicts of interest may be alternated in a way that will benefit a particular person or group of people.
History is an important thing to hold on to. It helps to gain an understanding not only of the past, but also of the present. The people who lived through the important turning points in North American history helped to shape what North America is today. History comprises not just the Jeffersons or the Lincolns, but it also comprises the Van Camps, Lyons, and Lanes. People need to remember the major and minor players in history. Researching one’s family history would be a perfect way to start exploring the makeup of the past and providing for the future.
Intellectual history as a discipline and as a way of thinking about the world has a history. Ideas and ways of thinking and ways of understanding the world have a history. Considering the history of human achievement whether we are talking about political history, economic history, military history, and gender history nothing compares in raw measure to our living history. This history includes what we think is possible or what is impossible. How we think about the world determines our relationship to it. Human thought has a history, which the way we think in modern times is not the way people have understood it or thought about it. Humanity changes how we think about the natural world, what is out there to be known? What is the stuff of the world? Why things happen? What is good evidence?...
Though our history may bring back horrible memories of the ?grimmest dimensions of human nature? (Limerick 472), it is necessary to have a good historical background. History gives us the ability to improve future outputs, satisfy our unending need for knowledge, and understand how many policies and regulations have come to be. Without history mankind would be very primitive and ununified. Our complete molding of the world today is almost completely dependent on the fact that we study our history. Without history present day humans would be nothing more than cavemen.
Every so often, a history textbook needs to be changed. The process of adoption is like chain that barely gets changed. The textbook author changes the words of the previous book to more simple words and phrases making it easier to understand for higher test results. However, the “reviewers” aren’t so superficial as they seem. They only flip through the pages for newness. Students don’t want to read the same story over and over, year after year. It is coming to the fact that most of these authors aren’t present during the time they are writing about. Like novelist, political writer and journalist, George Orwell states it, “Who controls the presents controls the past.” Textbooks organize the stories of history by social class, race, and gender. It’s all talked about hierarchy and who did what. I’ve learned about history in just 4 months this semester. It’s the most I’ve learned all my life since high school. History was the enemy of subjects for me. It’s the one I wanted to avoid my whole 12 years of school. Unfortunately I had to take it in