Why Do We Study History?
Sankofa is an African word from the Akan people of Ghana. The literal translation of the word and symbol from the Twi language is it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind. The Sankofa represented by a mythical bird with its feet facing forward toward the future and its head turned backward toward the past to retrieve a precious egg symbolizes the Akan peoples belief that in knowing your history, you come to know your current self, the world around you, and how to better both. What happens, though, when there are those who would actively seek to prevent us from learning parts of our history?
Now that youve completed the readings and discussions for this course, why do you believe we study history? What is history? Is it just the simple memorization of names and dates – the single story – or is there more to it? Why does going beyond the single story seem to evoke such strong emotions in people – to the point that many state legislatures now want to control what is taught in history classrooms across the country? From the NAACP Legal Defense Fund: According to an analysis from PEN America, at least 10 states have a truth ban law in effect as of January 2022. Meanwhile, over 100 additional educational gag order bills are, as of this writing, slated for consideration in more than 30 states. Increasingly, the proposed bans seek to impose lawmakers restrictions on speech not only in K-12 public classrooms, but also on discussions in higher education institutions, state agencies, business entities that receive state funding or contracts, and even organizations that benefit from state-tax exemptions or have nonprofit status.
The penalties proposed by legislators for violating these censorship edicts continue to escalate, too. Along with the threat of rescinding state funds, truth bans like those proposed in Alaska and Florida would mandate the firing of teachers who discuss prohibited concepts and enable private citizens to sue individuals who they suspect of wokeness. The introduction of the 1619 Project into the national ethos is a case in point.
Why do you think there was such backlash against this work? Could it be a symptom of systemic or institutional racism in the country and in our history? Or is something else going on there? Finally, if you were given the power to structure the decision-making process for what is included in our history classes, whose voices would you include in the process, and how will you deal with the issues of stereotype and implicit bias, representation, cognitive dissonance and the problematic historiographies we encounter everyday in the programming you choose to create?
Instructions:
Purpose: This assignment is designed to help you share your understanding of what you have read and watched in this entire course and explore how we can gain a better understanding of the pressing issues of our time by examining them through the lens of history.
This assignment will help you build your personal reflection skills. Reflection is intentional and helps us to consider our choices. It is an important step to improve our personal and professional lives.
o Skills: This assignment will help you develop written communication, reading, comprehension, analytical, critical thinking, civic engagement, teamwork, and ethical reasoning skills.
o Knowledge: This assignment will help you to value both interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and consider the impact of how we choose to tell the stories of our past.
Criteria for Success: Please see the rubric below for the grading criteria.
o Your discussion submission should be at least 2-3 pages in length.
o Each paragraph should be 5-8 sentences long to receive credit.
o Please be sure to use specific examples from the resources from the entire course to support your ideas and cite them parenthetically throughout your work.
o Format:
Font: Times New Roman or Arial
Font Size: 12 pt.
Length: Minimum 2 full pages. Maximum 5 pages.
Citations: MLA format
You must provide responses (of at least 2-3 sentences) to 3 of your classmates.
Task: Please click the Discussion Board link at the top of the page to post your answer to the following prompt:
Now that youve completed the readings and discussions for this course, why do you believe we study history? What is history? Is it just the simple memorization of names and dates – the single story – or is there more to it?
Why does going beyond the single story seem to evoke such strong emotions in people – to the point that many state legislatures now want to control what is taught in history classrooms across the country?
Why does going beyond the single story seem to evoke such strong emotions in people to the point that many state legislatures now want to control what is taught in history classrooms across the country? The introduction of the 1619 Project into the national ethos is a case in point. Why do you think there was such backlash against this work? Could it be a symptom of systemic or institutional racism in the country and in our history? Or is something else going on there? Finally, if you were given the power to structure the decision-making process for what is included in our history classes, whose voices would you include in the process, and how will you deal with the issues of stereotype and implicit bias, representation, cognitive dissonance and the problematic historiographies we encounter everyday in the programming you choose to create? i will post one sample paper don’t copy from that that’s just a sample
Final Discussion
While taking this course I couldn’t help but recall a famous quote by Winston Churchill that says Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. While taking this course I have a newfound interest in history. If I had not taken this course I would have not known the depths that historians would go to preserve the country’s dignity. Many people do not care about history because they think the past is in the past and we should just move on, but how much you know and do not know about your past will impact the future. It is very important for everyone to know their history for a multitude of reasons. Many legislators want to create laws that prohibit students from learning their history but I feel like that is only doing more harm than good. I think that all students in America should learn the cruel history of this country from an unbiased point of view. History not only can teach us about human behaviors but remind us of how far we have come.
Now that I have completed the readings and discussions for this course I think that we study history so that we can have an idea of how we got to this point in time. History is a series of stories and events that took place in the past that lead us to where we are today. History is more than just the memorization of dates, historical figures, and places, but it is the experience and stories that a time period holds from the individuals who lived through it. History goes beyond one single story because history is a collection of different stories and every story has multiple angles.
Going beyond a single story seems to evoke negative emotions in certain people because it sheds light on truths that can sometimes be ugly. Some people hide the entire story or want to only share the parts that make them look better but when you begin to expose other sides the ugly truth begins to appear. The state legislatures are trying to protect the identity of this county. The fear if the truth gets out America won’t be seen as this great country that everyone sees it as. They fear that if people know the harsh realities people will begin to lose their American Pride. The state legislatures know that they will be able to control the narrative if the entire truth is not taught in schools because the average person will not go beyond the classroom to learn their history.
The 1916 project was an effort to teach students that the United States was built on the back of slave labor. Although this is true there is a push back against this because many people feel as though teaching this narrative discredits the work that the founding fathers did to also help create this country. They would rather focus on the work to create laws, structure and systems, rather than the physical work done by slave labor that actually made this country what it is today. This project not being implemented is also due to both systemic and institutional racism in this county. A lot of people do not feel comfortable giving credit to the slaves because they are black and they would rather credit the white political leaders at the time.
If I was given the power to structure the decision making process for what is included in history classes I would make sure everyone’s voices are heard. I would include the voices of women and people of color specifically because those are the peoples whose stories tend to have been forgotten the most in history. I would make sure that the students know every part of the history, good or bad so that they can form an educated opinion.
In conclusion, what I can take from this class is history is more than memorizing dates and historical figures. History is about learning the stories of the past and making sure you are hearing everyone’s side of the story. Preserving this history is also important and make sure that the future generations understand the consequences to not knowing your history.
Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” TEDGlobal, July 2009, Oxford, UK. TED Conferences LLC. Web.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New Press, 2007.
Hannah-Jones, Nikole. “The 1619 Project.” The New York Times, 14 Aug. 2019
