5.1.2 Historical Perspectives
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5.1.2 Historical Perspectives
U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, 2006 © United States Marine Corps
Click image for larger view
Look closely at the image to the left and the video below. Who took this picture? Why do you think the picture was taken? Whose perspective is shown? How would the message of the picture change if the Afghan man had been holding the
camera? What would he see, think and feel? Ten, twenty, one hundred years later, how will the stories of the American soldiers differ from those of the Aghanis?
History is many things, but most of all it is a story. It is a story told by many different voices. The victor, the vanquished and those on neither side. It is multi-layered and it is multidimensional. It is linear and it is as nebulous as those
pictures of galactic clouds one sees through a high powered telescope situated in a mountaintop observatory. It is tragedy and and it is mirth. It is dead and it is living. It is real and it is contrived. We live the way we do because of it
and we make others' future by the history we create now. But, most of all, it is a story. In the world we live in, the story most of us know is the one told by the victors. The occupiers and colonizers. The owners, not the tenants.
With permission of Ron Jacobs, first appeared in Counterpunch
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"Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, September 3rd 2006 Op. Medusa", BjornIn1979, You-tube
Stories from the past are never completely objective and unbiased. They are always told from a perspective.
Social Studies is the study of society. There are many disciplines within Social Studies, including the study of geography, law, cultures, economics, politics, social science, and history. You have learned that every major ideology includes a
view about how history should be interpreted.
- What is history?
- Who makes it?
- Who tells it?
- Why do we study it?
- What, if anything, does it teach us?
- History teaches us to understand who we are through an understanding of how we got here.
- History provides us with a base of knowledge about past societies.
- History teaches us about human nature.
- History teaches us how to think
- History teaches us the importance of effective communication. How many disasters could have been prevented if people had listened to one another?
- History stimulates our curiosity.
- History teaches us to learn from the past.
- History teaches us to make order out of chaos.
- History teaches us how to be good citizens.
- History shows us that we are a small part of a bigger whole.
It has been said that history starts out as a novel and ends as an essay. In other words, we begin our understanding of the past by hearing a story but in the end we receive a message. History is more than information about people and society:it
is also information critical to understanding and evaluating the forces that have led to the world we live in today. History matters because it helps us to understand change and, in particular, helps us to influence the evolution of society
into the world we want.
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History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.
Etienne Gibson |
Most people in the western world have grown up in liberal democracies. They see liberalism as an ideology that has occurred through evolution and revolution, to provide people with the best form of government possible. But are there other perspectives?
When people in North America and Europe look at power and decision making, they tend to view it from the point of view of the dominant culture, or as a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill goes "History is told by the victors."
But when the victors tell the story, what is missing? Are there other, equally viable, perspectives?
When people in North America and Europe look at power and decision making, they tend to view it from the point of view of the dominant culture, or as a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill goes "History is told by the victors."
But when the victors tell the story, what is missing? Are there other, equally viable, perspectives?
"One Man's Collateral Damage Is Another Man's Son..."AUGUST 8, 2006 © Image courtesy Jeff Danziger
This cartoon was created by an American cartoonist to depict the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. The conflict began when Hezbollah militants killed five Israeli soldiers with a rocket attack, and ended with the death of over a thousand people, 30% of
them Lebanese children under the age of 13, and the the displacement of over a million Lebanese civilians.
"Collateral damage" is a term originally used by the United States military to describe damage that is unintended.
What is the cartoonist saying about "perspective"?
"Collateral damage" is a term originally used by the United States military to describe damage that is unintended.
What is the cartoonist saying about "perspective"?
Read ""Whose Perspective on History is it?" on page 317 of your text Perspectives on Ideology.
There are many ways to learn about history. One way of uncovering what happened in the past is to look at primary source documents, which can take many forms. Primary source documents can include journals, letters, official government reports, speeches, paintings, cartoons, photographs and video or audio recordings.
Every document was composed for a reason. That purpose must be considered. When you look at the cartoon above, what reasons might the cartoonist have for creating it? Who is his audience? What is his perspective? Are their other points of view?
For an unusual look at history, try Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, which tells history from a very different viewpoint.
History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
Kurt Vonnegut