Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Best Part of History
Stories are vital in understanding history. I mean there's only so much one can gain from reading the facts--or alleged facts--in textbooks. As I reflect upon my many years of history classes, I think that I learned the most through the stories of others. One of my favorite books is comprised of stories of women from different eras in American history. It provided the perspective of the people who witnessed important events in America. Although the actual events are important to learn because history repeats itself, I feel that social dynamics are equally important and help us understand the changes in the social norm and the development of today's society. Wars, politics and other major events in a sense determine the how people see each other, whether they be from the same or different countries and, in turn, these social dynamics affect world politics. Hearing and reading stories from history help us understand why things are the way they are today.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your notion on the importance of the narrative. For it is the narrative that not only displays history, it gives it meaning. Through the experiences, description, and emotion through the means of a narrative one is able to "witness" the past and furthermore find meaning in it. This meaning may be on an individual level, in that one can identify with a individual or group in a period of history or on a societal level. in that the individual learns the meaning of that particular period/event in history. For instance a narrative displaying an individuals battle for rights, like that of a homosexual individual currently fighting for the right to marry someone they love. Another individual can identify with this homosexual in the sense of their struggle, their issues, or their character, or come to understand the meaning of the struggle within the context of the time period.
ReplyDelete"We live immersed in narrative, recounting and reassessing the meaning of our past actions, anticipating the outcome of our future projects, situating ourselves at the intersection of several stories not yet completed.” ~Peter Brooks