Who Owns History
Discussing Who Owns History
I have fully upheld the Delbarton Honor Code in letter and spirit.
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John Walsh October 22, 2015 Anct. and Med. History Mr . LaJuan Foust Delbarton School
History has shaped the world today tremendously. So, who owns history? This question has two main factors that significantly decide the conclusion. The two factors are: 1) who owns the artifacts? (the tangible part), and who owns the historical narratives (the intangible part). These questions are very complex and many controversies arise in trying to solve the answers. Artifacts are a big factor of deciding who owns history. Many controversies
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A frequent question asked about history is who owns the narratives? There are so many different versions and actions that currently exist for well-known accounts. An example of a narrative would be about Noah’s Ark. Many historians believe that Noah never existed and that the “ark” was not a traditional boat, but had an oval/circular shape. Do the people who write the narratives own them? An example would be saying that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John own the Gospels. However, some historians could say that God is the owner of the Gospels since He inspired them to write down what He wanted. Lastly, who has the responsibility to make sure the accounts are passed down correctly and inerrant? Is it the historians or the teachers? The answer could be both. Historians learn about these narratives and then pass down what they learned to the teachers. The teachers then relay that information to students and families where they can talk about them orally and even write them down to preserve them. An example of a group of historians relaying information to the world is by the History Channel. The History Channel gathers different versions of texts from different historians and show the world their theories and which theory would make the most …show more content…
Instead, they found that the boat was circular/oval in shape. The same vagueness revolves around the Persian Empire; how do we know that the Immortals(an elite group of the Persian Empire)really existed or if their nation was so strong that it could conquer any enemy? Record keepers and writers of that time period easily could have exaggerated anything that happened. But some parts of history we know had to happen. There is no proof that Confucius ever existed and even some historians agree with that theory. However, there is proof that the Ancient Qin Dynasty did burn records and papers from past dynasties.
Faith, art, and philosophy can play an important role in the making of history. Same as above? Do they belong to the religion who founded/created them? Do they belong to everyone? I believe that the religion that founded the artifacts should claim ownership. As we know, ISIS, which is a religion of extremist jihadists, are destroying ancient artifacts and sites such as the Iraq Mosul Museum. No religious group, nor does anyone, have the right to destroy artifacts or ancient sites that are part of someone’s religion. As an overview, the ancient civilizations who prospered own history since they are the main source for events in the past. A smaller factor of who owns history is historians. Historians can make predictions based on their religious beliefs, and they can also
The history that we learn today is due to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. This book is unique compared to other books because it's chronically different and the way that the author supports the
This work guides the reader along a path of history that is often misconstrued
The Influential Roman Empire As historians look back on the mighty Greek and Roman Empires, they can reflect on the great organization of these civilizations. The precise organization of these empires has contributed greatly to the development of many nations, mainly modern day America. Although Greece contributed many beneficial ideas and techniques to modern day America, Rome was more influential through trade networks, its democratic government, and its noticeable cultural achievements. America’s ways of trading are based on some techniques used by the Greeks, but are more notably influenced by the Romans. To begin, Greece was forced to trade because of their lack of resources.
This statement is not only important but crucial to the author's argument. The author is stating that in order to decide on in important decision a valid authority has to be historical. Such as if someone was arguing over the belief of the transubstantiation they could point to how the catholic church is the oldest and held to that belief over the course of two thousand years and the
History is a novel idea that has been a continuous idea throughout our time in class. We have gone over what history means to us, the students; as well as the authors and filmmakers we have studied. For me, before this class, History merely meant what we
Frances Fitzgerald, in her analytical essay “Rewriting American History” (1979), asserts that over the course of time, content in history books has evolved to “such an extent that even an adult would find the unrecognizable.” She supports her assertion by intermitting robust diction, utilizing convoluted syntax, and capitalizing on cogent anecdotal evidence. Fitzgerald’s purpose is to reveal the consequence of rewriting history and how it creates a “certain level of unpleasantness” to history schoolbook writers and publishers, teachers, and school districts in order to expound the struggle students must endure with the inconsistencies. She embraces an astute tone (“Even more surprising than the emergence of problems is the discovery that the great unity of the texts has broken.”) to accentuate to history textbook publishers and writers, teachers, and school districts that history textbooks need to be as objective, candid, and free from superfluous additions as possible with the production and teaching of them. Appendix: 1.
A further analysis of Turner’s theory indicates that the influences of American history is defined as a process. Historians used to believe
Since the evolution of humankind we have made many achievements to become the society we are today, but as time passes history gets lost. Being able to accurately document and store history has become a necessity. It guides us on future progress and lets us know how we shaped our world today. Misinterpreting or misrepresenting history can drastically change the ideals of society. This can be identified through the female suffragist movement regarding the famous person's case in 1920s, which allowed women the right to be appointed in the senate.
Written history seems to have more credibility than does oral history. Over time, oral history transforms from what it initially starts with. For example, Nazi Germany slaughtered more than just Jews, but there are more accounts of the Jewish atrocities because there are more written records from the Jews. We do not have enough records of the mass murders of the Gypsies because of their oral culture. As time passed, their oral history faded.
A person’s relationship with history is very much like their relationship with brussel sprouts: you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em, with most people identifying with the latter. As we are told countless times, history is important because if we forget it, we are doomed to repeat it. It is a logical claim, for how can someone learn and move forward if they do not reflect and fix their mistakes? History, however, has a tendency to be boring, a never-ending waterfall of dates and names that can only be learned through mind-numbing memorization. Is this truly the only way, however?
History does not always convey the absolute truth. It offers only one side of the story. The strong and powerful voices always drown out the sounds of the weak and beaten. The winner’s word will always be taken over the loser’s. The content that lies within the textbooks was not written by the defeated.
This is another classic looting scenario. Even though the Nazi’s were planning on using the artifact to destroy the world, technically they still had jurisdiction over the artifact. A real archaeologist would have known that. One of the largest struggles for Archaeologists is looting. Thousands of precious artifacts are stolen or damaged each year do to careless and unsanctioned actions by people like Indiana Jones.
American History Education Reforms The definition as well as the specific parts of accurate American history is a highly debated topic- especially in regards to educating children on American history. In “Let’s tell the Story of All America’s Cultures” by Yuh Ji-Yeon gives her point of view on the controversial topic of the success of American history education. As the author is a Korean immigrant she has a special connection to this topic, and is writing this article to giver her opinion in the debate of reforming education in America. Ji-Yeon successfully persuades the audience that American history education in the United States is discriminatory by using her personal experiences and emotions as she informs the audience of a possible solution
INTRODUCTION Asserting universal meaning to the entirety of human history, instead of being limited to one historical phenomenon is known as “universal history”. Historical events, when studied