Why Study History John Fa Summary

History is story we tell ourselves as Khalil Gibran Muhamad defined it , or Story we tell ourselves about how past explains our present and the way story is told is shaped by contemporary needs as Aurora Levnis Morales nicely put it. Likewise it could be stated that we become stories we tell ourselves. Thus, history has role in construction of our identity. Given the importance of the story for us, could it be different story then the one we are told in mainstream media and thought in schools? The one that empowers us instead of enslaving us?

Culture builds up and shapes how people view the world and the people in it. It determines how we judge and view the way others act, look, and even how they think. In the texts “Where worlds collide”, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, and “Two Kinds”, it is shown that a person’s views of others and the world are solely determined by their culture.

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

The study of history and the teaching of history has come under intense public debate in the United States in the last few decades. The “culture-wars” began with the call to add more works by non-Caucasians and women and has bled into the study of history. Not only in the study of history or literature, this debate has spread into American culture like wildfire.

Americas history is what defines us and who we are as a country. We were built on hard work, sacrifice, wanting to be free and independent to be who we want to. Now a-days, we seem to have fallen away from this. Everything is given to us so easily on our computer and through technology that we have no need to work hard anymore. This is the downfall in humanity because as we keep going, life will continue to get easier and we won’t want to do anything. History is our hope so that we can learn from what we did in our past and how things were done then.For starters, we can see what mistakes we did and make sure we don’t do them again. If we continue to the same thing over and over again, there’s no way for our society to improve from this. Our

To know the past is to know the future. In his essay Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are, David McCullough argues about the importance of studying and teaching history. In his essay, he explains that there are three main points about history: character and its effect upon destiny, our failure of teaching the future generation, and the importance of learning and listening to history. David McCullough strongly advocates that audience should start to listen to and teach about the past in order to learn about the way a person’s character can affect their destiny.

The world is diverse and people are grown in different cultures practicing various traditions. So, it might be easy for every one of us to judge someone else in a foreign opinion. But we must consider the fact that our opinions are

History can be an intricate and laborious subject to teach and learn. James W. Loewen, author, historian, and sociologist, is the perfect example of someone who appreciates the subject in all aspects, but knows how underestimated it is. As he says in Lies My Teacher Told Me, “Our educational media turn flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest” (Loewen 11). Throughout the book, he further elucidated the idea of that quote by introducing particular topics that deserved more details and acknowledgement. Loewen argues with enough reasoning from numerous textbooks that the writers aren’t involving all facts that should be included to inform the students. Nearly all points

In America’s Civil War, our nation’s own fought against one another. Despite the Civil War only lasting a few years, there were years upon years of debate over controversial social issues, most notably the topic of slavery, that preceded it. Nonetheless, these opposing sides have been reinvented in present day society in what is known as the “culture wars.”

All of the cultures we have studied for the past week valued different subjects differently. The different views by each of these cultures lead to the differences and animosity between the groups in this time period.

When we interact with people from other cultures it is important to understand that there is a history behind how they view us and how we view them. Many cultures within our country, as well as throughout the world, have such different belief systems from ours that if we don’t make a point of learning about the history behind other belief systems

All throughout time, history has affected the way we think, and shaped our societal and moral views. This is evidently portrayed in “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte. The same can also be said of Henry Ward Beecher’s “The Moral Theory of Civil Liberty”. Through both of these teachings, it can be said that our moral outlook has been shaped by the stories of our past.

“Allow me to finish with a quotation from Nelson Mandela: ‘No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it’s opposite”” (Ozdowski, 2013). Diversity is such a wonderful thing, and this cross-cultural experience has shown me that we have so much to learn from cultures other than our

“The Danger of a Single Story” is a wonderful, enlightening and eye-opening speech with exemplary details: It gives example of how different the human race is throughout the world as well as how connected human beings are, maybe without even realizing it. Chimimanda Adiche’s lecture lays out stereotypical assumptions made by all ethnicities, all the while connecting the reader with colorful examples that can describe any persons encounters with someone or something different. This speech shows that it is not only unfair to assume something based off one story or example, but it is also quite naïve to assume there is only one side to every story. It is a story that is relatable, has an enjoyable tone and sets a mood of understanding and equality.

Although all cultures offer people a common frame of reference, people are not captives of their culture, nor are they subject to all the lessons of that culture”.