Skip to main content

History: The Memories or The Facts?

What do you think truly represents history? Some believe in representing history through a linear Cenotaph (like the Vietnam war memorial) while others believe in representing history through the nonlinear narratives of the soldiers. They both do represent history, but in two completely different ways. A linear Cenotaph most commonly will commemorate the soldiers that died in war by making a monument that appropriately represents the war/event. On the other hand, nonlinear narratives display the stories of the war from the soldiers. These stories hold the true emotions that went into war and they also unveil how chaotic war is. Many people, especially veterans, describe Cenotaphs as "It looks back, not forward; there is no indication of that for which these sacrifices of the fighting men and others were made. It is as if the greatness of the theme made us inarticulate." (Whittick 7). They believe that Cenotaphs aren't able to truly represent history because Cenotaphs cannot display all the perspectives of the soldiers, how war affected them, or what really happened while they were at war. In today's society, people believe that students are not being taught history correctly because the history books only include summary facts without any inclusion of the soldier's memories. One article states, "A history is essentially a collection of memories, analyzed and reduced into meaningful conclusions--but that collection depends of the memories chosen." (Conway). This article exhibits a new way in which many believe history should be taught instead of the way that it is being taught right now (the article is included below). So back to my question at the beginning, how do you think history should be represented?


Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-problem-with-history-classes/387823/

Comments

  1. Kayla TompkinsSeptember 8, 2019 at 9:33 AM

    I really liked the way you structured your post by stating a question in the beginning. I was able to think about the question as I read through the blog. By the end, I began to question if the way we are taught history is truly the best way to represent it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ashley DavisSeptember 8, 2019 at 10:14 AM

    I think that you did a very nice job backing up your argument with the pulled quotes you used. I also thought it was very clever to ask the question you did at the end of your writing to tie everything back into the start of your piece and get readers thinking for themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kyle JungSeptember 8, 2019 at 12:06 PM

    I like how you included an outside source to add a new side to this topic, rather than just discussing what we talked about in class. I also liked how you had a central question around your post. This made it clear what the post was about and allowed the reader to come up with his/her own conclusion on the matter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Julia StarrSeptember 8, 2019 at 12:14 PM

    I think that this is a very well developed piece and I sincerely liked how you incorporated a question at the beginning, which had the thought going through my mind of "are we really being taught history in the best way?" I also liked how you incorporated the question at the end, which really tied your writing up effectively and still had me thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Grace DalySeptember 8, 2019 at 12:59 PM

    I really enjoyed your post because it made me question the layout of history right from the beginning. Starting the writing out with a question allows the readers to search for their answer throughout. I also really enjoyed how you tied in another source into your post. It gave another perspective to the idea and made your writing more dynamic!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who is Meursault?

 The Stranger's Meursault, displays a pattern of behavior that is very uncommon in most literary works. While readers are usually able to relate to the main character and sympathize with the emotions that they are feeling, Meursault is the opposite. The way Meursault interacts and feels about certain situations and characters is quite strange, as if he's almost a stranger (hence the title) to the readers throughout the novel. We begin to wonder, is he a sociopath? Where are his emotions? Or why does he act this way? We wonder these questions because of how unfamiliar his character is to its readers. A term to somewhat describe Meursault's perspective and type of behavior would be nihilism. A nihilist is someone that does not believe in anything, has no loyalties, and ultimately believes that they, and society, have no purpose. Wow, that sure sounds like someone I'd love to be around! Meursault's detached personality erupts strange emotional behavior. For example, du...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thank You School for...

 This I have learned... With such an interesting and unpredictable year, I have to admit, to my surprise, that I actually learned the most important life lessons this year. I find that my life and lifestyle is more appreciative and meaningful now because of the lessons that both COVID and online school have taught me. The most important takeaway being to never take anything for granted--even the endless hours of schoolwork or early morning school alarms. One particular thing that I will remember from this year is to always appreciate not only your closest friends but also your "school friends" because if not for school, then those close relationships would have never formed. While I never use to think twice about these concepts, I now will never be able to forget them and they'll always positively linger in the back of my mind.  The big understanding that I will take away from my entire school career as a whole is that school is meant for so much more than just the classe...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's So Great About Poetry?

Poetry- the unit that most students dread to learn about in their English class. But why is poetry so disliked among high school students? A few of these reasons, and that I can attest for personally, are that poetry is seen as old, it can be quite difficult to understand/interpret, and we just fail to see the point of it. However, after interpreting some poems in class, my perspective began to shift (only slightly not significantly though). While I am still not the biggest fan of poetry, I am beginning to see a different side to it.  Yes, poetry is all of the negative things that I stated above (at least in my opinion) but once poetry is understood, the lesson becomes that much clearer and applicable. Understanding and correctly interpreting poetry is not only a beneficial skill to have but it also opens your eyes to a deeper understanding to things that are important in terms of culture, history, and etc. For example, poetry has effectively been used to advocate and teach about i...
Post a Comment
Read more