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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.

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  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.

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  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

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