Trouillot's Silencing The Past

This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through

What is history? We look at these past civilizations, making assumptions and criticisms about their ways of life as if we know exactly what they were thinking. In reality, we have no idea how they justified the actions that we judge. Soon we will be the past and we will be looked upon from future civilizations that attempt to understand our cultures. This thought can be quite overwhelming when one thinks how we will be viewed. In Chuck Klosterman’s novel “But what if we’re Wrong,” he delves into the idea of what past cultures would think of our views towards them as well as future generations analyses of us. We tend to make vague assumptions of their actions rarely considering their thoughts during the time. Many of their actions were based on the time they lived in and the resources available to them, not always having a choice towards joining different culture norms. Before we judge these past civilizations we must first consider what people in the future will think of our current society.

James Baldwin once said: “History is not the past. History is the present. We carry our history with us. To think otherwise is criminal”. This quote stated by James Baldwin perfectly summarizes the many problems that people are acquainted within society. Throughout history, people are bunched up into groups where they are labeled certain things which carries on into today’s world. People are not viewed as individuals with the certain choice making abilities but rather subjected to being grouped by irrelevant factors into certain groups. By doing this, other people are able to take advantage of these people that are classified into groups by exploiting them for their own benefit. This is the unfortunate system which history has allowed to

Is history always the way it has been told, or are there multiple truths that meet in one point and intersect? Presentism is what modern historians do to the past. The way in which presentism reveals and formats information about history is simplified and modified. This, for the most part, is not the exact way these events took place. Important parts and concepts are changed in order to fit into modern views and interpretation. Many historians are accepting of either the victim's or perpetrator's side. Sometimes picking one particular side may skew the hard facts of the situation or event. Failure of telling the accurate past can lead

Edmund Burke once said “Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.” Unfortunately, it seems that many people who have impacted the world have had a bad history teacher, as history continues to repeat itself to this day. One of the most prime examples of this is seen in the Middle East; where the Palestinian people are fighting against the Israelis over territory in which they both believe belongs to them. It has been a dispute which has resulted in loss of homes, loss of life and loss of money. However, this is nothing new. Eugene O’Neill’s statement, “There is no present and no future, only the past happening over and over again, now” applies strongly to the situation of the past 70 years in the

Throughout time, history has been recorded from the perspective of the victors. It is this bias within the archives that shape the views and motives of the groups involved. As a result of this influence the general way of thinking, and recollection of historical events has been altered to a certain degree to conform to the conqueror’s ideals. Society turns a blind eye to the horrors of the past, preferring to plead ignorance than to face the reality of the cruelty humans are capable of. There are parts in history that conversely cannot be ignored, such as the genocide in Rwanda, 9-11, Terror in Paris and the most historical, the holocaust in World War II, where the true extent of human vindictiveness came to light. In spite

The reason Maafa is important is that upon the rediscovery of Africa’s history prior to its oppressive influence, it also shines light on the bad seeds which were planted, and that has led to the Africa’s underdevelopment and the distortions that these seeds have caused by the growth of these weeds becoming rooted in the institutions and the psyche that world has become accustomed to today. Maafa is focuses on tracing and removing these roots in the hopes of nourishing the growth of not just Africa’s mind-state, but the overall Worldview. This is significant because it assists in the restoration of

Absurd to learn that atrocities committed when hidden under the guise of religion. However, it is of utmost importance for history to be discussed from different viewpoints, not just what suit our preferences… Like Henry Kissinger wrote, “peace was restored by diplomacy of a few national leaders, whereas, the farmers in France, colored people in Asia and Africa, women and children saw a world of conquest, violence, exploitation; not restored but disintegrated.”

For what little history is taught about Africans institutionally and publically presently, it used as a tool to disempower people of African descent. To start present interpretations of African history denies the feats and accomplishments done by Africans as well as the roots from which all people come from. Presently history is made for people

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made of history.”

Have you ever heard the saying “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” and “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”? These quotes come from George Santayana and George Bernard Shaw, these men tell how it’s common for people to repeat past mistakes. However, if people learn to look back and understand history, it’s harder to replicate disastrous actions. History is full of wars and brutish words, yet the source of all these problems come from a single issue: power. Leaders seek power in every crevice they can find. In the book, “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, Napoleon is a cruel dictator who successfully takes over a farm after running off its competitors. Major, an old pig, told the farm of a new way of living. However, after he died, Napoleon steadily took over the farm. Therefore, taking the time to understand history’s past and mistakes can be an effective weapon against repeating the same mistakes. Failure to learn outcomes in a repetition of history, as Napoleon proves, as shown in today’s life, learning from history helps resolve futures issues, and only suffering comes from problematic actions of the past.

We see in history a common theme; history is told by the victor. The aggressor enters the scene; takes control of the group who was there before, and oppresses them. Typically associated with stealing wealth, pillaging, and plundering. Some things have changed though these events still happen today. However in today’s society oppression is strongly viewed as distasteful. We seem to think we have grown more accepting of even our own citizens. All they ask is for reparations.

“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”

Now and days every person must take at least two years of history in order to pass high school. Many people, including myself, ask the question,“Why must we take history?” Well the answer many of us get is, “ So that history does not repeat itself.” The real question of the matter is, Does history repeat itself? History has repeated itself over and over again. An example of this would be the genocide that occurred in the Ottoman empire in 1915, nearly 88 years later another genocide has occurred in Darfur in 2003. These two events are both similar and different in ways, but none-the-less are proof that history does in deed repeat itself.

It is a common and well known saying that history repeats itself. This saying has more to it than the literal definition of it, it means we need to study it and learn from it, in order to avoid repetition. Often times we have that opportunity to study and learn from history in a way that can impact the future, in a hopefully positive way. In terms of education, improvement and innovation is always a top priority. If we can properly combine the study of other cultures with the study of history, we can have an extremely effective tool for learning ways to positively impact our own generation and future. In this essay, I will attempt to uncover the differences between current education and traditional African education, with intention of learning how to apply it today. The idea behind studying history is that it is a vital part of learning and adopting successful techniques and a good tool for avoiding the repetition of mistakes. If pre-colonial Africa can have success without the resources and technologies we have today, then it is valuable to invest time and effort in mirroring some of their methods.