History

The Value of Studying History: Preliminary Report

My history research paper is going to focus on the value of studying history, or, perhaps, more exactly, the importance of studying history. It will attempt to demonstrate that a historical perspective is necessary because it is not just context for the past, but also it is a window to the future and to judge the present bias and misconceptions. Studying history not only helps one better understand the times they live in, also helps them better understand the varying historical perspectives of different peoples around the world. Studying history, especially in light of moral progress, also helps shed light on covered-up history and biased historical interpretations. It is common knowledge that the victors are typically those who write history; studying history with objectivity as the guiding principal is necessary in order to truly uncover the past and provide accurately historical events, cultures. More importantly, the claims of the dominant culture. The most important reason for studying history is to ensure that biased representations do not end up drowning out the voices of history's victims. This will be the focus of the essay. It will claim that studying history is the key to moral progress and social justice and rewriting many of the historical lies which sew division and oppression in the society. Specifically, it will mainly focus on those minority voices throughout the history.

To date, the progress I have made on my paper has largely been in planning the layout and gathering potential sources which to collect and synthesize information. I have been watching interviews with historians on YouTube, as well as reading the primary source document “The Truth and Reconciliation Report.” In addition, I have been browsing the library's scholars portal and JSTOR and collecting resources I feel will be very useful to the thesis of the paper. I have been looking at woman's studies and feminist studies journals, which typically help provide a platform for many of history's forgotten voices and are often the driving forces behind those post-colonial discourse around the world; helping people uncover their past and tell stories that have been too often covered under the truth by the dominant culture and their victor's history. In my search, I typically look for journals which contain certain keywords. These include “feminist,” “minority” and “woman's studies,” as well as more general history and education journals. I have also looked at some of the provincial ministries of education websites and historical society websites to get a better understanding of the reasoning they provide for an increased focus on Canadian Indigenous history and ensuring that the interaction between the state and Canadian First Nations is accurately represented to the future generations.

Two of the most interesting resources I have come across so far are an article from Active History.ca entitled “Decolonization, Indigenization and the History Department in Canada,” which was first published as an article in the Canadian Historical Association Bulletin 43.2(2017). The article lays out the necessity of indigenous history and knowledge of Indigenous Canadian history for truly understanding the past, and for ensuring that subsequent generations have a well-rounded view to see what was happened in the last one or two centuries or even early period. The article examines approaches which seek to strengthen mainstream knowledge of Canadian Indigenous history, by ensuring there is a specific focus throughout Canadian post secondary institutions. Another source I have found particularly interesting is an article written in 1948 by Alfred D. Low in The Journal of Education entitled “Why Study History.” In this article, Low emphasizes that the study of history provides the historian with a bulwark against propaganda and convenient interpretations proffered up by the dominant culture.

References

Low, Alfred D. “Why Study History.” The Journal of Education 131(9) (1948): 270-272

McCallum Logan, Mary Jane et al. “Decolonization, Indigenization and the History Department in Canada.” Canadian Historical Association Bulletin 43(2) (2017): 32-33. <http://activehistory.ca/2017/09/decolonization-indigenization-and-the-history-department-in- canada/>

Stearns, Peter . Why Study History? (1998) | AHA. Accessed February 06, 2018. https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998).