But is it true?
Santayana's dictum seems to imply that there are trends or patterns in history. Appease a dictator, start a war. Liberate a people, receive a warm welcome. This, in itself, is questionable. History may repeat itself, but probably never in exactly the same way, and never with any law-like certainty. Context and situation are simply too important in our human world to ever expect that we can use the past to predict the future.
But what about another side. Specifically, is the act of remembering the past helpful for us as humans?
Imagine a species that could preserve its cultural and biological habits without creating either heroes or villains, without feeling either pride or shame of its past. What if the past was just the past, without meaning?
In short, what if we lived like every other species on this Earth?
Would our future be brighter, or less so? For me, the answer is not clear.
For the act of remembering the past, if not carefully and healthily processed (on collective and individual levels), can lead to all sorts of unhealthy outcomes. One is post-traumatic stress, the literal inability to remember the past, and instead the frightening compulsion to relive the event, again and again, without meaning or control. Another is a form of repetition compulsion--the desire to stay the course, and repeat the past endlessly, often in the form of ritual or obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Ritual is not bad, per se. But is it helpful for controlling the future? (Think here of the Catholic Eucharist, among other ritual social re-enactments.)
Indeed, when it comes to very violent and disturbing historical events, it is possible that some form of collective forgetting is necessary for social healing to occur. This is not necessarily a popular view, but it has been put forward by some historians. It is also supported, to some degree, by truth and reconciliation movements (such as in South Africa), where amnesty (amnesia = forgetfulness) is granted to those who tell the truth about their past deeds and the impact this has had on victims. In this way, forgetfulness might be healthy, and lead to restorative rather than retributive forms of justice.
For me, it is a thought worth considering.
In the United States, we live with a past that has some very dark and disturbing chapters. I believe that children must learn about that past. But do we really know the impact that past has on children. When we read articles like this one, from a Black parent, we realize that the teaching of history, especially to younger children, carries some high stakes. We cannot avoid unpleasant truths, but neither is it wise for teachers to traumatize students, or trivialize past deeds.
The articles in this unit are meant to help us with these issues.
First, a classic essay by James Baldwin. This is one of two articles which was later published as a book, The Fire Next Time (please also watch the trailer for his documentary, I am not your Negro, and considering watching the entire film). Part memoire, part historical exploration, Baldwin confronts us squarely with the question of the lingering terror of our collective past. He explores various ways in which "alternative pasts" are created in order to build political projects in the present, ultimately standing on the side of a past that acknowledges hope as well as despair, all while keeping some grounding in the truth.
From there, we move into our contemporary moment, with its debate about the fate of Confederate statues. What should we do with them? Must we take them down and assign them to the scrapheap of history? Or is there another option, one that would preserve memory while fighting for justice?
To help answer this question, we turn to an article by Peter Seixas and Penney Clark, in this case looking at problematic representations of indigenous Canadians. This article is valuable not only for its analysis, but its use of Friedrich Nietzsche's typology of differing ways that one can approach the past (indeed, Nietzsche is one of the first Western thinkers to suggest the power of "creative forgetting" for building a better future).
Next, we turn to two short pieces of journalism. One, from Melinda Anderson that explores a recent study about the way in which slavery is currently taught in US schools, and another, by myself, that argues for incorporating the history of memory--different ways that different countries remember past events--into the history curriculum.
Finally, we again turn to our elementary colleagues, gaining key insights into practices that best introduce younger children into history--lessons that, properly learned, might benefit us all. We know that the past is all around us, and that even very young children brings large funds of historical knowledge to the classroom. Building on such funds, even when dealing with horrible tragedies like slavery, is key for building historical understanding.
I hope you enjoy these readings--I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
For the act of remembering the past, if not carefully and healthily processed (on collective and individual levels), can lead to all sorts of unhealthy outcomes. One is post-traumatic stress, the literal inability to remember the past, and instead the frightening compulsion to relive the event, again and again, without meaning or control. Another is a form of repetition compulsion--the desire to stay the course, and repeat the past endlessly, often in the form of ritual or obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Ritual is not bad, per se. But is it helpful for controlling the future? (Think here of the Catholic Eucharist, among other ritual social re-enactments.)
Indeed, when it comes to very violent and disturbing historical events, it is possible that some form of collective forgetting is necessary for social healing to occur. This is not necessarily a popular view, but it has been put forward by some historians. It is also supported, to some degree, by truth and reconciliation movements (such as in South Africa), where amnesty (amnesia = forgetfulness) is granted to those who tell the truth about their past deeds and the impact this has had on victims. In this way, forgetfulness might be healthy, and lead to restorative rather than retributive forms of justice.
For me, it is a thought worth considering.
In the United States, we live with a past that has some very dark and disturbing chapters. I believe that children must learn about that past. But do we really know the impact that past has on children. When we read articles like this one, from a Black parent, we realize that the teaching of history, especially to younger children, carries some high stakes. We cannot avoid unpleasant truths, but neither is it wise for teachers to traumatize students, or trivialize past deeds.
The articles in this unit are meant to help us with these issues.
First, a classic essay by James Baldwin. This is one of two articles which was later published as a book, The Fire Next Time (please also watch the trailer for his documentary, I am not your Negro, and considering watching the entire film). Part memoire, part historical exploration, Baldwin confronts us squarely with the question of the lingering terror of our collective past. He explores various ways in which "alternative pasts" are created in order to build political projects in the present, ultimately standing on the side of a past that acknowledges hope as well as despair, all while keeping some grounding in the truth.
From there, we move into our contemporary moment, with its debate about the fate of Confederate statues. What should we do with them? Must we take them down and assign them to the scrapheap of history? Or is there another option, one that would preserve memory while fighting for justice?
To help answer this question, we turn to an article by Peter Seixas and Penney Clark, in this case looking at problematic representations of indigenous Canadians. This article is valuable not only for its analysis, but its use of Friedrich Nietzsche's typology of differing ways that one can approach the past (indeed, Nietzsche is one of the first Western thinkers to suggest the power of "creative forgetting" for building a better future).
Next, we turn to two short pieces of journalism. One, from Melinda Anderson that explores a recent study about the way in which slavery is currently taught in US schools, and another, by myself, that argues for incorporating the history of memory--different ways that different countries remember past events--into the history curriculum.
Finally, we again turn to our elementary colleagues, gaining key insights into practices that best introduce younger children into history--lessons that, properly learned, might benefit us all. We know that the past is all around us, and that even very young children brings large funds of historical knowledge to the classroom. Building on such funds, even when dealing with horrible tragedies like slavery, is key for building historical understanding.
I hope you enjoy these readings--I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
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