A People's History of the United States, by historian Howard Zinn
is a groundbreaking telling of U.S. history.
It provides a new perspective not in typical school textbooks,
It provides a new perspective not in typical school textbooks,
because
as U.S. author Richard Rodriquez wrote of the usual textbooks:
"American history books I read as a boy were all about
winning and losing, contest, vanquishment.
One side won; the other side lost...
Only the score is remembered....
The progress of a nation, as of a life, is a litany of
conflict, score ...."
"American history books I read as a boy were all about
winning and losing, contest, vanquishment.
One side won; the other side lost...
Only the score is remembered....
The progress of a nation, as of a life, is a litany of
conflict, score ...."
The rhythms of real life are absent in these history books.
"Not the circlet of hair in the oval locket.
Not the early frost in the letter,
not the breakfast chucked up,
not the barometric pressure;
the droplet of sweat upon the rib cage;
the concussion of the earth,
the translucent centipede scrambling for cover," says Rodriquez.
But it is these microhistories that show our humanity
and uncovers something more profound about ourselves.
The individual affects the whole.
Not the early frost in the letter,
not the breakfast chucked up,
not the barometric pressure;
the droplet of sweat upon the rib cage;
the concussion of the earth,
the translucent centipede scrambling for cover," says Rodriquez.
 |
| 18 C. Queen of France Marie Antoinette's hair in a locket, British Museum, London. |
But it is these microhistories that show our humanity
and uncovers something more profound about ourselves.
The individual affects the whole.
In the search for truth,
we have the Right to History, even microhistory,
and this supports the Right to Knowledge---
and this supports the Right to Knowledge---
more knowledge than we may find in school textbooks.
Revision: thanks to commenters BRM, TL.
Revision: thanks to commenters BRM, TL.
45 comments:
Microhistory, "search for answers to large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner (Professor of history and culture).
Is it like dissecting a part of history to uncover something more profound?
BRM
Microhistory, are the artifacts that helped identify a time period in history, people, and circumstances during that time. Like a buidling block that tells us how the end came about. Or, how the beginning got started. I agree with a previous comment that it "uncovers something more profound". Perhaps it reveals how we got here and where we are going.-YEM
While reading this I felt relieved to know that I am not the only one who feels that way. So many unknown facts about the people or things that made today. Why do we only acknowledge those that are in text book format, but not the others that probably had a more interesting journey? We will never be entitled to know everything of our history, but it's the RIGHT to know the microhistory. The RIGHT to not just go by whoever was BETTER, but the minor things that were simply BEAUTIFUL.
A.Q
It takes small victories and failures to authenticate our history. Our world has shed a lot of small, quiet, and lonely tears, cheers, sorrows, and triumphs, all in the name of history. We have not heard of them in textbooks or stories told but we believe they exist because every move made, no matter its size, has an effect on the result. A People's History of the United States, by historian Howard Zinn, is just that, a People, a group of people that we have not heard about or even thought about, but they had an impact in history. TL
History is taught in a global sense. History as a fact of large events that occurred. However, our present is filled with people engaged in documenting personal history through media. The daily photographers of moments, life, and nature around us, are demonstrating that humans appreciate micro history. Profoundness is found in how individual histories shape who we are and who we will become as a whole. ALB
Overall history, large or small, is a part of our past. History is proof of our existence. It is proof of our dedication, and strives. Even if we are not remembered throughout the world, we still make a difference, or make a difference in someone who will make a greater difference. History is a link to our present and future.
AG
It is the foot step on history not the score card that should be dissected and focused upon. The works and small acts that have caused a ripple, is what makes this nation great. Textbooks can at time forget to teach the audience these important lessons, rather than just simply who triumphed in 1945.
History is the past. But in reality no one knows all the history of the world we only know big events. Micro history is something that lives on with the family and friends. This is like a family story that get passed on for generations. I do believe that when micro history is created we show who we are as a society. -jpg
Microhistory is just as important as anything that has a TV show or a chapter in a textbook. Why don’t they teach us about things that aren’t mainstream like that of “The Virgin Queen” or Queen Elizabeth the First, and how since her era people have suspected she had children with several men.
CP
History is what brought us to the now. Without history we may never find out who we are or how we got there. History is the building block to our present. It is always good to know history, as it is always good to know how things work.
ABL
Microhistory shows pieces or sides of our humanity. It makes me think that some things that recall our past bring forth memories or emotions, and become symbols to our existence and they can encourage us to live more consciously and grounded in our lives.
Microhistory is the representation of how everything in the universe has meaning.It is the countless small steps that crafted our fascinating conclusions.Why are they not exposed when they could be key to a historians long wonder.Like searching for the reason behind a victims odd behavior; all aspects are to be observered.The things humans almost always fail to see are those in which make the world go round.This more caring way of searching allows an individual to begin the unraveling of their past in a completley different way. LINA.A
The Right to History...Microhistory
is a new genre which finds out and writes about normal people and places. What would it be the result if microhistory would focus on all those millions of poor and oppressed individuals in South Africa during the reconciliation and healing process at the end of the apartheid? These genre applied to those circumstances would be a phenomenal history report. The genre of microhistory is new for me, and I will continue researching to find the more answers. Fidela
History and MicroHistory is what defined nations and society. for example the history of this country how it was form, under what principles etc. the same as knowledge. it is said that truth means freedom. It is important to understand that history and MicroHistory is the only way to know the truth about our reason to live.
ASR.
Without our past history we would never have a future. History is very important because it teaches us what the world was like back then when all of the resources we have today were not available to people back then. We learn alot from history so we dont make the mistakes they made back then. IC
i do not agree it is a step of history not any type score. if it was like that than it would be a never ending battle. YML.
History is very important, without it we wouldn’t know why things are the way there are today. The past tells us a lot of important things. A.H
I believe that everyone should be at liberty to an objective, or unbiased History, Miscrohistory. I am delighted to know that Howard Zinn has taken a new approach in writing his history book. After all, he has the freedom of Speech.
- Q.M.
History and answers to it are for the most part easily accessible, as for what is written in textbooks are just a small fragment of it. Everyone can go and find out more about what happened in history but the thing is not many people want to. But also one thing about history it is mainly written by the victorious.
A.M.
People like to put more attention to the big things in life rather than the small things. The same goes for textbooks and teachers. They tend to provide more information on macrohistory rather than microhistory. But why is this? Microhistory is the study of the past in a small scale. I believe it is equally important to learn about both subjects. Unfortunately in this generation we focus mainly on just one. Having the knowledge of the little things can sometimes help us understand the big things. I find no reason to why anybody would think it is more important to learn just about macrohistory because both histories were very influential and significant. -S.S
History needs to be taught how it happened. The way it happened is not typically addressed in textbooks. Throughout elementary school, many of us were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America. When I got older I realized exactly what Richard Rodriguez said, “The rhythms of real life are absent from history books.” We were never taught that Christopher Columbus did not discover America. The ugly history behind him was never mentioned. Microhistory is important because history should be studied by focusing on a single event or person. By learning the small details, it’ll be easier to understand the bigger picture. JJ
Textbooks focus on a wider less defined view of history while microhistory closes in on the smaller details. History cannot be changed, it defines who we are and without it things would not be as they are today. It shapes the future and educates us as to how we can better it. JAY
"The individual effects the whole". One person can make all the difference, sadly these individuals never get the acknowledgment they deserve. Details fill in the gaps which school textbooks fail to provide. History plays a big role in the present and future, without it our existence would be meaningless. We must learn from our past to create a better future. J.S
Micro history is the intensive historical investigation of a well-defined smaller unit of research. This allows a level of depth not usually found in more broadly based works. However, Macro history is history on the larger scale, telling the story of whole civilizations or of the entire world. I do believe that the knowledge you can grasp from school textbooks is macro history, a good concrete base to start but you would have to take it from there and do your own research on history because textbooks can be broad and not precise.
K.R
Microhistory or Macrohistory, they both have been influential to shaping us into who we are and what we know making them both equally important. With that being said it isn't that macro history is more important, and that is why it is being taught in school and written in textbooks, but as time goes on there is more history to be written and will continue as each and everyday goes by. So with that being said, we have to be taught as much history as we can in the time alotted for this particular subject and once we have, it is then our turn to go and disect the big picture and look into what makes it one big whole. JLF
The study of history tells us what happened and how it happened. It is also true that history repeats itself and that you cannot prepare for the future, unless you learn from the past. Microhistory, is often neglected in the general study of history. These trinkets of the past give us a more intimate understanding of what happened before us and sometimes make you feel as if you were there yourself. Microhistory can also give you a greater insight to a very specific part of history. For example,you could be a private's first day in World War II by looking at the condition of his dog tags. MBS
Microhistory,''Well'' Lets look at Indiana Jones and all of adventures he went through''. If you seen every series it will tell you all of the mysteries he uncovered. Even though, he was a crime-fighting archaeologist that is also a part-time professor that escapes death so many times. Microhistory can be compared to the artifacts he discovered despite the fictional proportion of it.
Everyone that has gone to school has taken at least one history class and they have learned what the textbook says, but how will they learn what the textbook doesn't say? I agree with what a lot of people have said in the previous comments, we all have the right to learn beyond history... we have the right to learn about what wasn't published in those textbooks. -DP
The memories we keep fade faster than we expect. The day we get married, graduate, or even experience a loss are profound events; however, time slowly allows this memory to fade into something less significant. Microhistory can possibly turn this decay into rebirth.
RJL
History is the birthright of every single human being. It is the legacy of your ancestors... Their deeds and actions recorded forever into the fabric of time. What the history books fail in recounting these stories in that they miss all the nuances and intricacies that make the stories important. Its like starting a fairy tale by saying that the knight defeated the beast, the end. SAS
It’s not about reaching the top of the mountain but the small little details along the way. I always find it more interesting to know the small facts that everyone tends to overlook because they make a difference in my eyes. leiva
History in a sense helps us progress. It lets us examine our flaws, as well as the flaws of other individual Leaders, Rulers or however you would like to preceive it as. On the contrary, it is not until we examine the smaller points of history that make us discover not just the individual but ourselves
This is a good example microhistory.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERmein.htm
Thinking about how microhistory shows some pieces or sides of our humanity. Things that recall our past experiences bring back memories or emotions that become symbols to our existence. They can encourage us to overcome obstacles so we can reach our goals which empower and make us more grounded and centered in our lives.
There is more than the textbooks write about so if someone is interested they should do there research. As for history books it just all depends on the country really. They just want to talk about what happen to them and not everything.
-RCT
There are many people that have contributed to history, and broken boundries, but, go unmentioned from educational lessons. Only after Rosa Parks died, did I watch a documentury on her life. Only then did I learn of a man named E.D. Nixon, a key player in introducing Parks to M.L.K Jr. Without that important film to share her story, I doubt I would know about such an important figure in Civil rights history.
G.C.
I like this post because I’ve always asked myself one question and it was who decided for this to be in the history books and for that not to be. There are a lot of facts out there or knowledge that I would love to know the truth about. Some people with the answers feel like our generation is not ready for the answers. E.P.C
I agree with the right to history... microhistory. the majority on people can research any place and time in history and still not grasp the idea that we are the product of the past. Today people live in the now; passing each day like a cloud in the night sky, we know its there but we don't put to much thought into it. We are able to remember brad things like, who was the first president or on what day is July 4th. But who are these people that have taken their spot in history, what happened on these date we must remember, but most importantly, where is their true story and what secrets does it hold.
M.D.L.
1. Introduction
It is significant for all of us to always understand the past as it is one way of generating knowledge about the various aspects which had an influence on the distinct features that has shaped the present and the future ahead of us. It is clear that we where we are now because of inbound and outbound influence of other people. In this case, films and photographs that were captured in the past turns out to be the best two sources that give enough information on understanding the impacts of what really happened back then.
People were grouped according to cultures, ethnicity and race due to political, economical, social issues and “unequal powers relationships” amongst themselves. This is were pictures and films are able to play the important role of illustrating the representation of our cultures and being able to tell a story as history has been created. Certain people who were creative and had the resources of creating history were then able to capture films that
and pictures, still telling a story about what our ancestors had to got through to shape the land that were are now living in and we are able to consider this land as a free land.
The issue of making sure that the next generations to come are fully equipped and informed about their past lies on the hands of those who were there or were present during the time when these events took place and have an ethnographic proof to support their believable and unbelievable stories, all of this can be through analyzing the importance of photography and film makers. These sources will have to be evaluated and examined as a detailed analysis in this piece of research project.
The main idea of this piece is to give a detailed description of the portrayed films and pictures such as ‘Now and Then’ of Siliva Zulu telling a story about the Zulu people and the real reasons behind their strengths on getting through the political imbalance
By Miguel Pauli
History is in the past, but in some way stills our present. Knowing our past is knowing yourself, like where you came from, or how you got where you are now. We shouldn’t be so closed mind and live day by day, instead we should take a little of our time and pay attention to our past a little bit more.
*NG*
Microhistory are small discoveries that reveal the most puzzling questions.
JR
Martin Luther king JR,said:"We are not makers of history. We are made by history." history is important to our life it makes what we are. micro-history gives you a better look at history, a better analysis of what we are made of.
S.A.
We all have the right to history .. but many things are being changed and nobody actually knows what happens in the past unless you were actually there. -SKT
History and Micro History is what defined nations and society. For example the history of this country, How it was formed, under What principles are questions that help to understand the ways decisions are taken and the path that the nation is pursuing. It is said that truth means freedom; It is important to understand that history and Micro History is the only way to know the truth about our reason to live.
By ASR
There is an old saying that states "history repeats itself" if that is so, then it is extremely important to know our history, not the one defined by nations, races, religions or ethnicities. Human history, the story of man, the one we old have in common.
AYS
-Its the little things in history that bought on greater victories. The little details are more important than the over-all fact.-J.D.
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