Perhaps the best evidence of the evolution of my ability to think critically in a historical sense are the reading logs that were completed weekly as part of our class. While the dedication alone to reading articles weekly and taking notes according was a learning experience in itself I was also able to shape my own way of understanding each authors work as time went on over the course; because we were prompted to form our own ideas and thoughts on the documents presented I took new aspects of the pieces more into consideration instead of solely searching for a specific answer or date. This helped me to learn history in a whole new way, a way in which I am now thankful (shocking I know). I cannot say I always enjoyed the weekly grind the readings presented me with but I can say they have changed my perception of what thinking historically mean drastically. I have included several of said reading logs as evidence of this.
Reading Log #2
I believe the author of the article this week was focused on bringing awareness to the many ways in which Native American culture was attacked during some of the first interactions between them and Christian missionaries, attacks the author himself stated “posed a threat to the very survival of Native American society”. The articles helps to articulate the fact that there is more to be said about the interactions between Christian missionaries and Native Americans than what has previously been examined. What we accept as the history of events which lead to the shift of an entire culture from missionary records is not the whole truth, as surprising as it is to think that not all missionaries were the dedicated, truthful, self-sacrificing people that historians have made them out to be. More goes into the story. Light is shed on this misconception by the inclusion of many examples in which missionaries have forced their ideologies/cultural beliefs on the Native peoples along with the responses of Native Americans as both individuals and as a group. The sheer number of examples is convincing as well as the content found in the replies. By using so many examples of dialogue by Native American speakers as well as a mix of the missionary standpoint, the article contributes to the wider histography of the subject since most published material comes from the Christian missionary perspective. By including both and perhaps focusing a bit more on the dialogue of the Native peoples, the article becomes not only a more reliable source but a more historically accurate one.
The clarity of reasoning of the Native American peoples surprised me, maybe because they have never been allowed to be heard and when they are their story is twisted to fit one stereotypical voice/image. Many of their responses and analyses of Christian religion/beliefs mirrored my own thoughts and opinions which also added to my surprise. Besides the author’s main arguments, this is what I found most interesting.
Reading Log #5
In “Acadian Identity: The Creation and Re-Creation of Community” we are given a brief historical run through of the Acadian people, specifically their deportation from their homelands and their handling of this loss in later years. Within the first paragraph of the article we receive a statement from the author that is key to the papers overall take-away value; the author reveals her attraction to certain community values within a peoples history that lend themselves to be particularly sympathetic. She expresses her leanings towards nationalism as well as patriotism; forces which we know as we read further into the piece have strong holds on the telling of Acadian history.
From the reading it seemed important to grasp that although the Acadians were a community stuck in the middle of a number of high scale disputes between two enormous powers ending in the deportation of their own people, the Acadian sense of identity had survived intact. While exploring and questioning why it could be that these peoples formed a community of such conviction we receive a sense of their French origins and the beginnings of Acadian settlements. Indeed these are important milestones in their story but the true topic of discussion lies in the ultimate strength of resolution displayed by the Acadian community post exile. Despite a substantial loss in numbers after various sicknesses took hold of passengers during their time on board the ships which would take them away from their homes, the nineteenth century brought about a growth in the Acadian sense of identity. Often with such great losses we do not see communities survive the dark parts of their histories, but in regards to this civilization we see an unfaltering front, a strong belief in their own reality no matter the changes to political, economic and social institutions. Above all they maintain a sense of righteousness and an absence of anger against perpetrators who have wronged them.
It could be this shared ability to stand on moral high-ground that will forever bond Acadians to their history and their communities and allows them to remain somewhat of their own nation although their members find homes in a variety of very separate locations. They appear to be an anomaly, ahead of their time one way or another. It seems we often only consider a society or community advanced if they acquire new technologies or have otherwise distinguished themselves by similar means. A thought that leaps forth from this article may then be, while those are of course celebratory accomplishments, why do we not take more notice of societies that have found ways to function well on a political, social and religious level even when completely scattered? We celebrate what we have conquered, the wars we have won but as a nation we perhaps are not as strong as the one we saw ripped apart by a power struggle of our ancestors. As a nation that was ripped apart yet managed to pull itself back together, there seems to be much we can learn from the idea of the Acadian identity.
What is History and How Do We Do It?
What have I learned about history and historical thinking this term?
Reading Log #10
History is a more complex subject that I had ever thought before. It is a record of the past that informs our future but must be carefully filtered and analysed to accomplish the proper perspective. I can admit to having an underwhelming knowledge of this prior to this term; so often we are told in social studies that we must study history to understand the mistakes of the past and learn from them, to see what worked for us as a civilization and what didn’t to better improve our ways of life. This approach seems rather irrelevant after what I have learned about history. Of course we should seek to understand our world, but the historical events that are passed down to us often do not help us learn at all. They are filtered through one single perspective (white, male) and therefore have a one dimensional meaning or message. Most of what I have been taught in the past I did not question; it was more important to memorize specific dates that it was to analyse the importance of any certain event and come to a realization on its voice and validity. To think historically, I think, means to acknowledge the many different perspective and interpretations of history itself and from there form your own ideas and beliefs on the subject matter. If we are not learning this way, what are we really learning at all?