I realize I relate race to gender quite often, and I will apologize for that assumption upfront, but it is the closest concept I can relate to. For my final search (philosophy track) paper, I have been assigned to make a moral or social claim, and use the material I’ve read in the search program to defend my argument. I have been working on this argument: The androcentric search curriculum perpetuates the conception of humanity as male. As I was flipping through my notes for African American History today, I saw a question I had written down that was posed in class: Should we have African American History? I then realized that I was not nearly inclusive enough in my argument for search. Neither was I inclusive enough in writing down this question, for Rhodes also offers Asian American studies, Latin American studies, and Gender and Sexuality studies. I feel that we could question the necessity of all of these, and I would like offer my answer: yes, we should have them.
I do not wish to claim that these minorities deserve special attention in order to “make up for” the historical discrimination against them. I think most people would agree that simply by acknowledging a wrong in American culture, that the wrong will be excused. So why, as many ask, isn’t there man’s studies? Causian American History? White History month? Because this is the description that has overwhelmingly described Westerners. This description is perpetuated in most sections of American education. It is a matter of exclusion. I don’t know how much exposure (to the history of slavery, the Jim Crow Era, the Civil Rights Movement, and beyond) all of you had had before this course, but I was a recipient of the stereotypical master narrative. The fact that most of the knowledge I have learned in this class has been unfamiliar speaks for the need of this class.
If America had reached a post-racial era, we would no longer witness the de-systemization of African American voices in history lessons. The fact is that the African American race was not only excluded then, but they continue to be excluded in the representation of American history. Until African Americans are no longer neglected in any aspect of American life, these specific classes are necessary additions in the American curriculum. Does anyone feel differently? What were your prior experiences of African American history?
I think that, when you ask why it’s important to study African-American history, or the history of any other minority, it’s important to ask the question: why study history at all? I think that if we consider this question, than we can understand why it’s important to study the history of minorities instead of the history of the “white man.”
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, realize that history runs on conflict. The black community- specifically with slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement- has been the center of conflict. The white man… it hasn’t really a controversial subject.
Also, history helps us to learn from the past so that we don’t make the same mistakes. If we look back at the history of discrimination and the absurdity of the claims used to justify racism and sexism, we can make sure that those claims are never believed ever again.
Finally, black history is still evolving. Even though we have finally elected our first black president, there is still much progress to be made for the black community. By looking back, we can look to the future and see what it still left to be done. I think that, since the white community, especially white males, has never experienced the struggles of other minorities, that it is not important to learn the history of the white man as it is to learn about other cultures.
History exits so we could understand our past, to provide reasons for why things are the way they are now. History is the study of progression, how we have evolved in history. And hopefully, we could find something in history that is useful and mindful to us now. To me, as a minority in the society, it is imperative for me to know my race's history, because not knowing your own race is purely ignorance. That said, we need to study other race's history as well. Because it is time for us to realize everyone, every race is different for a reason. And maybe if we do, then we wouldn't see so many clashes in this world caused by cultural differences.
ReplyDeleteI attended a high school where about 70% of the students identified themselves as African American, and my experiences with African American history before this class were significantly different than Hannah’s. I specifically took African American history in high school along with the vast majority of my graduating class, and a teacher was specifically hired there to teach African-American history and literature courses. In my high school African American history class, my teacher also stressed the importance of reshaping the master narrative. For instance, we went into great depth on the role of women in African American history, who are usually left out of the master narrative. We talked about the roles of women such as Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American congresswoman, and Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, important slavery abolitionists. I think it is interesting to see how our backgrounds and knowledge of this subject depend greatly on the environment we grew up in.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is important to study races and cultures that differ from your own and I am glad Rhodes integrated the F9 foundation into its curriculum. However, I believe many other histories are left out standard American history classes that are also important. How often does one study about Chinese or Japanese American history in a standard history class or how often is a class on this subject even offered? This class has really opened my eyes to the fact so much history is left out of the master narrative of American history in general, and I believe it is important to learn the role people with backgrounds different from my own have played in shaping the world we live in today.
When studying the history of a certain event or time period, you cannot rely on what just one nation or race has to say. The version of the story you learned in school could very well be different than the version someone else learns. I went to school in a small town in Mississippi and the version of African American history I was taught there seriously differs from the information I have been exposed to here. At home, white citizens were looked on as people who helped perpetuate a peaceful movement. We did not focus our attentions on the violence or even the different roles the north played in the Civil Rights movement. While there were some white activists who were both students and adults they were the main focus of courses. History is skewed based on the perspective of the historian. That is why it is important to learn about all histories; they help put the pieces together.
ReplyDeleteYou ask why there's not a Caucasian American history course, and a few things popped into my mind. First, the joke that 11 months out of the year are White History Month. I think the fact that there are not history courses on white people is because so many master narratives that I, at least, have been taught are from the perspective of white people. Throughout my middle school and most of my high school history classes I have seen how white people have seen other people's struggles; history, according to the white man. The second thing that popped into my mind was that white people have had struggles, but of a different kind. Coming from Europe, white people fought against the land and then realized they could dominate another group of people-Native Americans.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to have history classes about groups that have been oppressed by white people. I read Uncle Tom's Cabin in high school, and it was surprisingly harsh. The master narrative I had been taught was torn to shreds by this course when we read stories that were just as harsh or even more so than Uncle Tom's Cabin. I think history courses are a good reminder that even though whites have had a superiority they have abused it.
This class has truly changed my life. Coming close to this experience was a week in middle school where my American History class watched Roots for a week, but a majority of my classmates took it with a grain of salt and there was little discussion following the screenings. Growing up, my family moved a lot. I’ve lived in 8 different cities and in 6 different states. A majority of these cities have been populated by predominately white Americans. I lived in Scottsdale, AZ for eight years. According to the 2010 census, 1.67% of the then 217,385 people living in the city were Black, roughly 3630 people. In school, I was regularly criticized for not “being black enough” given the image that a majority of my classmates saw in the media, the rap music videos. In general, I never really knew how to respond to these claims, except by stating “you’re really stupid” or “you don’t even get it.”
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Memphis my senior year, I was in complete culture shock. I was surrounded by blacks and my interactions at school drastically shifted. I began to be criticized by my black peers for “talking white” and being proper.” I was repeatedly asked if I was mixed or biracial, and I generally stood out from my fellow black students as I adopted a friend base that, although racially diverse, was predominately white and Jewish. Living in a city like Memphis, where roughly 60% of its residents are African-American, and going to a school like Rhodes, which is 81% Caucasian, has really merged my high school experiences in some ways.
Whether we realize it or not, race plays an important role in shaping our understanding of ourselves and of people who are different from us. Unfortunately, in trying to make sense of this difference, we devalue that person’s story because we don’t find enough similarities to our own. I think we can all agree that this class has expanded our points of understanding. I’ve learned so much about a history that is inarguably connected to me. The best part- it’s helped me put my lived experiences into a greater context.
I find myself almost in complete agreement with your post. Classes on African American history were the first experience I really had to a deeper narrative. In high school, our history teachers greatly overlooked and blinded our view of history to be one-sided. One even went as far as claiming that the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery. Having moved from Rye, New York to Mobile, Alabama for high school, I was really shocked by the difference in histories taught regionally. After taking multiple African American studies classes at Rhodes, it has been interesting to look back at that stereotypical master narrative, as pointed out in the blog post. Without these classes being offered at Rhodes, I would still be unaware of a great percentage of United States history. I remember in my high school in Mobile, Alabama, many students would make remarks during Black History Month about having a White History Month, without even acknowledging the idea that every other month has been perpetuated through the master narrative as white history months. Being located in Memphis, Tennessee, the importance of African American Studies is even more significant. Memphis has such a massive history, in a large part a hidden history, of racial discrimination and Civil Rights history that without recognizing, only serves as a disservice to the entire community.
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