Fifty years after the Freedom Rides can America again count on its youth to become the vanguard of change?
This month many people in our country will celebrate and commemorate the Freedom Riders who set out in the summer of 1961 to change the face of our nation and in doing so left an indelible mark on not only the United States but the world.…
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76 - Costello
Sounds like Orwell's "they who control the present control the past", Doc
77 - handyguy
#74 - And as we all understand it, Baronius is an ideologue [at least as much if not more so than Howard Zinn].
When Baronius talks about history, he makes an admirable attempt to be more 'objective,' but he doesn't lose his point of view. Can he possibly imagine that an academic historian is capable of the same?
Zinn's purpose in A People's History of the US is very explicit, clear, and fascinating: history has always been told through the eyes of the elite; but 95% of the population, or more, are not the wealthy or politically powerful. Telling familiar stories from their POV is a valuable and innovative approach.
78 - Baronius
"Zinn's purpose". That's a good way to look at it, in terms of means and ends. His goal was to persuade. His method of doing so was to highlight historical accounts through the eyes of the downtrodden. If, as an academic historian, he sought to use academic methods towards academic ends, I wouldn't question his motives. But he stated his motive clearly, to change people's opinion.
One other thing. I don't know the answer to this, so I could be wrong. But to those who've read Zinn's History: does he highlight the voices of the downtrodden, or the voices of the downtrodden that agree with him? Does he provide a counterweight to the prevailing anti-slavery theme in textbooks? Does his sympathy extend to the unheard voices of the John Birch Society, the Indians who were grateful for their education and religious instruction, the poor American worker who wants immigration policy enforced? Or does he only repeat the stories that would elicit sympathy at the Democratic National Convention?
79 - handyguy
The unheard voices of the John Birch Society?! Can you say "tendentious"? Perhaps that is an alternative history you ought to undertake yourself.
And you all but admit that your views on Zinn are based not on knowledge but reputation [i.e., the criticism leveled at him by conservatives].
80 - Cannonshop
The problem is oen of position, Handy-nobody is going to have their GPA screwed by disagreeing with Baronius' advocacy, otoh, Professor Zinn has that "P" word there, and if he's using "Historian" as "Advocate for Modern political causes", likely his students face that eventual outcome.
81 - zingzing
the unheard voices of the john birch society... as if. glenn beck's not enough at this point?
82 - Baronius
Handyzing - My point is that you can design your own narrative by picking which voices you label "unacknowledged". If Zinn's intention is to tell the story of the little guy, he should reflect the fact that the little guys can be nuts, bigots, and more warlike than the generals. Do the people in the People's History all tell stories that are compatible with a late-20th century peace activist? Because that wouldn't expand our understanding at all.
And no, I'm not getting my impression of Zinn from right-wingers. My primary reference has been this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. I also looked at interviews with the man.
83 - OkayDokey
likely his students face that eventual outcome.
by this time, surely one would have spoken out if that had been the case.
Baronius, why not get your impression from reading the book?
84 - zingzing
"Do the people in the People's History all tell stories that are compatible with a late-20th century peace activist?"
i don't know if you could say that. they certainly are compatible with zinn's pov, or else he wouldn't have written the book that defines his pov.
you said something earlier about the historian as activist. in "people's history," zinn isn't just an activist, he carefully explained why he was an activist, and why it was necessary.
i wouldn't take "people's history" as the only source of my understanding of history and i'd bet zinn wouldn't either. it's all there in the title. it's an alternate telling, from a different perspective. frankly, the book becomes a bit of a slog. i enjoyed it, and i learned new things, but it is a bit repetitious and a bit of a downer. not that i expect history to be a feel-good, novel bit of entertainment...
85 - handyguy
It would probably be good for Baronius to read Zinn, and for zing and myself to read Richard Pipes or somebody else who might be Zinn's polar opposite.
It's like getting all your news from either Fox or MSNBC or Breitbart or HuffPost. Just reinforces your prejudices.
86 - Cannonshop
#83, would they, or would it be "Hate Speech" under the particular speech codes of the university?
87 - zingzing
"would it be "Hate Speech" under the particular speech codes of the university?"
no...
88 - Clavos
It's like getting all your news from either Fox or MSNBC or Breitbart or HuffPost. Just reinforces your prejudices.
True, but I'm betting that north of 90% of the population does just that.
True