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Howard Zinn's Legacy

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Spreading good ideas with someone you know is one of the simplest things we can do to improve the conversation.

  • Suzan M
    Suzan M replied on 07:58 AM on May 18, 2008
    One of the biggest problems with the way most history books are written is that they tend to focus on a very narrow aspect of history... One that is based on winners and losers. When history is taught through art, design, production, belief systems, and common life experiences then a more balanced view can be presented. Giving a more complete context of what life was like in a certain place and time can help put the political events and ideas of the day in perspective... Not to mention making history far more interesting to more people. Current history texts are often found to be, at best, boring to most people. That may be their biggest limitation as it means few are interested in learning from them. Using the more intimate aspects of life that people can relate to teach history can greatly increase their viability to teach the bigger picture.
  • Suzan M
    Suzan M replied on 11:58 AM on May 18, 2008
    One of the biggest problems with the way most history books are written is that they tend to focus on a very narrow aspect of history... One that is based on winners and losers.

    When history is taught through art, design, production, belief systems, and common life experiences then a more balanced view can be presented. Giving a more complete context of what life was like in a certain place and time can help put the political events and ideas of the day in perspective... Not to mention making history far more interesting to more people.

    Current history texts are often found to be, at best, boring to most people. That may be their biggest limitation as it means few are interested in learning from them. Using the more intimate aspects of life that people can relate to teach history can greatly increase their viability to teach the bigger picture.
  • Eric Franks replied on 06:41 PM on May 20, 2008
    "[Change in traditional textbooks will] have to come from below." That's pretty scary. Science and biology textbooks being challenged from below by non-experts and not in a good way.
  • Eric Franks replied on 10:41 PM on May 20, 2008
    "[Change in traditional textbooks will] have to come from below." That's pretty scary. Science and biology textbooks being challenged from below by non-experts and not in a good way.
  • Jamie Tyroler
    Jamie Tyroler replied on 09:24 PM on July 23, 2008
    James Loewen has written a couple of great books, "Lies My Teacher Taught Me" and "Lies Across America". As Professor Zinn states, there's a nationalistic aspect to history books. How many people still believe that Columbus discovered America in 1492? How do you account for the people who were here before Columbus "discovered" it? How often is it still taught? We tend to think of American History starting with the Roanoke colony, discounting not only the history of native peoples, but of the Spanish communities in the Southwest or in Florida. I don't know how history is currently being taught - when I was in high school (mid 1970s), it was taught by a football coach and I think we got as far as the Great Depression of the 1930s. About 2 months of the class was spent learning the answers to state-required tests on the state and US Constitutions.
  • Jamie Tyroler
    Jamie Tyroler replied on 01:24 AM on July 24, 2008
    James Loewen has written a couple of great books, "Lies My Teacher Taught Me" and "Lies Across America". As Professor Zinn states, there's a nationalistic aspect to history books. How many people still believe that Columbus discovered America in 1492? How do you account for the people who were here before Columbus "discovered" it? How often is it still taught?

    We tend to think of American History starting with the Roanoke colony, discounting not only the history of native peoples, but of the Spanish communities in the Southwest or in Florida. I don't know how history is currently being taught - when I was in high school (mid 1970s), it was taught by a football coach and I think we got as far as the Great Depression of the 1930s. About 2 months of the class was spent learning the answers to state-required tests on the state and US Constitutions.


  • Jeremy Hager
    Jeremy Hager replied on 07:34 AM on August 07, 2008
    I think Mr Zinn is correct, to a point. As he knows, but is unwilling to admit, history is a great amount of hearsay and what I call "collective anecdotes". Mr Zinn's books indicate that while he does take the viewpoint of the downtrodden, he also tends to be guilty of that which he accuses others of doing, that being extremely biased. One need merely read his "People's History" to see that Zinn tends to take the most damning evidence he can in order to paint the most dismal and depressing picture of any given historical occurrence. I'm not sure of his motives, but reading his literature, my classmates and I did see a distinctive "whatever makes us look worse" approach at telling history. The problem with this, is that if you are going to rule out the white oil tycoon's anecdote about conditions at his factory during the 1920's, because you feel that he is biased, it is, in the sake of fairness, safe to act in the same way concerning the opinions of the laborers in said factory, despite whatever motives that man might have to talk poorly about his employer and/or working conditions. Zinn tends to take the view of the latter over the former, in any given scenario. This is a vague example, but for Howard Zinn to complain about biases, incentives, or an almost "selective censorship" is a laughable concept, if one's actually read his literature.
  • Jeremy Hager
    Jeremy Hager replied on 11:34 AM on August 07, 2008
    I think Mr Zinn is correct, to a point. As he knows, but is unwilling to admit, history is a great amount of hearsay and what I call "collective anecdotes". Mr Zinn's books indicate that while he does take the viewpoint of the downtrodden, he also tends to be guilty of that which he accuses others of doing, that being extremely biased. One need merely read his "People's History" to see that Zinn tends to take the most damning evidence he can in order to paint the most dismal and depressing picture of any given historical occurrence. I'm not sure of his motives, but reading his literature, my classmates and I did see a distinctive "whatever makes us look worse" approach at telling history.
    The problem with this, is that if you are going to rule out the white oil tycoon's anecdote about conditions at his factory during the 1920's, because you feel that he is biased, it is, in the sake of fairness, safe to act in the same way concerning the opinions of the laborers in said factory, despite whatever motives that man might have to talk poorly about his employer and/or working conditions. Zinn tends to take the view of the latter over the former, in any given scenario. This is a vague example, but for Howard Zinn to complain about biases, incentives, or an almost "selective censorship" is a laughable concept, if one's actually read his literature.
  • ismael rosales replied on 04:41 AM on November 12, 2008
    Professor Zinn's vast knowledge about the history of this country is impressive; he's definitely one of those rare specimen on the brink of being extinct.
    I have to agree with him. He points out in this interview that "American policy,[whether at home] or abroad; American policy has been known for being [immoderately vehement]". After reading "A People's history" which by the way, it's only the tip of the iceberg,I found out that the good ol' precept that has been followed by many it's still very much alive it states that "in order for the "newcomers" to flourished in this foreign land, they had to do a little uprooting here and there and then a little transplanting and voila. Is the same old recipe that has been used since the dawn of history, America could be consider until now perhaps just a footnote in the history of monkey see monkey do, see 2001: A Space Odyssey... I mean if you can understand the symbolism here.... goodbye bubble. At any rate...since nowadays we are all in the business of rating, testing and measuring ourselves, if I were to test America about their success in ethnic cleansing one would have to admit that America has done a borderline excellent job at it. How could we prove that? Well it ocurred to me that the only way to prove Professor Zinn right was to go travel and gather as much info as possible and one way to do that was by: observing.
    After visiting many states and towns I concluded, by virtue of, first hand examination... one fact the Native @merican family has eroded. Not even at the reservations nor casinos did I happen to see one and if I did see one they were mixed.

    So the question I ask myself is the following: Christopher Colombus has a day in the calendar that we all celebrate yet he decimated millions of natives, why is it that Hitler does not have one? what kind of limitations are there when it comes down to decide how history should be written?
  • Joe Munson replied on 11:20 PM on May 27, 2009
    I have read many of the responses to Howard Zinn's thoughts on history books that are currently used in schools today. I have also read "The People's History of the United States", and I agree with the comment regarding Zinn's biases....to a point. Howard Zinn does tend to be extremely critical of the elitist governmental structure that exists within the United States, and he does paint a dismal picture at times. However, Howard Zinn has been very effective at provoking the discussion of issues that for so long were swept under the rug. The fact is that progress and the industrial machine have caused a lot of suffering for people throughout the United States and abroad during the past 300 years. Howard Zinn is one of the few people in academia with the courage to give a voice to the downtrodden in our society. He forces his readers to take a multi-cultural perspective, and to critically analyze the underlying motivations for United States internal and foreign policies.

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