History: What it is and why it matters.

Ordinarily, I am supposed to say something like: "History is the study of the human experience," or "history is the story of a journey that began...blah, blah, blah."
But I don't like those definitions.  So came up with my own.

History is a series of conversations that each generation needs to have.

These conversations begin as questions.

How can we know about our past?

What does our past teach us about the present?

How can our past experiences prepare us for the future? 

Most importantly, who gets to decide these things?

When we narrow the focus (as we do in this class) to American history, the questions narrow as well.

What does it mean to be an "American?"

What do "freedom" and "equality" and "justice" really mean, and what happens and how should we proceed if our reality doesn't reflect these definitions?

How do we balance the needs and wants of the many with the rights of the few?

And again: Who gets to decide these things?

The late Howard Zinn once said: "History is important.  If you don't know history, it's like you were born yesterday.  If you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything and you have no way to check up on them."

In short: history is knowledge.

Knowledge is power.

The more power you possess, the less power someone else can have over you, and the more power you have to effect your world in a positive way.

George Orwell said it best: "Who controls the past controls the present. Who controls the present controls the future."