Analysis of Propaganda of History
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- Date Submitted: 02/10/2014 05:40 PM
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History’s place in society
In Buntoc Euology Marlon Fuentes, when describing his children as American born, explains that “They do not have to forget what they have never known.” Fuentes’ thought is very closely connected with W.E.B. Dubois’ central argument in his essay “The Propaganda of History” where Dubois discusses the social function of history and the obligation the historian has to society. It is very clear that Dubois would most definitely agree with Marlon Fuentes’ assessment of his children’s education as a result of their Americanization, however, Dubois argument takes Fuentes’ thought one step further, placing blame on historians for perpetuating a cycle that ultimately skews society’s perception of historical truth.
Dubois’ argument inside “The Propaganda of History” is a compelling one, and one that is currently very widely accepted to be true. The idea that history should be scientific, so that “the record of human action is going to be set down with that accuracy and faithfulness of detail which allow its use as a measuring rod and guidepost for future nations” (Dubois 714). Dubois describes the marginalization of white scholars who were sympathetic to African Americans, the complete disregard for black scholarship, and exclusion of African American witnesses in the formation of the historical record of the reconstruction era. Dubois writes, “the chief witness in Reconstruction, the emanicipated slave himself, has been almost barred from court. His written Reconstruction record has been largely destroyed and nearly always neglected” (721). Dubois argues that as a result of the ignorance and racism, those being educated at the time of the essay were being lead down a fundamentally flawed path of history with white supremacy at the its foundation. In other words, people of Dubois’ era were learning a misguided version of history. Historians were using their writings as another tool of domination according to Dubois, and as a result people begin...
In Buntoc Euology Marlon Fuentes, when describing his children as American born, explains that “They do not have to forget what they have never known.” Fuentes’ thought is very closely connected with W.E.B. Dubois’ central argument in his essay “The Propaganda of History” where Dubois discusses the social function of history and the obligation the historian has to society. It is very clear that Dubois would most definitely agree with Marlon Fuentes’ assessment of his children’s education as a result of their Americanization, however, Dubois argument takes Fuentes’ thought one step further, placing blame on historians for perpetuating a cycle that ultimately skews society’s perception of historical truth.
Dubois’ argument inside “The Propaganda of History” is a compelling one, and one that is currently very widely accepted to be true. The idea that history should be scientific, so that “the record of human action is going to be set down with that accuracy and faithfulness of detail which allow its use as a measuring rod and guidepost for future nations” (Dubois 714). Dubois describes the marginalization of white scholars who were sympathetic to African Americans, the complete disregard for black scholarship, and exclusion of African American witnesses in the formation of the historical record of the reconstruction era. Dubois writes, “the chief witness in Reconstruction, the emanicipated slave himself, has been almost barred from court. His written Reconstruction record has been largely destroyed and nearly always neglected” (721). Dubois argues that as a result of the ignorance and racism, those being educated at the time of the essay were being lead down a fundamentally flawed path of history with white supremacy at the its foundation. In other words, people of Dubois’ era were learning a misguided version of history. Historians were using their writings as another tool of domination according to Dubois, and as a result people begin...