Marice Diokno Speak and Inspire: Re-writing the future by looking at the past
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the importance of historical context in understanding events and the challenges of learning history due to its 'unnatural' nature for the modern mind. They reflect on the common perception of history as a boring subject, often due to poor teaching methods and textbooks. The talk delves into the role of history as a learning tool, emphasizing the need to transcend the present perspective and appreciate the past's context to truly grasp its significance.
Takeaways
- 🌟 The speaker discusses the importance of understanding historical context and narratives from different countries, such as Chile, Peru, and Argentina, emphasizing the role of truth commissions and the preservation of memory.
- 📚 The speaker is a history teacher who acknowledges the common perception of history as a subject that is often disliked due to its teaching methods and the dry nature of textbooks.
- 🤔 The speaker challenges the idea that history should be about memorizing facts, arguing that a human's role is to understand and interpret, not just to regurgitate information.
- 📈 The speaker suggests that history is not just about dates and events, but about understanding the context and reasons behind actions, which is a fundamental aspect of the discipline.
- 🧐 The speaker mentions that thinking historically is considered unnatural by some because it requires looking at events from the perspective of the time they occurred, rather than from a modern viewpoint.
- 🏛 The importance of context in historical understanding is highlighted, with the speaker using an example of how a joke said in a certain context can be misunderstood when taken out of it.
- 🌐 The speaker reflects on the difficulty of relating to the past, comparing it to trying to understand a foreign country, and the challenges historians face in making the past relatable.
- 🛠️ The speaker talks about the need for historians to develop conceptual and methodological tools to help understand and interpret historical contexts.
- 📖 The speaker criticizes the way history is often taught, suggesting that it is boring and poorly taught, which contributes to students' lack of interest in the subject.
- 💡 The speaker believes in the importance of history as a learning tool, despite admitting personal bias due to a love for the subject, and attempts to provide a more objective perspective.
- 🔄 The speaker emphasizes that advancements in science and technology are built upon discoveries and achievements from the past, illustrating the interconnectedness of history with present-day progress.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the script?
-The main topic discussed in the script is the importance and challenges of learning and teaching history, particularly in the context of truth commissions and the role of memory and context in historical understanding.
What are the two stories mentioned at the beginning of the script?
-The two stories mentioned are related to the experiences of truth commissions in Chile, Peru, and Argentina, which dealt with severe oppression, and the concept of memory and how it is passed down through generations.
What is the National Historical Commission Ed?
-The script does not provide a clear definition of 'National Historical Commission Ed', but it seems to refer to a discussion or event related to historical commissions and education.
Why are truth commissions and their testimonies important?
-Truth commissions and their testimonies are important because they provide a record of past events, often involving human rights abuses or oppression, and help societies understand and come to terms with their history.
What is the role of memory in the context of history?
-Memory plays a crucial role in history as it allows individuals and societies to recall and interpret past events, even if they did not directly experience them. It helps in preserving the narrative and lessons of the past.
Why do students often find history boring according to the script?
-Students often find history boring because it is frequently taught in a way that is not engaging, with textbooks that are difficult to read and do not spark interest. The script suggests that the way history is taught can be improved.
What is the speaker's profession and how does it relate to the script's topic?
-The speaker is a history teacher, and their profession directly relates to the script's topic as they discuss the teaching of history, the importance of context in historical understanding, and the challenges faced in making history an engaging subject for students.
What does the script suggest about the natural tendency when thinking about history?
-The script suggests that the natural tendency when thinking about history is to view it from the lens of the present, which can be limiting and may not fully capture the context and reasons behind historical events.
Why is thinking historically considered unnatural according to the script?
-Thinking historically is considered unnatural because it requires us to look at events from a different context and time period, which goes against our instinct to view things from our own present perspective.
What is the importance of context in understanding history?
-Context is crucial in understanding history because it provides the background, environment, and reasons that influenced the actions and decisions of people in the past, helping us to gain a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of historical events.
How does the script relate the study of history to the development of technology?
-The script relates the study of history to the development of technology by pointing out that advancements in science and technology are built upon discoveries and achievements from the past, emphasizing the importance of understanding historical context for current progress.
Outlines
📚 The Challenge of Teaching History
The speaker begins by discussing the difficulty of teaching history, noting that it is often considered a subject that students love to hate. They mention their teaching experience in Philippine history and the common perception of history as boring due to the way it is typically taught from textbooks. The speaker emphasizes the importance of context in understanding historical events and the challenge of making history relatable and interesting to students, especially when dealing with events from the distant past.
🔍 The Unnatural Act of Thinking Historically
In this paragraph, the speaker delves into the concept that thinking historically is unnatural for most people. This is because individuals tend to view history through the lens of the present, rather than understanding the context in which events occurred. The speaker uses the example of how a simple joke can be misunderstood when taken out of context, highlighting the importance of context in interpreting historical events. They also mention the difficulty of relating to the past, especially when it feels distant or foreign, and the role of historians in developing tools to bridge this gap.
🛠️ Methodological Tools for Historical Understanding
The final paragraph focuses on the methodological tools that historians use to understand and interpret history. The speaker acknowledges the existence of basic conceptual foundations within the discipline of history, which are essential for a proper understanding of the past. These tools are crucial for placing events within their proper context and for providing a more accurate and nuanced understanding of historical occurrences.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡National Historical Commission
💡People Power
💡Oral Testimonies
💡Context
💡Memory
💡Historical Thinking
💡Education
💡Textbooks
💡Historical Discipline
💡Methodological Tools
💡Foreign Country
Highlights
Introduction of the topic relating to the National Historical Commission and the importance of truth commissions and oral testimonies.
Discussion on the challenges of understanding past experiences and the role of memory in museums.
Conceptual and methodological problems in storytelling and the question of who tells the story.
The paradox of memory and the difficulty of having a memory of events one was not alive for.
The author's experience teaching history and the common perception of it being a subject that is loved to hate.
The critique of history textbooks being boring and conducive to sleep rather than engaging learning.
The importance of context in historical understanding and its impact on interpretation of events.
The idea that thinking historically is unnatural due to the tendency to view the past through a modern lens.
The necessity of understanding historical context to grasp the reasons behind actions and events.
The role of history in appreciating the cumulative achievements of human progress over time.
The challenge of relating to historical periods that are distant and seemingly foreign.
The development of methodological tools by historians to understand and interpret historical context.
The author's personal bias towards history and the difficulty in being objective about its importance.
The assertion that history is not just about memorizing facts but understanding the reasons behind events.
The comparison of historical understanding to entering a foreign country, highlighting the difficulty of relating to the past.
The importance of history as a learning tool and the author's reflection on its value despite its perceived lack of marketability.
The changing perception of history's relevance in the modern world and its increasing marketability.
Transcripts
[Music]
say something fresh I want to start by
relating two things that um to introduce
my topic one over the past two days
since
Monday National hisorical Commission Ed
people power
Commission Round T
discussion
memory one from
Chile one from Peru and another from
Argentina um severe oppression and and
as a result of
that truth
commission oral testimonies photographs
videos
Etc
experiences at more importantly to us
you know to learn from their
experience memory Museum and then what
were even the conceptual and
methodological
problems basically who who are we
telling this
story
narratives and and that went on and on
it was very very interesting so of
course in the course of the
[Music]
discussion
sense of the
past memory well of course you were not
even born then how can you have a
memory but we are hoping memory through
your parents or something but the
general sense
is so that's one story the other story I
want to say is that I teach history uh
up deliman uh I teach uh ge history uh
Philippine history and you know usually
I start my class by asking the kids okay
tell me why is uh history the subject
you all love to hate and nobody argues
with me I just start my class with the
assumption that nobody well there are
one or two who will surprise me Mom I
love history oh my kind of a guy you
know but normally I start with the
assumption that you know they don't like
it and why
and
boring well it's really badly
taught I mean more often than not the
textbooks are they're nice to read if
you want to sleep I read it so I can
sleep you read one or two pages
automatic so textbooks are
boring a
common reason given to
me memory which of course I find so as a
historian rather insulting because you
know if you want someone with just the
perfect me memory of facts then don't go
to a human being you can put it in the
computer and you have a
robot you know who can spew out all
these facts and dates and events but
anyway I understand I understand the the
the thinking of young people and
usually because I want to I have to St
start somewhere and I cannot start from
where I am first of all I am much older
than my students so I have to start
where they are and in a way it also
helps me understand maybe how young
young people think so why what what is
so important about history as a tool of
of learning I think this is why you
asked me to speak of course I'm a lousy
person to invite in this sense I'm
biased as they say quentas claras no you
be transparent well love history I love
it and one lesson I can share with you
in life don't when you start working you
have to do something you really enjoy
you know history doesn't pay you much Al
that's why it's not marketable okay
although I have to correct that now
things are changing and I can relate to
you more recent experiences but I love
history so I'm probably the worst person
to ask why is it an important tool of
learning so I will try to do something
and be a
little more objective although you will
of course see my biases which I'm not
hiding anyway now there's a there's a a
book written by a he's actually a
historian and an educator where he
explains that thinking
historically is
unnatural and for him this is one
important explanation
why history is not that easy for most
people now what why why do you why does
he say that the think historically is
unnatural you see when you think of
History you want to
understand the normal tendency our
tendency is to look at it from the lens
of the present cuz you're you're not
reading it in the 19th century something
happened two centuries
ago 21st century so what is the normal
instinctive thing to do from the lens of
the here and now so I'm a ky I'm a young
student
2012 I have to study this course because
it's
required I'm looking at it from my own
point of view which means the present in
the context maybe of my family my
friends I don't know my
schoolmates
but but they're all in the present now
what does the the discipline of History
ask us to
do you can look at it from the present
but first and
foremost in history most things are
context or I would say all things are
context why nothing happens in a
vacuum people do things for a reason
they may be conscious or not conscious
of the reason but usually more often
than not there is something a fact a
particular environment a social
structure an incident that prompts
people to act in a certain
way those who are very interested in the
scientific technologies that are
developed today to realize that all
these advancements in science and
technology didn't just happened
yesterday they were built on discoveries
of centuries ago and then building upon
human achievements over time we are
where we are now we can make friends
across who knows the
cybercloud and enter into Intimate
Relationships I'm told I have never
tried I have to confess uh through
cyberspace yeah this was only made
possible because of previous
achievements history when you want to
understand what happened you have to
look at context so I give you a very
simple example of context uh you're
passing walking through the corridor and
then you hear
someone tell
another so you run and report to your
teacher okay but it was all said in a
manner of a joke that is the context
joke among Barada somebody who takes it
out of context will
say may bad May bad intention at so in
history context can change entirely your
understanding of event and one reason
why context is not always easy for us
living in the modern world to understand
H is because events happened so long ago
I mean how can you enter 19th century
life it's
unreal another historian David lenal
wrote the past is a foreign country but
at least now foreign countries you can
see on the
internet you can take a virtual tour
what about the past how does one relate
so historians have to develop all kinds
of well we have basic
conceptual foundations to the discipline
but we also have conceptual tool I mean
methodological tools that enable us to
understand
context
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