Some of you may be interested in this:
abusing history
The Many Uses of Thomas Jefferson: “Once a Liberal Icon, Jefferson’s Now Claimed by Both Left and Right” |History News Network
Who owns Jefferson? The historian Andrew Burstein examines the many uses and abuses of Jefferson’s legacy in our nation’s ongoing culture wars. He concludes: “Distortion of the historical Jefferson reminds us that people believe what they want to believe. Our democratic politics actually depends on a mass psychology that advances through artful manipulation. We may protest the “long train of abuses” (to quote from the Declaration) that attach to statements made in Jefferson’s name; but he continues to occupy a privileged position as we converse with the past and seek to reconcile it, somehow, with our relatively disorganized present. Whoever “owns” Jefferson (or the collective founders) takes themselves to be inheritors of America’s essential ideals.” Read the entire article here:
History News Network | Once a Liberal Icon, Jefferson’s Now Claimed by Both Left and Right.
More on Putin’s abuse of history: “Vladimir Putin: History Man?” |History News Network
In his review of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, Walter G. Moss examines how Putin uses and abuses history for his own purposes. Fittingly, he concludes:
“Putin is far from unique among politicians, or even among professional historians, in attempting to manipulate history. But a true “history man” (or woman) is primarily a truth-seeker, one who puts discovering the truth before any political or personal causes, whether they are of an ideological, national, patriotic, class, ethnic, or gender nature. Philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch in her The Sovereignty of Good writes of the “honesty and humility of the scholar who does not even feel tempted to suppress the fact which damns his theory.” Without denying that Putin believes much of what he says, he possesses neither the honesty nor humility of Murdoch’s hypothetical scholar. Politicians who do possess such virtues are rare—in any country. And even we professional historians must fight a constant battle to prevent our biases and causes from trumping truth-seeking.” Read the entire article here:
History News Network | Vladimir Putin: History Man?
How ‘Wolf Hall’ will entertain millions — and threaten to distort history in the process – The Washington Post
The new BBC Masterpiece theater “Wolf Hall” once again raises questions about the boundaries of artistic license in the portrayal of real historical events. argues that “Wolf Hall,” which is based on of a series of novels written by Hilary Mantel, went too far in its distortions of history. As a result Wolfe believes that “Mantel’s version could obscure important lessons from that dark period that have continuing relevance for the present moment.” Read his entire augment here:
Mark Rylance plays Thomas Cromwell in “Wolf Hall.” (Giles (Keyte/Playground & Company Pictures for MASTERPIECE/BBC)
History as Propaganda: “Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible” – NYTimes.com
Museums in Russia are collaborators in sparking the flames of nationalism.
“Irina Y. Velikanova, a former Moscow City Council member appointed to run the museum last year, said the mission of any historical museum should be rooted in patriotism. ‘We don’t hide the fact that we are interested in forming the patriotic and civic position of Russian youth,’ she said. ‘Our goal is that when leaving our museum, all Russians would feel proud of their country.’”
Pride is one thing but history has shown that nationalism is more likely to incite hatred, intolerance, and violence. And unfortunately Russia is not the only country where nationalism is on the rise.
Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible – NYTimes.com.
Ivan the Terrible
Moscow’s Twisted History Lessons – NYTimes.com
Nationalists of all stripes have been particularly adept at distorting history to serve their own purposes. Once again, nationalism and its sidekick “selective history” have been on the rise, most notably in Russia. Vladimir Putin is a master of exploiting nationalism in the pursuit of power. Recently, as noted by Maxim Trudolyubov, Putin declared: “‘It’s time to stop taking note only of the bad things in our history and berating ourselves more than even our opponents would do,’ he declared at the annual gathering of international Russia experts known as the Valdai Discussion Club in 2013. ‘We must be proud of our history.’” Sound familiar?
Read Trudolyubov’s entire article here:
Moscow’s Twisted History Lessons – NYTimes.com.
Japanese historians seek revision of U.S. textbook over ‘comfort women’ depiction | The Japan Times
A new twist on the textbook wars! Some of Japan’s historians are complaining that McGraw-Hill published a history textbook which “contains a number of ‘factual errors’ on the ‘comfort women’ issue,” and are therefore requesting that the textbook be rewritten to their specifications. They are not content with distorting their own history within Japan, they want to make the rest of the world complicit in their nationalist agenda to deny their WWII crimes. I’m certain that McGraw-Hill won’t cave into this demand, but it does show how desperate the nationalists are. If they want to restore pride and respect to their nation, as they claim, they would do better to admit their past wrongs and learn from them. Trying to deny the past is what is bringing them shame.
Japanese historians seek revision of U.S. textbook over ‘comfort women’ depiction | The Japan Times.
Credit Robert G. Fresson, The New York Times (November 14, 2014)
Intellectual character of conspiracy theorists – Quassim Cassam – Aeon
Are conspiracy theorists prone to conspiracy thinking because they have a flawed “intellectual character”? The philosopher Quassim Cassam argues that they are. In a piece at Aeon, Cassam proposes that the “key to what they end up believing is how they interpret and respond to the vast quantities of relevant information at their disposal.” Rather than being a product of a particular environment or lacking sufficient information, he claims that the problem arises as a “result of the peculiarities of his intellectual constitution – in a word, of his intellectual character.” I think Cassam’s proposal is a welcome counter to the purely situationalist theory. But I think it is better seen as a complement to the situationalist explanation rather than a replacement for it. Read the entire article at:
Intellectual character of conspiracy theorists – Quassim Cassam – Aeon.
A Christian Nation? Since When? – NYTimes.com
Kevin M. Kruse traces the evolution of the myth that America was founded as a Christian nation from the 1920s through the Cold War. As he points out, “During these years, Americans were told, time and time again, not just that the country should be a Christian nation, but that it always had been one. They soon came to think of the United States as ‘one nation under God.’ They’ve believed it ever since.” I’ll post a review of the book as soon as I read it, but if you want a brief summary of his argument you can find it here:
A Christian Nation? Since When? – NYTimes.com.
Georgia Senate targets AP history courses as too ‘radically revisionist’ | www.ajc.com
Following Oklahoma‘s example, Georgia conservatives are trying to undercut the Advanced Placement US history courses in their state. On March 11 the Georgia Senate passed a bill (SR80) that threatens to defund the program if they do not get what they want: a mythic history promoting American “exceptionalism” and the unfounded assumption that this is a Christian nation. They complain that the AP course as it stands “glosses over or inaccurately reflects people and ideas including the nation’s Founding Fathers, the Judeo-Christian influences on the country’s development and U.S. foreign policy as outlined in the Monroe Doctrine.” If they get their way, this would set a very bad precedent in which an ideologically driven legislature can dictate what counts as history. We all need to speak out against this blatantly partisan attempt to hijack education for ideological purposes!
Senate targets AP history courses as too ‘radically revisionist’ | www.ajc.com.
History Chick in AZ 