A country’s interpretation of history allows us to understand their rationale, to seek the “why,” and that’s the whole point when you’re trying to accept and adapt to a foreign culture.Īs Herman said on the results of her thesis: You might say, “If no one’s telling The Truth, then history is useless.”īut that’s not the case. So, considering all these selective details and interpretations of history, what exactly is “the truth”?Īs we’ve previously discussed, from a cultural context, there is no One Truth – at least none that we’ll ever know, as bias will always exist, in the writing of history and in the reading of it.īut what these interpretations can teach us is how different cultures view the world, how they view themselves, and how they hope to shape future readers’ perceptions of it all. Chinese textbooks also interpret 9/11 as a sign of the decline of American authority on the world stage.Chinese, Brazilian, and Indian textbooks emphasize the “reckless” actions taken by the U.S.Turkish textbooks omit their extremist Islamic faith.Pakistani textbooks call the assailants “unidentified terrorists,” omitting their identity.American textbooks highlight the tragedy using volatile language and emphasize how the country came together after the attack.She was curious how these events appeared in other school history textbooks around the world.įor her university thesis project, and later for research under a Fulbright scholarship, Herman analyzed textbooks from thirteen different countries to examine the differences in how this attack was being taught. Graduate student, Elizabeth Herman, returned to her old high school about a decade after the tragic event had unfolded and discovered the school’s new history textbooks already detailed 9/11 and its aftermath. The case of how 9/11 is presented in various textbooks across the globe shows how history isn’t necessarily skewed with time it’s biased even in the moment, as originally reported by historical textbooks. While distant history can still smart a bit, recent history often stings more. So, what “truth” do we choose to believe? History is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone wants to be the hero of their own story. It can also help you avoid stepping on any landmines that might lead to a Monkey Moment. When you enter your host country, knowing their historical perspective can help you better understand myriad aspects of their culture. From the North and South’s view of the Civil War to those of China versus Japan of WWII, interpretations of history differ wildly across the world.
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