Leadership and the Humanities Class Blog Posts

Having grown up in Mississippi, I am no stranger to a revisionist portrayal of our nation’s history. Following the Reconstruction era, white southerners rewrote the history of the Civil War and indoctrinated generations of white students with the false narrative of an unjustified federal government takeover of the South. This ploy proved successful, contributing to the rise of the KKK and the glorification of the Confederate battle flag and Confederate monuments. The parallels are striking between the white South’s revisionist history of the Civil War and Howard Zinn’s first chapter of “A People’s History of the United States,” titled “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress.” 

Zinn’s depiction of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas offers an insight into the bleak reality of this chapter of American history. One story that stuck out to me was Columbus’ treatment of the Arawaks. In his journey to find gold, Columbus came across the Arawak people, whom he treated as commodities that could fill the void of gold. Zinn described the genocide of the Arawak people: “In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead” (Zinn 348). The Arawaks who were not murdered outright were worked to death: “By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawkas or their descendants left on the island” (Zinn 348).

Samuel Eliot Morison, a Harvard historian and author of Christopher Columbus, Mariner (1954), buried the numerous accounts of enslavement and murder such as this one under a glorification of Columbus’ journey and discovery of America. Morison’s book is not the exception, though. Prior to Howard Zinn’s textbook, stories like these were often neglected. This neglect did not occur because of a lack of evidence suggesting a different narrative, though. 

Bartolomé de las Casas, a priest who became a “vehement critic of Spanish cruelty” wrote many reports of the conquistador’s mistreatment of the Indian people (Zinn 348). Las Casas described the “Endless testimonies … [that] prove the mild and pacific temperament of the natives … But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy; small wonder, then, if they tried to kill one of us now and then … The admiral, it is true, was blind as those who came after him and he was so anxious to please the King that he committed irreparable crimes against the Indians” (Zinn 364-382).

Howard Zinn’s PHUS paints a picture of entitlement and superiority, and an indifference to human life. While this picture is frightening and largely untold, it is indicative of what the future of America would hold: oppression of many, enforced by the leadership of a few, endorsed by a white, male populace resistant to change.

 

*Citation numbers reference Kindle location for E-Book, not physical page number

 

Leave a Comment

The first chapter of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History Of The United States” really caught me by surprise. For all of my life I was told how great of an explorer and person Christopher Columbus was, and reading that this was actually not true really shocked me. Knowing that I was told false information for my whole life made me question what else I have been taught that also isn’t true. History is a strange thing and involves a lot of human error. We are told versions of stories that could not actually be the reality of what happened. This chapter showed me that I was intentionally told the incorrect version of Christopher Columbus’s story. 

In the reading I learned the harsh realities of what Columbus did. He held thousands of Indians hostage and enslaved and raped them. One tribe in particular, the Arawaks were really affected by the actions of Christopher Columbus. They were entirely wiped out, “none of the original Arawaks or their descendants [were] left on the island.” (Page 5).  This opened my eyes to the fact that Columbus was not as good of a man as I once believed. We are not told the full story about the way Columbus acted because the version we hear in grade school is short and sweet. It gives us false hope that our country was founded in a peaceful and comforting way, so we have a false sense of security in the place we live.

 

3 Comments

Upon finishing Chapter 1 of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, I am amazed at how ignorantly I was taught history of American colonization in my youth and adolescence. From my cheerful and sing-songy kindergarten Thanksgiving play to my fifth grade “explorer assignment” for which I documented an account of all of Jacques Cartier’s explorative accomplishments and presented a proud biography summarizing my findings, colonization was always romanticized in my elementary education. It was not until my eighth grade US History class that I began to recognize the inequity so tightly entwined with the history of colonization, though my experience may be comparable to Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morrison’s half-assed attempt at covering any liabilities in his brief and dismissive mentions of Columbus’s faults. This was the year that I learned from one of my most progressive history teachers, who told us basic information about the massacres and other horrors committed by conquerers, but in retrospect probably only treated this as part of the process, an unfortunate necessity in history’s progression.

If I’m being reasonable, I can’t really blame this teacher personally. After all, as Zinn notes on page 8, historian’s accounts of the past … “cannot be against selection, simplification, [or] emphasis.” In acknowledgement of this, it was really impossible for my early education to not be tarnished by ideologically motivated accounts of history that were written in favor of colonization and mass produced as allowed by the populations of wealth that supported the publication of such ideas.

Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder how the world might be different, and likely better, if Columbus had never enslaved and killed the Arawak people, if the Spaniards hadn’t overworked Indigenous tribes to the point of near extinction, if the English had never massacred the Pequot people, and if the Massachusetts Bay Colony had never pursued King Philip’s War. If America’s Indigenous tribes had been allowed to further develop and maintain their populations and communities without interference from colonizers, how might the land we live on look different today? Proponents of colonization often assume society would have developed into something much less advanced than it has, but is this really true? After all, Zinn describes the League of the Iriquois as a confederation of tribes that embraced equity in property through communal ownership, assigned equal governmental power to men and women, and enforced justice in a way that encouraged repentance rather than assigning permanent criminal status to certain individuals. In many ways, I’d consider these characteristics of society to be much more socially advanced than the parallels we see today, from extreme disparities between socioeconomic classes to continued lack of adequate female and BIPOC representation in government to the destructive nature of our criminal justice systems.

As I conclude these thoughts, the thing that most resonates with me from this reading is Zinn’s justification for his approach to history. asserting that it is deceitful to illustrate nations as communities with universal interests and that writing history with the goal of maintaining patriotic morale in this sentiment is wrong. He further elaborates that he doesn’t intend to approach the telling of history in order to avenge its victims and denounce their oppressors, as this would ultimately exhaust our moral energy to absorb further knowledge of history. With this in mind, how do we find the answer to telling history in such a way that appropriately recognizes the injustices of our past and subsequently encourages proper social reform without deterring young learners from the pursuit of this academic discipline?

1 Comment

After reading the first chapter of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, I am disappointed with America’s education system. I am aware of the mistreatment of the Natives by European settlers but not to the extent that was portrayed through this book. I feel as if it is almost a crime to hide this information from our youth. Of course, I understand that some of the events may be traumatizing or too gruesome but the fact that I didn’t even know there were millions of Natives killed in just this time period (not even including during Western expansion) is ridiculous and stunning.

I feel it is unfair for the historians who write our history textbooks to be able to decide what is fit for us to know or not. We should be given all the information in order to form our own opinion on the history of this country. It’s saddening that so many people celebrate Columbus Day, believing that Columbus was some great hero when in reality he was a greedy narrcessist with tunnel vision who didn’t care who or how many died as long as he got what he wanted

Additonally, as I reflect on the current state of our country, I wondered what it would be like if we modeled our behavior after the Natives. They respected each other for who they were. There were no laws yet people understood that their actions had consequences, but at the same time, if they properly atoned for their faults, they would be forgiven. No one was power hungry or invasive of other people’s property. Obviously, our world is very different from what it was over 400 years ago, but just understanding the principle of community and respecting others would take our country pretty far.

2 Comments

After reading the first chapter of “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, I was filled with disappointment. Throughout the first chapter,  Zinn paints a portrait of Christopher Columbus & other conquerors who exploited the people of their new conquered lands. Zinn describes the inhabitants as both kind and extremely generous with both their belongings and manpower. Despite their kind efforts, Columbus exploited, raped, burned, and killed these innocent people. Throughout the chapter, Zinn continues to illustrate the disgusting truth behind numerous other unethical acquisitions in the Americas. Sadly, many other historical pieces of literature continue to ignore the truth behind these different historical events. 

As I reflect on these different events, one of Zinn’s questions remains prominent in my mind. Zinn asks, “Was all this bloodshed and deceit… a necessity for the human race to progress from savagery to civilizations”(17)? Although the Native Americans were forced into this new form of “civilization”, they should have been given the choice. In fact, the destruction of these peoples didn’t benefit their own civilization, but rather the white, European world. If Christopher Columbus and others never found the Americas, what would civilization look like today? I also have begun to question other important moments of history and how the removal of these events would have changed our society today. That goes to show how important historical events are to the formation of present day events.

 

4 Comments

After reading Howard Zinn’s first chapter of A People’s History of the United States, I realized this book would be interesting because it will tell the story of a familiar historical event from an unfamiliar perspective. The perspective Zinn uses is the perspective of “the people”, not of “the heroes”. I am pretty sure everyone learned about how Christopher Columbus was a hero and sailed across the sea and found this New World, North America, in the middle of his voyage.  Well Zinn uses the perspective of the Arawak to tell the story, by doing this he introduces new information to the readers that was not taught in school. New information like, Columbus being greedy, ruthless, and navigationally incompetent which leads us to the simple truth, there was nothing noble or heroic about Columbus’s expeditions to the New World. The natives welcomed the foreigners even though they were invading their land, and the invaders like Christopher Columbus, Francisco Pizarro, and Hernando Cortes still responded with violence and cruelty. For some reason the history textbooks left that part out, which led many people to believe these men were heroes for finding all this new land and getting rid of the natives.

 

Howard Zinn makes it clear that his book is not just another history book filled with the same typical boring history lessons. Instead it is a book responding and challenging the many history lessons that have been from the perspective of conquerors, colonizers, and etc. By writing this book Zinn is telling a version of history that is typically not taught in schools, this version holds people like Christopher Columbus accountable for their crimes which is great. Columbus and other known explorers seemed to not express any guilt about torturing and murdering innocent people that were in their way of conquering new land and new wealth. Zinn uses comparisons between the people of today and the conquerors from history, that really showed how Americans have not really changed. Just like in history we are divided between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, we definitely have changed since 1492, but not as much as the history textbooks make it seem.

2 Comments

After reading the first chapter of A People’s History of the United States, to say I am eager to keep reading and learning from this book would be an understatement. I loved how authentic the entire section felt, explaining the beginning of the discovery of the Americas without sugarcoating any details, widening my perspective on everything I was previously taught about Columbus and the early world explorers. I found many details astonishing and almost unbelievable, and found myself angry and disappointed in past textbooks, articles, and lectures that left this kind of information out to fit the mold of traditional history lessons. I believe all history textbooks should take notes from this book- not only because they need to update their lessons and details, but also to adapt their way of relaying the information. Instead of boring, monotonous facts we have all heard before, this was descriptive, fresh, and much more relevant, which helped establish a greater connection to its readers.

 

I also enjoyed reading the small excerpts written by the people of that time period, giving the reader a firsthand look into what was really going on at the time, and the writer’s opinions on it. I liked how it broke up the actual author’s text, adding evidence and proof to support their claim. I found Las Casas’ accounts of the way the Spaniards treated the Indians very compelling, especially when he said, “My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write” (7). It inspired me to begin writing in a journal again, because who knows what history books will want in 100 years!

 

Finally, I could not help thinking about the comparisons between the conquerors and the people of today. Although the world has changed considerably since 1492, primal human instincts are still the same- people desire things that are valuable to assert their dominance, and will stop at nothing to procure these things. Instead of valuable gold and land, they are pay checks and houses. People yearn for status, power, and wealth, and I don’t know if that will ever change, or what that will look like in the future.

3 Comments

Although we should never just take things as they are, the first chapter made me realize how much we really have to analyze the information we are given. As we have been talking about, we know that history is written by the victors, and because of this, we are left with a one-sided story from conquerors, masters, and other exploiters. What is left behind are the histories that were ignored but still very much matter, because their lack of accounts in textbooks is telling of another story. Even instances where a perspective other than an imperialist is included, important information is casually brushed aside. Take the journeys of Christopher Columbus for example. While what he did to the native people is not completely ignored in textbooks, it is not fully emphasized either. What he did was mass murder but that type of language was never used to describe his expedition. This is not the only example of this but instead, this happens in the time, even with major events in history. How events are being written in textbooks is as much of a problem as what is being written and is as problematic as leaving information out.

 

Throughout this reading, what kept getting my attention was the drastic difference between the natives’ introduction to new people compared to that of the invaders. Despite there being foreigners on land that was rightfully theirs, they were still welcoming and generous. For some reason, that was never offered in return. Whether the invader was Columbus, Cortés, or Pizarro, their response to generosity was violent and savage behavior. For the sake of short-lived materialistic gain, they treated the natives as expendables and had a constant disregard for the value of their lives because they were different. Regardless of where in Europe they came from, these colonizers showed a pattern of violence. It is unfortunate that due to the lopsided history that we are provided, we are unable to analyze the patterns of the native people, who, in only a few accounts, proved themselves to be respectable people.

 

4 Comments

This reading offered yet another example of the false reporting of Columbus’s journey to the Americas, and truly exemplified the problems and flaws with the glorification Columbus day that we see annually. After listening to the
Podcast immediately before this, I am surely confident that the story I idolized for many years is full of banter, lies, rape, exploitation, manipulation, and many more horrid traits that would disturb the entire world should the real truth become common knowledge.

To touch on a few points that stuck me as more enlightening and interesting than others; the fact that Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in the early stages of his journey, enslaved the residents of that territory unless he was granted gold was sickening to me. It is recorded in the text that in two years that Columbus occupied that territory, modern day Haiti’s population depleted by more than 50% due to enslavement, torture, and suicide. Furthermore, when Columbus came up short on the Gold that he promised his financial supporters in Spain, he instead gave them enslaved people from the Caribbean area, which further aided the depletion of the indigenous population. Overall, the narrative of Columbus arriving in the Caribbean, and after the United States was gruesome, pitiful, and horrifying, and allowed me the opportunity to understand the deep problems rooted in the recordings of history.

To touch on one final point that was intriguing about the passage; Zinn was intelligent to mention the reasons for the celebration of Columbus Day, as well as providing a justification why. He noted that whenever historians account the past, they choose what facts emphasize the narrative that they are trying to push, and consequently people are left with a broken record of the past in which they are unable to obtain the truth without extensive research and digging. Secondly, Zinn hinted at the fact that this type of recording supports the view of governments, conquerers, leaders, and diplomats. In society, those type of people and Regimes are viewed as leaders with goals in mind, and modern day history is taught to unify a country, and celebrate the untrue accomplishments of “leaders” that were actually people of poor moral and ethical standards.

Conclusively, this reading was fascinating for me as I was able to deduct the true story of Columbus, identify the problems with reports and accounts of our countries, and world’s past, and understand the reasons behind this poor reporting.

4 Comments

I believe that the only way to be able to move forward is to look back at past experiences and analyze them and see what mistakes we have made. I really enjoyed reading “why history matters” by Corfield where he mentions that history is not only useful for us but rather essential and needs to be taught and remembered. This importance comes from the fact that every human being on earth has their present knowledge linked to past experiences.

 I always thought that present knowledge is wholly dependent on people’s history and I was amazed to see that Corfield has mentioned this claim and backed it up with scientific evidence such as genetics. Learning and understanding how history is so vital in shaping individual lives from an expert’s perspective were interesting as his arguments were really engaging. It allows every person to sit down and look back to reflect on past experiences and understand how they can shape their present knowledge, morals, values, and beliefs. Such an act as Corfield explained is essential because being rootless causes harm not only to oneself but also to people around in society. Therefore, rather than following the steps of people in power who always tend to write and change history the way they want and the way they benefit from it, learning about one’s past allows people to weigh what they think is right or wrong and derive into their own personal conclusions. Personally, I think this is the best way to change the present and be able to move ahead as I mentioned earlier because this task helps individuals develop their critical thinking and gain more information from several resources that are not biased.

 In addition to that, I liked how Cortfield presented a counterpoint to his argument by Henry Ford who tried to prove that history is “bunk”. He weighed his arguments precisely and refuted Ford’s point with evidence, and finally came to the conclusion that history is with no doubt important even if studying the subject does not directly affect one’s life. I agree that every chance to gain education about the past is not useless. For humans to be able to further evolve we have to look back and dig deep into our ancestor’s history and understand it. This opportunity allows a person to learn how to be a leader. Therefore, the subjects of history and leadership complete and even rely on one another; when we realize our past mistakes we grow and become better leaders.

1 Comment

All three readings assert several claims about the true meaning of leadership and how history relates to leadership. Corfield makes an interesting claim that “all people are living histories.” This means that everyone has a past and events in their lives that have brought them to their current point in life. I think that this concept is important to look at when studying leadership and how to act as a successful leader. With studying history also comes examining human beings and how humans have learned from the past. This relates to Bass’ claim that the “leader should be the most important element of government.” This claim may have been more relevant while monarchies were more common, but as times progress and we learn from history, so does leadership. In the same sense, Corfield mentions that humans have the ability to learn from “vanished” cultures, further supporting the claim that history can tell us a lot about successful leaderships.

Bass makes a claim that leadership in itself has many definitions and meanings depending on the institution and environment in which the leadership is discovered. This directly relates to Corfield’s ideas about the distinction between cultures and societies throughout history. Corfield says that one cannot learn from the future but humans must learn from the past. History is always being made and with this, we learn from events that have occurred and people that have lived in the past. What I think Bass really means when he says leadership has many definitions is that leadership is constantly evolving just like history. How we learn from history and the past is also how we evolve our leadership styles and use prior leaders to change what makes a successful leader in the present day.

3 Comments

Through the readings of Concepts of Leadership: The Beginnings and The Meaning of Leadership, both written by Bernard M. Bass, it was interesting to read about the different meanings of leadership and leaders themselves, as well as how they maintained their power. In Concepts of Leadership: The Beginnings, Bass talks about how different stories and myths were created about different leaders, and that helped civilizations. Bass mentions the story Beowolf and others which were used as explanations for why various leaders had their power in society. In the same reading, Bass continues to talk about how leaders got support from the common people. The preferred way was if the leader gained this respect through popularity, but if this couldn’t be accomplished, the leader needs to create power through violence and anger. 

This connects to the reading The Meaning of Leadership since Bass talks about the many different definitions of leadership. He continues to mention the confusion that the word “leadership” has with it. Continuing on this, Bass states that the definition of leadership is dependant on the environment it is said in and has to do with the ability to getting the compliance of the people in which you are “leading”. Overall, it was fascinating to read Bass talk about how the terms “leadership” and “leader” have different meanings depending on the person one would talk to. Hence it is important to consider the person someone is with when mentioning in the idea of who is a leader and who is not.

5 Comments

The three readings for this class all relate to one another, as they each focus on the meaning of leadership and the role of history in leadership and the humanities. However, I am going to focus on the two Bass readings. I found Bass’ definition or lack therefore most interesting in his writing “The Meaning of Leadership”. He states that “leader” was a part of the English language hundreds of years before the word “leadership” was even recognized. This then relates to incorrect assumption that leadership is an innate ability that all leaders possess. Bass then unpacks this assumption and instead argues that actual definition of leadership can depend on the institution that it belongs to, thus always changing.

Bass goes on to list some of the many understandings of leadership: an exercise of influence, a personality trait, a differentiated role, a power relation, etc. While these definitions alone could help to define the concept, he emphasizes that most times it is a combination of these ideas that actually define a specific type of leadership. Personally, I have found it difficult to describe what Leadership Studies actually is when asked by peers and family members that are unfamiliar with the area of study. Bass has helped me to understand more easily how to accurately describe what I am learning to these skeptical people.

In Bass’ article titled “Concepts of Leadership,” he expounds on the idea that leaders are everywhere and are not necessarily what we would consider to be the “typical” leader. The “typical” leader being a king, priest, chief, etc. He states that with leadership comes responsibility and references Hegel’s Philosophy of Mind, where Hegel says that in order to be a successful leader, one needs to serve as a follower first. Subsequently, only then the follower becomes the leader and can understand his or her own followers. This idea stood out to me the most as it is the key to great leadership that many often do not consider.

5 Comments

In Bass’ “Concepts of Leadership” I found it very interesting to compare and contrast the styles of leadership from then to now. Leadership styles now are obviously vastly different to the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. For instance, “The Odyssey advises leaders to maintain their social distance.” While maintaining a social distance is obviously a good idea during Covid times it’s more difficult to lead when not seeing people face to face in the modern day. The best leaders interact with their followers thus allowing them to gain more appreciation and approval from their people. This is best demonstrated by modern Presidents of the United States using their bully pulpit in order to gain more approval of the people.

In contrast there are certain parts of history that stay true today when defining successful leaders. Specifically when defining heroic leaders, “The Greeks admired and thought were needed in heroic leaders were (1) justice and judgement (Agamemnon), (2) wisdom and counsel (Nestor), (3) shrewdness and cunning (Odysseus), and (4) valor and activism (Achilles).”  Those are many of the qualities that Americans look for in wartime leaders. This is usually when a President has their highest approval ratings because they display exactly the qualities the Greeks say are necessary for a strong leader. 

5 Comments

As stated previously, only the histories of Great Men were written until recent history, which was mainly exaggerated or exemplary stories of kings, rich people, or unusually talented individuals. It was interesting to me to compare leadership stories and values of the modern-day to those of the past, especially those in Ancient Greece. The older stories of Agamemnon, a crucial fighter in the Trojan War, and Nestor, known for his foresight and intelligence, became long-lasting guides for their society’s leaders. Today, we still strive to follow the same leadership principles outlined by these stories, but we associate these values with people living today or in extremely modern history rather than passed down legends. I think this fascinating difference is a result of living in a fast-paced and connected world as well as in a society that values its possible future over its history.

One idea that particularly stood out to me in Concepts of Leadership was the extreme importance of myths to make subordinates. Although the author applied the idea that “the greater the socioeconomic injustice in the society, the more distorted the realities of leadership – its powers, morality and effectiveness” will be to mythology, I attempted to apply this to real life. The first example that came to me was North Kora, a country where they not only see their leaders as faultless but as untouchable gods. Instead of utilizing their position in their government to raise people from poverty (inflicted by their government and history), North Korea uses the facade of their myths to control, manipulate, maintain power. Although most/many governments utilize some form of myth/historical basis to preserve power, North Korea was the most striking example of this practice in combination with socio-economic injustice in real life that I could think of.

4 Comments

In Bernard Bass’s Meaning of Leadership, he touches on the idea that there is no concise and rigid definition of “leadership”. Professor Bezio mentioned this same issue on the first day of class, and I am curious to see how we start to broadly define it throughout the course.  “The meaning of leadership may depend on the kind of institution in which it is found”, this quote from the article hones into the idea that leadership looks different in every situation, every institution, and every person. There is no way to have one simple definition.

Bass’s Concepts of Leadership illustrated that the leadership qualities that society values has changed overtime, and will continue to. In my Leadership and the Social Sciences class we discussed that there are many cognitive, interpersonal, and personality traits that all prove to be important to have as a leader. These include integrity, self-confidence, wisdom, expertise, authoritarianism, passion, and many more. The historical views of leadership discussed in this article from time periods as far back as B.C. times seem to emphasize power and authority as the most necessary traits to have to become a successful leader. 

In today’s society I believe we value more than just law and order and power within our leaders. As followers, we want to relate to our leaders on a more personal level and follow them because they are passionate, not simply because they seem to be powerful and mighty. 

6 Comments

Bass’s article, “Concepts of Leadership: the Beginning” stuck out to me most out of the readings. Besides learning a definition for leadership, we read about how leadership’s definition has evolved through history.

One quote that stuck out to me was, “the study of leadership rivals in age the emergence of civilization, which shaped its leaders as much as it was shaped by them.” This reminded me of the podcast, because professor Bezio talked a little bit about people learning from example scenarios in history. I believe leaders learn from previous leaders mistakes, or even their strengths, and then lead a certain way because of that to an extent.

The other thing that stuck out to me was how generalizations of leadership are still being found today. This reminded me of how professor Bezio said in her podcast that the great person theory has been disproven. Many people who have the qualities of a great leader, never lead anything in their life. I found these two points to tie together in the sense that, while some may have certain principals for a what a leader needs, many common people can share these qualities as well.

Along with that, Bass wrote about West Point’s fundamental principal today which is, “by first serving as a follower, a leader subsequently can  best understand his followers.” This was interesting because it goes along with the fact that common people can be leaders and there are untold histories about them that need to be shared. Through the concepts of leadership from an early time that Bass discusses, we can see how there is no set definition or generalization of what a leader must have. With history, we can learn what worked and what didn’t and where to go from there; evidently, leadership’s definition is still changing today.

4 Comments

“All people and peoples are living histories.” This simple sentence at the beginning of the second paragraph in Penelope J. Corfield’s article answers the overarching question: why does history matter? Corfield then goes on to point out obvious examples of this “living history,” including languages spoken, traditions and religions practiced, and even the use of technology that another person made. Corfield states that “understanding the linkages between past and present is absolutely basic for a good understanding of the condition of being human.” 

    Every individual, whether consciously done or not, seeks out their history. Sometimes it is as obvious as creating your family tree. Other times it is as simple as asking your parents or grandparents about their lives before you were born. I dug deeper into my own history by exploring Ancestry.com and submitting a DNA sample to 23&Me. I had no idea that I was 0.9% Spanish and Portuguese. I learned so much from just a little saliva in a tube. However, stopping there would only give me part of the story. In order to fully appreciate where you can from and how you became the person you are, you have to understand the context of when your ancestors lived. 

    In a broader sense, understanding history and historical topics on a global scale can help you understand why the world is the way it is today. History is every moment (ever), from when the earth was first created (whether it be divinely or scientifically) to every time someone tried to invade Russia in winter. One can look at history and learn from the mistakes and triumphs of people who lived before them. Any opportunity for education is not “bunk,” it is something that should be valued and appreciated. When you learn from the mistakes and triumphs of history, you can better understand both human nature in its essence and where we are going as a species. 

4 Comments

My first week on campus was a dream. Beyond the ability to share a living space with like-minded people of similar age to me, I had the opportunity to get to know one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. However, for all the beauty the University of Richmond has to offer, the amount of goose poop often turns the brick-lined sidewalks into minefields. The feces, while annoying, serves as a reminder — a history if you will — that geese call this campus home too. While humans often do so in a more sterile way, Penelope L. Corfield reminds us in All people are living histories – which is why History matters that we too leave our marks on history. In order to leave a better mark than our geese neighbors, Corfield encourages us to study history. In the process, we connect ourselves to the shared story of humanity by gaining an understanding and appreciation of the factors that shape our society which prevents us from living destructive lives. Thus, the study of history helps us add to humanity in a helpful, rather than harmful, way.

 

Like history, leaders have a shrewd role in helping us live connected, positive lives. In Bernard M. Bass’s Concepts of Leadership, he asserts that leaders have “rights and privileges, duties and obligations.” Certainly, among a leader’s obligations is an understanding of how history leaves a scar — for better or for worse — on our institutions, jobs, and personal lives. Thus, excellent leadership requires an astute understanding of and appreciation for the humanities. This does not mean that all leaders exhibit said qualities. As Corfield notes, Henry Ford — who undoubtedly was a leader in the automobile industry — claimed to find history “bunk”, or useless. However, later in his life, Ford collected antique automobiles, suggesting that he did, after all, understand the impact history had on his industry and, furthermore, his role in shaping that history. That understanding, whether or not it is explicit, ties leadership and the humanities together in an inseparable bond.

 

4 Comments

Defining Leadership in a short and concise manner is next to impossible.  The word has developed over the years, and in many places did not even exist until just a few hundred years ago.  Bernard M. Bass emphasizes the sophisticated nature of the word, and he helped show me why we have leadership studies courses here.  There are many ways in which people throughout history try to define leadership, and  this little article makes me wonder if we can correctly identify the word, and if certain groups see different meanings in the same word.

 

Bass drives home one of his central arguments that history presents a variety of types of leaders, but the study of Leadership is more than just history.  Leadership Studies is a deeper and more extensive look into society and how leadership is created and executed.  Although leadership studies is much more than just learning about leaders, the value of learning the past should not be diminished.  Thousands of years of history books help to expand our knowledge of what makes a “good” leader, and with the knowledge of the past hopefully we can build a better future led by educated people that also understand the pieces of leadership that can not be understood by reading about previous leaders.

4 Comments