History is written by who is writing the tales

I was struck by the construction of historical perspectives that are based on the accounts of the dominant race and classes of people and have rarely included the stories of women, minorities, the poor, and other groups of oppressed people. When we look back at the writings of history we have to decipher and configure what the non-dominant groups must have viewed the world at that time. The identities and personal histories of these people are based around the identities of the dominant group who were recorded history through their own voices.

Of course in much of history the dominant groups were the only ones who had the education and resources to read and write and were the only ones able to document history in this way. This is an inescapable truth about the history of the world, particularly in the Western world. The part that bothers me most about the continuation of history is that the dominant world view is still largely taught in history books throughout much of the nation, particularly in children's school curriculum. The accounts of history and contemporary perspectives can only be whole if they view issues from the accounts of everyone affected. 

Week 3 and blogging practice

The article we read this week talks about blogging as social workers as a form of public journaling, marketing, and communication between other social workers. It is true that social media and the internet have added a new dimension to the possibilities of sharing new ideas to larger groups of people. Information of any kind is accessible to everyone in an instant and an audience in any part of the world (where they have access to the internet) is possible. It is a connection with others who you may not be able to speak to face to face or even over the phone.

I think there is also a great responsibility to represent your opinions as exactly what they are: opinions. There is also a greater need for us all to be more discriminating in what we read on the internet to decipher between fact, fiction, and plain old opinion. But I think the internet and blogging has created a new environment for others to share ideas, philosophies, and be exposed to ways of thinking or viewpoints that may not have been possible before the internet. And there is certainly no turning back to life before the web.