I see you point and i agree with it.lowing wrote:
Because wether or not George Washington was gay has absolutely no bearing regarding his contributions to history. I do not care, nor does history, what Lincoln did in the bedroom as straight guy, but if he were gay, NOW it is historically relevant and we are supposed to consider that? Yeah right.Uzique wrote:
lowing it's just another module, essentially, to history and sociology. it's just trying to incorporate recent social progressions and historical movements into the official syllabus of history teaching. what's the problem? some of the most definitive social change of the 20th century have been for civil rights of the individual. do you have a problem teaching about black rights in school? the fact is, whether or not you like it, that most of the cultural change and academic 'progress' since the 1960's onwards has been in the disciplines of feminism and homosexuality. i see no problem in trying to address the historical 'black hole' from the 1950's onwards (or the decline of the official civil rights movement) to acknowledge that, yes, what has actually been happening has been a smaller and quiter revolution in sexuality. what's the problem? are you opposed to teaching history as it stands and as it factually is, or are you offended because much of later 20th century western social history concerns queers? i suspect it's the latter, old man.
we are constantly revising our account of history according to current social norms, views and expectations - constantly looking backwards to review what has happened through a different, shifting perspective. just as most historians were keen to view everything through the lenses of marxist criticism when it enjoyed a left-wing academic vogue, so now people are keen to look back at gender politics and the influence of sexuality on history. i see absolutely no problem with looking at history through a varied method of different critical perspectives. no one account of history is necessarily any more important or right than the other-- it's all a matter of application.
But its important to teach people about the role homoseksuals have played in history, but in regard to their homoseksuality. Like Rosa parks. Discuss that groups history using a person that actually played a large role in its development.
As soon as they start teaching people about a person that has nothing to do with the devlopment of homoseksuality in history, but he just so happened to be gay, then theyre going to far.