katelynallen2 – Historical Thinking

Historical Event

November 29, 2016katelynallen2

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For my historical event I went to see the new Disney Pixar movie Moana. First off I would like to say that I very much enjoyed the movie and would recommend others to see it. I will not be giving any spoilers about the movie so its okay to read on if you will be seeing the movie. I chose to write about this movie because during the whole movie I could not stop wondering did Disney do their homework? Is this an somewhat accurate depiction of Pacific Islander culture and mythology?

After the movie ended I immediately started my search for the answers and was pretty happy with the results that i had found. I first looked at the depiction of Maui and what he did in the movie compared to the Islanders mythology on the demigod. Maui was said to have slowed the sun in the sky, pull the islands from the sea, and bring man fire etc. The director and writers, in my opinion, really brought a very respectful depiction of the mythology. Although, the team had combined the myth of Maui from various cultures such as Hawaii, Tahiti, and New Zealand just to name a few. This gave an interesting view of the Pacific Islander beliefs and culture. Disney is making great stride to be fairly historically accurate with a few artistic liberties to perpetuate the story, but all in all stayed true and respectful to the culture they were portray in this movie and others.

I have noticed that when I watch movies or go to places with a long history or background in a community I ways try to look in to it and find out more.

Globalization or Appropriation?

November 15, 2016katelynallen2

This week the podcast that we were required to listen to really caught my attention. In a world of politically correctness and of mixing cultures it is hard to draw the line between appreciation of a culture and what is appropriating. First it is important to define what appropriation is the “act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” In the podcast the theory presented in the podcast is that of anti-essentialism to refer to the calculated use of a cultural form, outside of your own, to define yourself or your group. Strategic anti-essentialism can be seen both in minority and majority cultures, and are not confined to only the appropriation of the other.

This “appropriation” often occurs without any real understanding of why the original culture took part in these activities or the meanings behind these activities turn into “meaningless” pop-culture or giving them a significance that is completely different or less value than they would originally have had been meant to be. An important question to ask what is just cultures coming together and stealing aspects of a culture. Taking one small aspect of someones cultural identity to make it one of trend or fad can be emotionally and culturally scaring. I feel most people don’t mean to cross the vague line but it comes from a place of not knowing the history and where products you partake in.

“Congress Created Dust Bowl”

November 8, 2016katelynallen2

In the Knowles writing the cause of the Dust Bowl was a natural cycle. dust storms and low participation are natural conditions within the Great Plains. He argues that what the dust bowl would have happened whether or not the population of farmers were on the plains. Although the farming practices may have accelerated the process. Dust storms were regular occurrences but the lack of population may have been the reason my have interrupted the data collected. In contrast Worster’s theory says that the Dust Bowl was purely due to the malpractice farming and man made. though he does recognize the fact that Knowles pointed out that the storms were a regular occurrence. The ground in the plains was used and abused. The natural grasses form the plains were uprooted which helped keep the top soil grounded. The fact that the farmers did not understand how to not over till and over work the soil which gave the dry and windy plains fuel and create a lasting storm. Raldrich25 brought up an interesting point about the media coverage to promote the New Deal. I feel like the media coverage also brought the country together, like in the San Francisco Earthquake media helped connect the two coast in a time of need. The idea that the dust bowl was crated by man is really entreating to me because being from northern California moving down her you will see sign on farms claiming that “Congress Created Dust Bowl” down the length of the state. Now these are different conditions but its interesting seeing the connection. In this fight farmers blame the government for taking water from the Sacramento Delta and diverting it to Los Angeles. Is history doomed to repeat itself?

The Not So Unsinkable Ship

November 1, 2016November 1, 2016katelynallen2

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In the reading for this week was Biel’s “Unknown and Unsung” which took a look at the disaster of the sinking of the Titanic through the scope of race, gender, and social class. The ship was obviously built as a luxury liner fit of the wealthy that could afford all the amenities offered. The large rooms were meant to give the passenger the same comfort of home. where as for the lower class passengers were given little space and almost to no comforts. Due to the over sized rooms and other luxuries for the upper class passengers there was no room for enough lifeboats for all the on the ship. This decision made by the designers of the ship reveals a blatant disregard of the lower classes and shows what big businesses and parts of society see as important.

Through disasters come stories of heroism and sacrifice, stories of brave persons giving their life to save another. The Titanic is no different… As rhruska said in their post (http://courses.shroutdocs.org/hist300a-fall2016/archives/719) that “the disaster caused many to reference chivalry and the duty of men.” Many feminists of the time saw this as the perpetuation of conservative views of gender and social status. Read more →

October 19, 2016katelynallen2

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Karl Marx

October 19, 2016katelynallen2

Karl Marx was a great philosopher of his time writing the Communists Manifesto. while reading the manifesto you can really get a sense of the times claiming “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” The Communist Manifesto is the attempt to explain his underlying theory of communism. The struggle between classes, mainly those exploiting another, is the cause of historical developments. The manifesto was written during the time of the industrial revolution when rapid urbanization was occurring. The movement to cities and the creation of new classes helped fuel the fire between the classes. Marx explains that the development of a society is inevitable and that a capitalist system is unstable.

As a historical figure, Marx is very important to how different societies and governments developed. His theory is still relevant in economics, philosophy and government. Marxist theories became the building block to many governments like in Russia, China, and North Korea. As a historical figure I believe we have to look back on Marx’s ideas through unbias means. As erodriguez317 said in their post there is a stigma when it comes to communism that we as historians have to get past to get the context and interpretations of the manifesto.

“It Must Be Made Safe”

October 4, 2016katelynallen2

Patricia Bixel’s essay talks about the aftermath of the hurricane that passed through Galveston in 1900. She points out the stubbornness of government officials in doing anything to prevent the effect of natural disasters (Brixel 228). After the hurricane the people of Galveston had to ban together to rebuild and find the best ways to prepare themselves for disasters in the future. The essay island city had two important ways that the city had to change. One of the changes had to be physical changes to the town’s disaster prevention. Brixel brings up that multiple suggestions to improve the cities storm readiness, the great “Sea Wall” was built by 1911. Many organizations suggested many improvements to the city, but Brixel depicts the struggle of the citizens in trying to make necessary improvements to their town. The citizens were not well informed enough to make sound decisions in trying to recover a totally destroyed city. Another change that was necessary in rebuilding the city of Galveston the citizens had to change the political structure of the government. The changes that the government had gone through demonstrates the society’s ability to adapt to changes. As @Plooppy1 mentioned the citizens of Galveston called for necessary sacrifices for the progress of all. The changes made in during the reconstruction of Galveston helped prepare the citizens for another hurricane.

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Faith and Doubt

September 20, 2016katelynallen2

While reading “Faith and Doubt” I found it interesting how many people turned the devastation around to rejuvenation. As humans we always look for meaning in why things happen to help us wrap our minds around why disasters happen. Christians believed that the fire was an act of God punishing the city for its wrongdoings and sins. This idea that God had a hand in the “purification” of the city is very interesting to me. In times of devastation and destruction people cling to ideas and faith to help cope with the loss of their earthly belongings. Giving a positive spin on what otherwise is negative gives people the strength and hope to pick up the pieces and move forward. The fire brought of a great cleansing brought on by God giving the city a second chance to rise from the ashes and start over (Biel 146), much like the phoenix giving new life.

The worst in society are often brought out in times of need and hardship. Smith explains a greater sympathy for the rich due to their higher losses, but he also claims that the fire wasn’t necessarily bad because it helped purge the poor areas. The lower classes are often seen as the scapegoat when morality is in question. As Armando35 mentioned the fire vanquished the poor neighborhoods gave to city a chance to be morally upright again in the eyes of the upper classes.

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Historical Thinking – Fall 2016

Author: katelynallen2