History Should Make You Uncomfortable is a phrase that we believe calls into question what it is we think we know. Too often, “history” in the grade school classroom is taught as a factual recounting of events in the past. While more specialized iterations of “history” class teach  increasingly nuanced and even critically analyzed material, what we are taught at a very basic level does in some way stay with us and influences the way we think. By asserting that History Should Make You Uncomfortable, we are insisting that there is more to the story you think you know.

History Should Make You Uncomfortable also asks scholars, and the public alike, not just to approach the subject with a critical eye, but to think about why these uncomfortable histories that we know to exist have not breached mainstream understandings of the world. It calls into question authority and visibility in the historical record and asks learners to question why it is we learn the things we do? By re-centering these marginalized, and often uncomfortable histories, our capacity to learn grows exponentially not just as individuals but societally.

Finally, History Should Make You Uncomfortable, simply put, insists that the learning process should not be an easy or comfortable one. That is not to say that learning should not be a positive experience, but rather that an effective tool in learning is discomfort. There is always a level of discomfort attached when one is faced with a new idea or experience, yet it is pushing through that feeling of discomfort that personal growth is found. It is through discomfort that one can learn to be a better learner. It is for this reason, and so many more, that History Should Make You Uncomfortable.

The symposium will consist of 5 presentations from emerging scholars and one keynote speaker. 

Register here.