History Should Make You Uncomfortable
Sydney Sheehan
Citation: Sheehan, Sydney. “History Should Make You Uncomfortable.” The Coalition of Master’s Scholars on Material Culture, November 20, 2020.
Keywords: Discomfort, Humanities, History, Education, Classroom teaching, Learning
When Hope, MaryKate, and I sat down to think about the theme of our very first symposium, the world was in the middle of a global health crisis and our country was in the middle of a “racial reckoning.”[1] While we were learning to navigate life in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were also witnessing and participating in some of the most powerful demonstrations against police brutality and racial violence since the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). We were watching buildings burn on the news, black men and women assaulted by police in the streets, while members of our government insisted on perpetuating American Exceptionalism in schools.[2]
We wanted our theme to be relevant to the socio-politics of our current moment while also calling into question the many falsities and inaccuracies we have been taught in school. We wanted our theme to be critical and challenging not because it would be a “hot topic” but because we were facing a crucial moment where the Humanities could play a key role in encouraging people to think differently about their own ideas and so-called “truths.” It was during one of our many Zoom calls in the Summer of 2020 that one of us passionately exclaimed “History Should Make You Uncomfortable!” and we froze, because all three of us knew at that moment, this would be the theme of our first symposium.
It was not exactly “part of the plan” for me to graduate from my Master’s program in the middle of a global health crisis, especially one that practically disintegrated my chosen field with what seemed like the push of a “send” button. Overnight, museums closed, friends and colleagues were out of jobs, and fellowships I had applied for were no longer being funded. Any jobs that were left in my field required a Ph.D, even if they were entry level positions. I knew I wasn’t the only one who had the frustration of putting in time, effort, and money into a degree that was actively de-prioritized because of the politics of academia. It was from this frustration that CMSMC was created; a space for us to offer a small solution to an academic issue, while supporting the careers and voices of scholars facing the same obstacles. Not only were we dedicated to creating space that prioritized education and scholarship through material culture studies, but we felt that fresh and emerging voices would be the ones who pushed academic boundaries and encouraged progressive thinking. By making our own opportunities and challenging the complacency we found within academia and cultural heritage institutions, we sought to carve out room for ideas that could affect change.
What does History Should Make You Uncomfortable mean?
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 insisting 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 of History 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.
Endnotes
[1] Ailsa Chang, Rachel Martin, and Eric Marrapodi, "Summer Of Racial Reckoning," NPR, August 16, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902179773/summer-of-racial-reckoning-the-match-lit)
[2] Guadiano, Nicole, “Trump wants to teach ‘American exceptionalism,’ an idea he once disavowed” Politico, August 24, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/24/trump-teach-american-exceptionalism-401060
Bibliography
Chang, Ailsa, Rachel Martin, and Eric Marrapodi. "Summer Of Racial Reckoning." NPR. August 16, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902179773/summer-of-racial-reckoning-the-match-lit.
Guadiano, Nicole, “Trump wants to teach ‘American exceptionalism,’ an idea he once disavowed” Politico, August 24, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/24/trump-teach-american-exceptionalism-401060