Historian as curandera Essay - 4547 Words

Historian as curandera Abstract History is story we tell ourselves as Khalil Gibran Muhamad defined it , or Story we tell ourselves about how past explains our present and the way story is told is shaped by contemporary needs as Aurora Levnis Morales nicely put it. Likewise it could be stated that we become stories we tell ourselves. Thus, history has role in construction of our identity. Given the importance of the story for us, could it be different story then the one we are told in mainstream media and thought in schools? The one that empowers us instead of enslaving us? This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through†¦show more content†¦From this passage it could, also , be inferred that dominant way of seeing the world is dichotomized. I will elaborate these dichotomies later in text. It is important to underline that this is not naturally given order of things, rather it is chosen and propagated way of seeing and constructing the world in order to keep the oppressors and the oppressed in their roles; having oppressed believing that their position is predestined and unchangeable. Through mechanism of internalization this story becomes part of both oppressor’s and oppressed’s psychic life. It influences their thinking and values and making them both victims. Michel Foucault explained this suggesting