Professional Documents
Culture Documents
history and its uses. She illustrated that history is dangerous, that it is the basis of
identity, that it teaches us useful skills, and she warned us that it can be misused. She
ended the lecture with a call to arms when she said that we should all, “become
dangerous,” by using the tools of the historian. In other words, the purpose of the lecture
Dr. Botelho began the lecture by telling us that historians have been persecuted in
the past by people who wanted to twist history for their own ends. She gave the example
of a historian named Block who was killed by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany because he
was more interested in the truth than he was in supporting Nazi propaganda.
Historiography is the study of history. History is what has come before you,
informs you and shapes your future. If a person has memories then they have history.
The goal of history is to admit what you don’t know and to act on what you do know.
Dr. Botelho said that history can be used to shape the future, but not to predict it.
This idea was echoed in Gaddises work, “The Landscape of History.” Since history
repeats itself, we can learn from those who have come before us. Dr. Botelho illustrated
this by telling us that Macheavelli warned us that if we face an enemy we should either
annihilate them or leave them with some dignity. If we leave them injured then the
enemy will eventually rise against us. At the end of World War I Europe left Germany
humiliated and as a result they rose again and caused World War II. That could have been
avoided if Europe had heeded Macheavellis warning. Gaddis also used this exact same
Dr. Botelho said that our identities are formed from history. We define ourselves
arguments and the thesis. When we study history we make judgments and learn how to
present them persuasively. This is useful for corporate management, for example.
Another example is Dr. Wang-Chi, the head of the history department at IUP, who is
McCarthy misused it to persecute political rivals when he ran the House Unamerican
Committee. Jerry Fallwell misused it to blame minorities and secularization for the
events of 9/11. Ann Coulter misuses it today when she attacks Democrats by making ad
Dr. Botelho’s conclusion was in the form of an answer to the traditional Honors
College question, “Therefore, what should we do?” She said that we should all, “become
dangerous by using the tools of the historian.” In other words, we should analyze
arguments and pursue truth in order to learn from the past. This will make us dangerous
because we will not be easily swayed by the powers that be when they try to bend history