Catch-up bump!
Posted on 05/19/2002 7:13:30 AM PDT by NoRepublicrats
Universal World Civilization Syllabus
by Joseph R. Stromberg
UNESCO approval pending.
Note: I taught history for eight or so years, part time, in a sleepy community college in a sleepy place near beaches. By the time I was doing this, "Western Civilization" had given way to "World Civilizations," a much friendlier concept. The textbooks began including more and more chapters on Asia, Africa, and the Americas than was traditional. Faced with students who knew nothing at all – they were products of American high schools, after all – and were unlikely to learn 30% more material than the older Western Civ courses had called for, I did what most instructors did: I taught the Western chapters and the one or two non-Western ones that I found interesting. There was no PC inquiry into what we did. That is the advantage of teaching in a sleepy backwater near beaches. In a real university, heads would have rolled. I’m happy to be out of it; but on the small I chance that I might someday take up the teaching of World Civ again, I have prepared a model syllabus which is more in keeping with the way the subject seems to be taught in real centers of learning.
COURSE I: AGE OF RACISM, SEXISM, AND GREED
4000-1500 BC.* Racism, sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, hierarchy, homicide, and greed invented by European White Folks. High civilizations flourish on other continents; unfortunately, they neglect to leave any written records or impressive artifacts. Something was going on in China.
1000 BC, more or less. Dwellers on edge of desert invent monotheism with universal ethic. Unfortunately, European White Folks take this over by first century A.D. and introduce racism, sexism, etc., into it.
800-200 BC. Greek branch of European White Folks display minor achievements. These they stole from the Egyptians, who were mostly Nubians. The most important Greek contribution was to alternate lifestyles. And don’t forget about SLAVERY. (I caught you nodding off just then.)
200 BC to 450 AD.* Roman branch of European White Folks unify Mediterranean world. They are best remembered for importing new cults and foreign immigrants into Italy. You mustn’t forget about SLAVERY.
450 AD. Unspeakable Germanic White Folks topple Roman Empire in west. Racism, sexism, etc., go through the roof.
450-1250 AD. Dark Ages, characterized by Christianity, racism, sexism, etc. Europeans live in mud huts and fight with sticks, while high civilizations, which unfortunately left few records or material artifacts, thrive elsewhere.
900 AD. Aztecs invent new universal religion with strong emphasis on individual sacrifice for the common good.
Something was going on in China.
1250-1400 AD. Renaissance. Revival of ancient Greek texts promotes creative lifestyle choices along with hermetic mysticism, astrology, and alchemy, breaking stranglehold of racist, sexist, etc., Catholic Church.
Mongol Khans attempt to organize progressive Central Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.
COURSE II: AGE OF IMPERIALIST RACISM, SEXISM, AND GREED
1492 AD. Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus imposes Spanish Catholic version of racism, sexism, etc. on western hemisphere. A long period of SLAVERY (you almost forgot), rape, pillage, and religious faith ensues, which is only brought to an end by Dr. Fidel Castro in 1959.
1600-1776 AD. Growth of racist, sexist English colonies in North America. Because of the law of gravity, most of the racism, sexism, etc., came to be concentrated in the South. This problem has not yet been fully addressed. SLAVERY is the only explanation for events in this period.
Something was going on in China.
1776-1787. Sexist, racist American Revolution. This is only important for Five Words ("all men are created equal") and the creation of a state that would one day rule the world in order to undo racism, sexism, etc. Students will prepare term paper on SLAVERY.
Somewhere in here, Thomas Jefferson fathers Hemmings children.
1787-1861. Sexist, racist pioneers flow across North America, creating Gun Culture. Second term paper on SLAVERY.
c.1830 AD. John C. Calhoun invents states rights, a notion of which no one had any inkling prior to his writings.
1837 AD. Sexist, racist, Calvinist Dutch farmers ravage South Africa, killing all the inhabitants, who nevertheless survive as political majority awaiting arrival of Xhosa-Communist regime in 1994. Do I need to mention SLAVERY?
1861-1877 AD. Sexist, racist rebellion by Southern pocket of evil. Put down with insufficient bloodshed by inspired leadership carrying out the Will of History. Omelette of Reconstruction defeated by failure to break enough eggs.
Some kind of war in China.
COURSE III: AGE OF MARX, LENIN, AND HARRY HOPKINS
1877-1914 AD. Europeans live in mud huts and fight with sticks. Americans spend their time engaging in racism, sexism, etc. Hardly anything is produced.
1914-1918 AD. European civil war disrupts civilization but makes possible human liberation via Bolshevism.
1918-1939 AD. Fascism threatens bright promise of Bolshevism.
1939-1945 AD. Racist, sexist Europeans again at war. Slightly less racist side prevails, owing to assistance of Soviet Union. Some deaths reported. War chiefly fought over genocide in which every German willingly participated.
Something going on in China.
1947-1989 AD. US Government unfortunately diverted by lengthy quarrel with Soviet Union. US takes up its historical mission to purge the earth of racism, sexism, Christianity, etc., from 1990 forward.
1999 AD. US air forces bomb European White Folks for the first time since heroic age of World War II. A great victory for anti-racism.
POP QUIZ: 1. The bombing of Guernica was a crime never to be forgotten. 2. The bombing of Dresden was a necessary aspect of doing Good. Explain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* in a fully executed parody these would be "BCE" and "CE." My fingers just won’t type that.
May 18, 2002
Joseph R. Stromberg [send him mail] is holder of the JoAnn B. Rothbard Chair in History at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and a columnist for LewRockwell.com and Antiwar.com.
1918-1939 AD. Fascism threatens bright promise of Bolshevism.No matter how much evidence is presented about the failure of Marxism/Communism the true feelings of academia is that communism has never been given a fair chance here on planet earth. Perhaps as you point out were are all programmed at an early age in white male dominance, sexism and racism and you must include homophobia in your list. If only Communism was done right you'll see that "true-Marxism" is the best system we would all be living in a utopia.
My son was in a state training camp (read state university) in the late 90's and his professor in World Civilization was more a Marxist preacher/evangelist than a teacher. Sadly, as you point out the brainwashing continues and the left loves their revisionist history.
The only good thing is that most kids realize it is propaganda and blow off the left-winged programming.
My favorite phrase is High civilizations flourish on other continents; unfortunately, they neglect to leave any written records or impressive artifacts... I would merely add impressive artifacts unambiguous as to their provenance. Indeed these "sophisticated high civilizations" completely neglected writing, an indispensable ingredient of every other high civilization in the universe.
I was just yesterday pondering another current ingredient of PC history, the role that popular fiction plays in the establishment of history centuries hence.
I was watching the movie "Air Force One" for the umpteenth time, a movie I have always enjoyed, entertaining, engaging and full of action; but a strange thing happened this time: I became aware of the PC ingredients subtly woven throughout, a fiction of such proportions that it turned the movie into a comedy for me. The previous suspensions of disbelief did not mask the fact this time.
I will leave it to the readers to discover these "PC" gems in the movie, and perhaps find the ones I missed. I was able to notice 4 major ones. Heaven only knows how many minor ones were missed.
And there is no doubt in my mind that the same mentality that glorifies patently fake "high civilizations" today will similarly glorify the achievements so clearly defined in a movie which, of course, can be assumed accurately to reflect the actual social conditions of the period.
I fear for my great great great grandchildren...
Well, I suppose you could put it that way.
The Aztecs, ironically, were very close to being the perfect communist society without the atheism. Of course, there was no separation of church and state at that time so it really didn't matter. The state was god and god was the state.
a.cricket
I became aware of the PC ingredients subtly woven throughout, a fiction of such proportionsI complain while watching almost every movie lately and my wife picks up the Hollywood programming but suggests it ruins her appreciation of the film if I sound off too much.
I usually point out:
1. Blacks are always portrayed as being smarter/streetwise and having senses that whites don't possess. Example is Whoopie Goldberg in Ghost or any movie or Star Trek episode Whoopie Goldberg plays in.
2. Christians are all mental cases -- the more devout the Christian -- the bigger the mental case -- and of course christians love to do violent acts/rapes -- and of course engage in child molestation.
3. Military movies for the last 10 years always have the action take place in a court room. All military action is wrong and the outcome needs to be decided in court and some member of the military punished.
4. Sex between teenagers has no consequence. No babies ever happen or diseases spread.
I guess if I really took some time the list could really get long.
terrorists who got hold of a A-Bomb were ArabsI have heard this is true also that the director changed the Arab villain to show a more PC bad guy. The last time on the screen I can remember seeing a bad Middle Easterner is in a Sally Field movie Not Without My Daughter.
Since Hollywood began they have been altering scripts to portray their view of how society should be. WW II is the best example of showing the Hollywood's agenda where they wanted beat fascism. Since the 60's they've pushing drugs and sex and left-winged politics.
Stromberg also shows too much of his Rockwellite tendencies. Learning about slavery packs a shock at first. Then one learns more about slavery's prominence and persistence in history and sees it in perspective as an enduring institution and way of organizing society. In the end, though, one still ought to be able to feel something of the original shock, if one retains a feeling for justice. Future generations will marvel at our Rockwellistas, libertarians who take slavery in stride.
With regards Hollywood about four years ago my friends starting saying "lets eat first and then go home after the movie." I realized that they were not interested in hearing me go on and on about the brainwashing we got at whatever particular movie we saw,it ruined their meal.
One interesting thing I have noted and can't figure is that "suspense" movies remain suspenseful longer now that two or three people are smoking. For about ten years the murderer was the only smoker and so the mystery was over as soon as the killer lit the cigarette.
You still find such blights in schools and colleges but most thinking people take PC and multiculturalism as bad jokes.While I agree with you about some of the propaganda is ignored the leftist programming has had a measurable effect on how young people think. I work with recent college grads and my own kids are recently out of college. While most kids easily shrug-off the revisionist nonsense programmed by the leftist's view of history many kids still cannot. I have met several young women who believe us white males are basically evil and are not to be trusted even though they know better -- this is how they've been programmed to look at us.
Also the code word "diverse" is also used by recent grads to mean, good or very good. So if the cafeteria, has a "diverse" menu, then that means the food is good. If we have a meeting and they say that the participants were a "diverse group" then it was a good meeting. This PC garbage does have an effect.
Alas, yes it is true.
Islam is a culture of peace.
The irony is, had the movie remained faithful to the book, it would eventually be deemed prescient, in addition to being a lot more entertaining, and a reflection of the real world.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.