Quote:
Originally Posted by GA Russell
Are we still talking about Texas school books? If so, I say that it is good to teach the children the truth about other civilizations, both the good and the bad.
But what is most important is that the children learn about Western Civilization. Archaeologists now agree that the Vikings discovered Newfoundland; but the word never reached the rest of Europe, so what difference does it make? From the point of view of Texans, it was Columbus who discovered the New World.
Similarly, other civilizations which pre-dated Western Civilization may have been the first in the world to do one thing or another, but if the Europeans didn't know about it, then the non-Westerners' actions had no effect on the various settlers of Texas.
I disagree with nguirado's broadly citing the Abrahamic religions as major influences on the West. I say that it was Christianity alone. Constantine became a Christian, not a Jew, and made Christianity the state religion of the Empire. It was priests, not rabbis and imams, who guided the people in the development of Europe's culture from the time of Constantine till the time of Martin Luther.
And the focus of the teachings of the priests was on Jesus Christ. To suggest that it didn't matter whether a clergyman (and the political leaders he influenced) accepted the existence of what St. John called "the Word" (or "the Logos") is to believe that the differences between Christianity and non-Christian religions were small, even trivial. Everything I have read about European history has said that the Europeans believed the differences were great.
|
Topic drift but yeah I agree with what you are saying. Depending on the course at hand, it is important to know the History of the U.S.A. and how it came about, but also in World History important to know the same about other civilizations. Same deal with contemporary studies. The focus should be on issues relevant to the society in which they/we belong, but should also incorporate a broad view of all humanity, science, literature etc.