Reflection Présis 2: Columbus and The First Thanksgiving (February 13-February 15) 108788
Part I: In these two sessions, Dr. Jendian talked about Pedagogy of the Oppressed. He explained that we have been oppressed so much, that we now oppressed others. For example, the professor gave an example of a family member that had suffered as an immigrant person, but now he has against immigrants in the United States. To continue the lesson, Dr. Jendian introduced the term Heroification which the definition he provided states, “a “degenerative proves” that distort reality and transforms “flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, and pain, credibility or human interest.”” Therefore, we present history characters as
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Jendian explained contain errors of commission and omission. For example, he explained that history textbooks keep students unaware of the nature of history. According to James W. Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, “The authors of history textbooks have taken us on a trip of their own, away from the facts of history, into the realm of myth” (32). One example of an error in history textbooks that we learned is about Christopher Columbus story. In schools, students are taught that Columbus was the one who “discovered” America. However, this is an error because people from other continents had reached the Americans before 1492. In fact, the American continent had been populated thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. Another important fact that Dr. Jendian clarified during the lesson was that Pilgrims did not introduce the tradition of Thanksgiving. In fact, Eastern individuals observed fall harvest celebrations for centuries. The Pilgrims had nothing to do with this celebration, so the dinner between Pilgrims and Indians is a myth. According to Loewen, the modern celebration date back to 1863 when President Lincoln proclaimed a national celebration known now as Thanksgiving. To conclude, the professor