History Revisionism Questions

[DebG]

Hello!
While I am still learning many things in history along side my children, I am concerned about "History Revisionism". (or "Politically Correct" content)
How do I know what parts in history are changed and what parts are not?
Are there notes to caution us? Like in Hakim's books? (I wouldn't know all of it on my own. )
Also, I don't think the alternate list would be addressed in the notes but is there any thing in Story of the World, Western Civilization by Spielvogel or anything else that you know of that would be of concern?
Thanks!
Deborah
...Also what are your thoughts on David Barton's materials, would he be a trusted source?

[fourgrogs]

If in doubt, seeking out the source documents on a given topic, person or event is the surest way to uncover facts. Granted, there still may be bias or left out information in a source document, but you can usually discover why.

I appreciate David Barton's Wall Builders site because he does provide many source documents, especially about the Civil War, the journey of African American civil freedoms, the Planting Fathers of America and their governing articles, etc.

[DanaCinTN]

Hi Deborah,
Yes, at the end of each week-plan is a page called "Glance," which gives you a birds-eye view into the next week-plan. If a book has issues that may be concerning (bias, inappropriate illustrations, curse words, etc.), it is noted there. At the dialectic and rhetoric level, we also try to teach the students to discern bias in reading as well, using the Socratic discussion format.
**You are right that we don't put warning for alternates in the Glance...there just isn't enough space, so you'll want to check those yourself.

Blessings,

[tuzor]

So is TOG revised history? I am new to TOG and can you explain what revised means. Does this mean chuncks of history are left out or the names of people are changed. For example in some material you read about Native Americans or Africans they are refered to as savages. Is this information changed? Please explain more. Thanks.

[DanaCinTN]

Hi,
No, I wouldn't call Tapestry "revisionist." If I understand the term correctly, it's a "rewriting" of history in such that terms are used that are politically and culturally "correct." While the authors of Tapestry seek to portray people of all races, religions, and creeds with kindness, we don't backtrack and change what Native Americans or Africans were called. So, some of the books we use that were written long ago may refer to "savages," but the curriculum itself tries to use gentler terms such as "Native Americans." History is what history was, but, as Christians, we can examine the actual events and actions in light of God's word and seek to learn from past mistakes and successes.

Blessings,

[Pat]

Here's an article on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histori..._(negationism)

My personal point of view is that history is always under revision. There are many factors such as discovery of new material, but it can also mean focusing on different topics of a particular time period or how a historian interprets historical events.

I think Tapestry does a good job selecting resources and including discussion for older students who are ready for that discussion to weight the evidence and points of views involved.