It's been too long since I've posted; school, job, finances and firefighting will do that to a guy. Historical Interpretation has been going pretty good so far. Our first topic to better understand why interpretation is so important in historiology is the Atlantic slave trade. We've ripped through several essays from various authors and time periods. The main points of these essays are the causes, effects and statistics surrounding African slavery and its expansion westward.
Scholars vary in opinion on the ultimate cause of slavery's growth. Some cite cultural beliefs that reach back as far as the Roman Empire. Others take a religious point of view citing, as just one example, the historical struggles between Christians and Muslims. And what would any argument be without the many Marxist philosophies. Yes, there are those too. Some geared more towards class warfare and/or the distribution of power; others are pointed to the economic advantages for, not only the European beneficiaries of slave labor, but of the African slave traders themselves.
Remember, the point of this class is not to necessarily learn about our topics (although it's an obvious perk), but it's to understand that there are many interpretations of history. Historical Interpretation is meant to expose us to multiple biases, interpretations and opinions leaving us with the task of formulating our own. Our next paper is on the slave trade and whether we think it was "caused" by cultural or economic factors. As of right now, I believe that slavery was definitely engrained into African cultures before the arrival of the first Europeans, but that economic factors coupled with ethnocentrism were the main causes of its westward expansion. I'll have to wait and see where this paper takes me though...
AE
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