Single Historied

Question 1: Reflecting on your own experiences after reading Images Outside the Mirror by Meneses (2016), what other countries/peoples/races/groups would you argue had a single history imposed on them and what were the consequences of that? Or with whom were they forced to share silences or memories? 

Reflecting on this question, and having just returned from a central texas camping trip with the family, when I think about the area where we camped it was nice to see so much diversity of culture and history within that central Texas region. 

There is a heavy influence of German tastes and cultures, German-style beer gardens are popping up all over the area, then there is a very prominent Mexican culture and history, as well as Polish, and now Indian and Chinese growing all throughout the state. When I consider the "single history" aspect of this and Texas History, I am surprised to what degree Texas and Texan's are "single-historied." Most of that single history revolves around 1836, the Alamo, and the war for Texas Independence (seeing the Alamo was a part of our trip). There are great things about this "single history" or "shared history." Texas has a pride of ownership within it's citizenry that starts at 1836 and helps to influence that "melting pot" approach of living. 

However, after reading Menseses (2016) it made me think of the lost history that having a starting point of 1836 creates. Menseses writes "colonial relations came in many forms, such as conquest, rebellions, religious missions, scientific exploration, education, medical services commerce, and economic exploitation, voyages, art, etc. In addition to the absolute denial of the colonized, colonial relations, often marked by domination and violence, are also characterized by multifaceted processes of appropriation. There were numerous forms of appropriation, such as religious, economic, demographic, political, linguistic, artistic, intellectual, etc. With different intensities in space and time, these appropriations and (re)creations generated contradictions and conflicts throughout this process" (p. 120). 

Sitting at the Alamo, thinking about all of the cultures around me, and that melting pot, I thought of the original Mexican inhabitants of Texas who became Texican's as the colonizers moved it. Then it made me think of the Apache and other Native American/Indian tribes that were colonized by the Mexican immigrants . . . and on and on through history to I suppose the original Clovis people of North America. That process of appropriation occurring over and over again. What from all of these cultures gets unexpressed or pushed down through the process of creating a single history? What shared silences are out there that are not known because of this process of constant and continuing appropriation? When I read that passage, especially while visiting the Alamo, where to separate groups of "colonizers" warred for Texas in a religious mission, all of what Menseses (2017) wrote about took on new color and a new perspective. 

References

Meneses, M. P. (2016). Images outside the mirror? Download Images outside the mirror?Mozambique and Portugal in world history. In A. Darder, P. Mayo, and J. Paraskeva (Eds) International Critical Pedagogy Reader (pp.118-128). Routledge