I just realized that this didn't post last Wednesday. I must have put it in the wrong space. Sorry.
In reading and discussing the articles by Haskell, Davis, and Ashworth, the idea of the individual and responsibility seemed to be a consistent theme. A large incentive for people to join the antislavery movement was the feeling that individuals had an effect on the suffering of those in other areas. This point is relevant to our conversation last week about the role of the individual in history. Even though it may be hard to pinpoint individuals besides for the major leaders, it is important to realize that one person, or small groups of people, played a role in this historical movement. I wonder how this new feeling of responsibility related to the rise of evangelicalism that we learned about in Heyrman’s Southern Cross. There was not a large amount of information in The Antislavery Debate about the role of religion in the cognitive changes occurring. However, Evangelicalism encouraged participants to create a personal relationship with G-d, and thus may have had an influence on people’s feeling of personal connections to suffering slaves. This idea of the individual holding responsibility is also important in the context of another conversation from last week about implications for today in studying history. Professor Rockman stated that although a history book probably won’t radically change the world, it can and should be significant to contemporary issues. In my small group, Stephen asked what was at stake in this debate. Why do these historians get so worked up about definitions of words and very specific problems in each other’s work? Would these authors have been as emotionally involved if they were discussing a topic other than slavery? I think that the implications for our world today give this discussion its zeal. The various references to suffering in the world today and our ability to get involved make this discussion not only about the role of individuals in stopping slavery but also the ability of people today to take on responsibility.
I just realized that this didn't post last Wednesday. I must have put it in the wrong space. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteIn reading and discussing the articles by Haskell, Davis, and Ashworth, the idea of the individual and responsibility seemed to be a consistent theme. A large incentive for people to join the antislavery movement was the feeling that individuals had an effect on the suffering of those in other areas. This point is relevant to our conversation last week about the role of the individual in history. Even though it may be hard to pinpoint individuals besides for the major leaders, it is important to realize that one person, or small groups of people, played a role in this historical movement.
I wonder how this new feeling of responsibility related to the rise of evangelicalism that we learned about in Heyrman’s Southern Cross. There was not a large amount of information in The Antislavery Debate about the role of religion in the cognitive changes occurring. However, Evangelicalism encouraged participants to create a personal relationship with G-d, and thus may have had an influence on people’s feeling of personal connections to suffering slaves.
This idea of the individual holding responsibility is also important in the context of another conversation from last week about implications for today in studying history. Professor Rockman stated that although a history book probably won’t radically change the world, it can and should be significant to contemporary issues. In my small group, Stephen asked what was at stake in this debate. Why do these historians get so worked up about definitions of words and very specific problems in each other’s work? Would these authors have been as emotionally involved if they were discussing a topic other than slavery? I think that the implications for our world today give this discussion its zeal. The various references to suffering in the world today and our ability to get involved make this discussion not only about the role of individuals in stopping slavery but also the ability of people today to take on responsibility.