French Angry at Law to Teach Glory of Colonialism

[chlamor]

French angry at law to teach glory of colonialism

Jon Henley in Paris
Friday April 15, 2005
The Guardian

More than 1,000 historians, writers and intellectuals have signed a petition demanding the repeal of a new law requiring school history teachers to stress the "positive aspects" of French colonialism.

"In retaining only the positive aspects of colonialism this law imposes an official lie on massacres that at times went as far as genocide on the slave trade, and on the racism that France has inherited," says the petition, which has also been signed by one of France's best-loved humourists, Guy Bedos, and a leading film director, Patrice Chéreau.

The law of February 23 2005, as it is known, was intended to recognise the contribution of the "harkis", the 200,000 or so Algerians who fought alongside France's colonial troops in their country's war of independence, from 1954-62, before being abandoned to a dreadful fate when the French withdrew - about 130,000 were executed as traitors.

But an unnoticed amendment, apparently tabled by MPs with close ties to France's community of former Algerian settlers, added a new clause to the bill. It reads: "School courses should recognise in particular the positive role of the French presence overseas, notably in north Africa." Opponents are angry in part because, in the words of one eminent historian, Pierre Vidal-Naquet: "It is not up to the state to say how history should be taught."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1459986,00.html#article_continue

[magnussun]

1. Please

What's wrong with that? Are we only supposed to teach the leftist, new-age version of revised history?

[Solly Mack]

4. How is it revised history to point out the devastation caused by

colonialism on native peoples? Fact is, the so-called originally written version of the history of colonialism is the revised edition...what you're calling revised is actually the corrected version, corrected to get the truth out.

I'm so sick and tired of the conservative mentality...and I read your profile...you're conservative... that just embraces the lies of history of colonialism and wants to claim that it somehow was what was best for the (so-called) "poor savages" ...when what it really did was cause the slaughter of native peoples, the destruction of their culture, and theft of their lands.

Get a clue..the only people happy to see imperialistic white people invading their country are other white epeople...and even then, not all white people.

I suppose you would also say the same if the article was about the tribes in America and how they were treated by colonialism?

and what's this phrase "the leftist, new-age version of revised history" even doing on a board for Democrats and Progressives?

[lonelysoul2020]

6. There are 2 sides to every thing in history

There are the good/bad sides that the French people saw. and the good(very little good)/bad sides that happened to the native people

[Solly Mack]

7. That's all nice and fluffy but it still doesn't answer

my question.

Any history of colonialism must always include how it impacted the victims of colonialism. Any history that attempts to deny the injury caused by colonialism isn't history, it's a bald face lie.


The post I was replying to states "leftist revised history" ..which is bullshit.

[lonelysoul2020]

9. Yes i agree with you

that history should include how it impacted the natives were colonialism took place. But I just misunderstood you I thought you meant that history should only cover the bad aspects of colonialism on the natives. my mistake

[Voltaire99]

10. Study some history, Sonny Jim.

Your outburst shows ignorance of colonial history, particularly that of France's brutality toward Algeria.

Reading the Guardian article would be a good first step.

[PeaceProgProsp]

2. I have an idea:

How about a national debate. The smartest defenders of colonialism can square of against its smartest criticis. The school teachers and book writers can watch. When it's over, they can make up their own minds about what constitutes the best scholarship on colonialism and they can pass it on to their students by trying to replicate the debate and then discussing the best arguments.

Or is that what has happened and is that why the proponents of colonialism need to pass a law to get someone to say that it was good?

[Rex]

3. France is trying to out do us

in stupidity.

[whirlygigspin]

5. shining examples of colonialism

colonialism did wonders for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Haiti...

[Igel]

8. If they have a national curriculum, it's the role of the government to

say how history should be taught.

Colonialism did a heck of a lot bad. But not all the problems in the world were caused by it. And not everything that resulted was evil or heinous.

I can see professional historians not liking being told that they should say good things about something they detest; but they should be willing to try to cover the history dispassionately, however they may deny that this isn't possible.