Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

the eighteenth century, the concept of prehistory
Since
exported by colonialism to far parts of the globe
was
applied to populations lacking written records.
and
in these settings came to represent primitive
Prehistory
still living in a state without civilization and its
people
index, literacy. Yet, many societies outside
foremost
Western world had developed complex methods
the
history making and documentation, including epic
of
lal “prhistorial” and th Europan
Th
of olonizd popls hav
protohistoris
What dos it man to xlud a popl’s
1.
of thir past from history asd
knowldg
is not a nutral trm mrly
“Prhistory”
to a priod dfind y illitray,
rfrring
othr ritria. Its onnotations,
among
th ontxt of olonialism,
aquirdin
its ontinud us today.
prolmatizs
an xampl, onsidr historian and
As
Shmidt’s aounts from
arhaologistPtr
arr in Tanzania, whih rvald
hisarly
him “how our usag of takn-for-grantd
to
an offnd snsiilitis whr
onpts
usof suh trops arris th stigma of
th
nford invisiility of loal
rasurand
onsigns thir knowldg to a ralm of
•
ultur
frams that ultur as primitiv, at a stag
•
dvlopmnt for history an said
of
srvs to dny thir xistn as our
•
ontmporaris.
and the use of physical and mental mnemonic
poetry
Even so, the deeply engrained concept of
devices.
entrenched in European minds up
prehistory—deeply
the beginning of the twenty-rst century—continues
to
deny history and historical identity to peoples
to
the world.
throughout
Whn our historial knowldg of a popl
2.
from an outsid prsptiv, how
oms
this afft th omprhnsivnss and
dos
of historial knowldg?
validity
Dos history, whn tthrd stritly to
3.
lav too muh outsid its sop
litray,
onsidrd th st way of knowing
to
past? What altrnativs xist?
th
ths issus, th way history trats its
Byond
has impliations for thir prsonhood.
“othrs”
Tuhiwai Smith rflts on th influn
Linda
Grman philosophr Hgl, who onsidrd
of
as thos who ould “rat” thir
humankind
history, popl apal of rflting on
own
and thir past—only thy wr
thmslvs
as fully human. Othrs wr rgardd as
sn
arhaologists, anthropologists
Historians,
othr ultural sholars in th past oupl
and
dads hav n produing ritial
of
on prhistory. Dos th trm
sholarship
hav any usfulnss today?
“prhistory”
onlud that th trm has visitd too
Ifthy
harm on Indignous Popls and its
muh
us is unaptal, is disarding
ontinud
nough? Shmidt and Mrozowski xplain
it
th politis of knowldg and languag
that
I. Scope
I. Scope
(Schmidt, Mrozowski 2014)
For reflection
The whole of history
signifiant impliations for knowldg.
on th ritrion of litray?
Box 9.1: History and its “others” coexisting in time
non-human or prhistori.
history” (Shmidt, Mrozowski 2014).
Th trm “prhistori”, whn applid to popls:
to gin
ar not simpl in this as.
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