Who writes history?

Who reads history?

How much can we really know?

It is actually impossible to study the past because it is no longer there In effect, history is the study of some societies at some points at some times

Tendency to confuse social memory with history Difficulty of moving past the past

Symptoms against structures

Demystification and Deconstruction

The present can either bind us or free us

Inseparability of the Past, Present and Future

No inevitabilities, only tendencies

Not static, but change is almost always slow

Everything we have done, are doing, or will do inevitably affect others To claim neutrality is to take sides

To simply forgive and forget allows problems to recur

Great or Famous people are just as human as we are We study them not for them but to realize our own capacity for both tremendous good and tremendous evil

We study them less to find fault in the past but what can be done to avoid similar tragedies today

Recognizing the commonality and translatability of history Creation of too many artificial distinctions between people

Distinguishing between memorizing and honoring memory Not the details of but deriving value from history

Every human life has infinite possibilities and is therefore infinitely valuable The gauge of ones humanity is our ability to transform that of others, not only our own

To move forward, we must act as if we are free, but also mindful of the consequences The past only suggests what can be, not what must be