Knowing the Past: it’s not about the answers—it’s about the questions
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
20-9-2018 2:00 PM
Description
When this year’s symposium topic was announced, I immediately said, “Yes, I want to give a talk!” Of course I said that: I’m a medievalist and a linguist—the past is my métier. But then I realized I couldn’t easily explain even to myself why I thought knowledge of the past was valuable, indeed necessary. Certainly, knowing something about history helps people from making groundless and even false assertions. And recent studies on the brain show that human beings shape their conceptions of the future on their knowledge of the past. But as I contemplated this question more deeply, I realized that the greatest benefit knowing the past has given me is the ability to ask better questions. In the presentation I will explore some ways I’ve found that to be true in my own research, teaching, and experience.
Recommended Citation
Monteverde, Maggie, "Knowing the Past: it’s not about the answers—it’s about the questions" (2018). Humanities Symposium. 7.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2018/2018/7
Knowing the Past: it’s not about the answers—it’s about the questions
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
When this year’s symposium topic was announced, I immediately said, “Yes, I want to give a talk!” Of course I said that: I’m a medievalist and a linguist—the past is my métier. But then I realized I couldn’t easily explain even to myself why I thought knowledge of the past was valuable, indeed necessary. Certainly, knowing something about history helps people from making groundless and even false assertions. And recent studies on the brain show that human beings shape their conceptions of the future on their knowledge of the past. But as I contemplated this question more deeply, I realized that the greatest benefit knowing the past has given me is the ability to ask better questions. In the presentation I will explore some ways I’ve found that to be true in my own research, teaching, and experience.
Comments
Convocation Credit: Society and the Arts and Sciences