In Peru, a factual, chronological history is traditionally taught, which rarely generates a social impact on the behavior of students. It does not invite critical judgment, therefore neither to change.
Faced with this situation, we have the conviction that history can be documented, taught and learned from a point of view that helps to build a critical and active citizenship; that analyzes the events of the past, in order to understand our current reality, in order to make better decisions for the future, which help us not to continue perpetuating errors and negative practices of yesterday.
Although there are many studies on how to teach history effectively and didactically, where we highlight the work of the Spanish professor Joaquim Pratts, under the concept of histodidactics; In this article we want to give visibility to a vision that is not very well known, but that we believe is relevant to consider in a country like ours: the liberating history.
One of the few recent writings that raises this issue in detail is the article What History “to teach”? of the Guatemalan teacher Yolanda Estrada Ramos. This article makes a critique of the way in which history is generally taught -in a positivist way and from a domination perspective, as indicated- and raises the need to politicize history, so that it “also responds to the interests of the oppressed and invisible humanity ”.
In this article it is stated that the history taught “has been manipulated so that it responds to an educational system of domination, with interests of oppression”; about great battles, feats and apologies of individuals and social groups that have generated consciousness, but not a critical and collective consciousness. His approach is that this story is oppressive in nature, which is why there must be a liberating story as a counterpart. When defining this concept, he refers to the work of Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, to propose an approach from extreme situations and that generates critical awareness.
Also, he quotes the author Carlos Aguirre Rojas in his Antimanual del mal historiador (Anti-manual of the poor historian) to add that it is even a struggle of memory against oblivion, showing inconsistencies in historiographic results and linked to social movements to give them hope. The same author defines the “seven deadly sins of the historian”, which include positivism and lack of critical attitude, giving us additional light on the ideal methodology for this type of story. The author concludes that it is not possible to maintain neutrality from teaching if what is desired is to stop a historiography that has traditionally been favorable to the ruling class.
It is here where we dare to ask ourselves: Is it not only possible, but also necessary, a “liberating” history in Peru? This would imply a work that goes beyond the classroom, towards the investigation and criticism of the past itself and the compilation of contemporary facts to be analyzed and debated in a context where emancipation and dignity are promoted for all parties through the knowledge.
In our country, we observe the lack of civic values and poor social cohesion, which we believe has a direct connection with a) the type of knowledge that social groups with greater privileges have about the past of others, but above all, with b) the level of knowledge that less privileged social groups have about their own historical reality. This leads us to assume (to both groups) certain injustices as part of a system or ideology that de facto “is what it is”, originating, if there is not a change in time, episodes of riots, violent or not, based on a periodical exhaustion that finds no other way out.
For Hablemos del Perú, it is important to consider an educational project of massive scope that covers this concept, as we believe it will have a strong impact on increasing social awareness, and will allow all citizens to know, recognize and become united in the interculturality that we seek.
