I’m currently reading Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, published in 1999. It’s a classic, I think. I’m not yet finished, but so far, I’ve been enjoying it immensely. I recommend it to everyone, particularly academics, but her writing is still very accessible and not full of jargon. This passage about history, among others, stands out to me (p. 34):
[...] We assume that when ‘the truth comes out’ it will prove that what happened was wrong or illegal and that therefore the system (tribunals, the courts, the government) will set things right. We believe that history is also about justice, that understanding history will enlighten our decisions about the future. Wrong. History is also about power. In fact history is mostly about power. It is the story of the powerful and how they became powerful, and then how they use their power to keep them in positions in which they can continue to dominate others.
I’m definitely glad I picked this up.
