History Forgotten and Remembered

Cana Academy released History Forgotten and Remembered today.

From the Introduction:

“As a society, we are increasingly divided from our past, which is a significant part of why we are increasingly divided from one another. To put it another way: There is a real sense in which history has been forgotten; and, having forgotten our past, we have forgotten ourselves.”                               

History Forgotten and Remembered offers a common ground—a practical, humane vision intended to help restore the bearings needed to live in memory of the past and in hope for the future. It achieves this by answering challenging questions concerning history as a field of study, a habit of mind, and a source of freedom. History teachers, especially, will find the answers useful as they lead their students. Any reader seeking to better grasp our times will find them encouraging.

Here are some of the questions answered in History Forgotten and Remembered:

• Is history just one thing after another? Does it repeat? Are we progressing toward a more perfect future?
• Aristotle, the father of the liberal arts, gives very little attention to history. How do we situate history in a classical or liberal education?
• What do we say in the face of critics who disparage America and the West? Can we say that there is something inherently good about our historical existence, even though there clearly are flaws, even great ones, in our past?
• In history, can we consider experiences of transcendence, as in philosophy and religion?
• History is about the past, but humans seem always to look to the future. What is the relationship between the past and what lies ahead? What are the foundations of hope?

At the end of the book’s fourteen chapters, there is an appendix with a baker’s dozen of the most important features of thinking historically.

Order 10 or more copies for your school or organization, and Cana Academy will provide a free webinar on the subject. 

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