The Struggle for history / Michael Parenti.

Michael Parenti, political analyst and author, is the featured speaker at a KPFK fundraiser. He starts by defining history as more than an academic discipline, it is also a political act. Historical writing, therefore, must not be left solely to historians. Historians help create the way people think about the world and themselves. He goes on to discuss how United States history has been shaped to present a limited view of our past, and historical documents are controlled so that the alternative explanations have no evidence. There is a need for history of the common people, not simply the perspective of the white male elite. This new approach is particularly important in public schools. Parenti next discusses the negative impact of marketing and the profit motive in the textbook industry. Concludes with a question and answer session.