Stories about History from September, 2010
Ukraine: “New Memory Engineers” and Ruslan Zabilyi's Case
Timothy Snyder writes on NYRblog about the arrest of Ruslan Zabilyi, the director of a Lviv museum “devoted to the occupation of Ukraine by the Nazis and the Soviets”: “Under Yanukhovych, Ukraine’s new memory engineers are using force.” Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop offers more insight: “These are the kind...
Egypt: A 210-year-old map on Google Earth
How would a 210-year-old map of Cairo look on Google Earth today? Egyptian blogger Mostafa attempts an answer, with must-see illustrations.
Africa: Ajami Writing System
Do you know Ajami writing system?: “Ajami writing system has been used for at least at least a thousands years in parts of Africa. As I understand it, the script is a modification of Arabic incorporating local languages such as Hausa [mainly the northern regions of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana]...
Africa: The Black Venus
Africa is a Country posts a 30-second trailer of the movie “Venus Noire” (Black Venus) about the life of Sara Baartman, the 18th century young Khoi woman publicly exhibited as a circus freak in Europe.
Venezuela: Blogging About Colonial Art
In the blog Arte Colonial en Venezuela [es], Art Historian Janeth Rodríguez writes about Colonial Art in Venezuela.
Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday
On November 2 the city of Medellín will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin was created on Twitter so that its citizens can tweet the symbolic present they want to give their city on this occasion. What would you give your city on its "birthday"? Find out what citizens of Medellín are tweeting almost a month before the date.
Chile: Police Break up Display of Mapuche Flag During Bicentennial Celebrations
Montserrat Nicolas shares a citizen video of an incident during the bicentennial celebrations; the video shows police breaking up a display of a Mapuche flag and apprehending those involved.
Cambodia: Khmer Rouge and Nazi
Keo Kounila compares the similar experience of Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge regime and the Germans during the Nazi era.
China: Redefining the Great Wall
“The Great Wall is not a ‘wall’ but rather an ancient Chinese frontier ‘town'” – DANWEI translates an article that argues for a new definition and translation of China's Great Wall.
Chile: Bloggers and Social Network Users Question Bicentennial Celebrations
On September 18 Chile commemorates 200 years of its Independence from Spain with a Bicentennial celebration. But the date has generated reactions from bloggers and Twitter users who are relating the celebrations to a prolonged hunger strike by the Mapuche indigenous group and other current issues of concern for the Chilean people.
Guyana: Gold Rush?
Guyana-Gyal thinks the gold rush must be on again – at least judging from the influx of foreigners – and each of them, she says, “got their own winning technique.”
Africa: Thank God for Colonialism
Thank God for colonialism in Africa: “The colonial state was able to offer useful things to converts, such as protection, preferential treatment, access to education and ultimately access to jobs within the colonial administration and all the privileges that came with that. Christianity became a ‘badge of honour’.”
Commemorating Malaysia Day
September 16 is the day that Malaya, along with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined together to form Malaysia. This year is the first time that Malaysia Day was declared a public holiday. Twitter has been abuzz with the #harimalaysia hashtag
Singapore, Malaysia: Mahathir Mohamad versus Lee Kuan Yew
Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew commented that Malaysia's "race politics" could have been avoided if it adopted the multiracial policies of Singapore. Former Malaysian Prime Minister responded in his blog by reminding his old rival about the weaknesses of the Singapore government.
Brazil: Jornal do Brasil Quits Print and Goes Online
Jornal do Brasil (JB), one of the country's oldest and most symbolical newspapers, gave up its printed edition in the end of August and is now distributed exclusively online. Bloggers are talking about JB's rise and fall, telling episodes of its history and discussing the future of media.
Mexico: The ‘Biggest Party of the Year’ Begins Today
“The Bicentenario kicks off tonight, marking Mexico’s 200th year of independence from Spain. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration and a huge deal here in Mexico City.” This is how Lesley Téllez begins her post in The Mija Chronicles, where she goes on to describe other things about the celebration. She also...
East Timor: Providing Spaces for the Memory
Crowd map Hanoin: Remembering Timor was recently launched aiming to collaboratively collect memories of colonialism, occupation and independence of East Timor. A blog post explains the need to “share, corroborate and expand on the limitations of the colonizer’s narrative” and suggests that Hanoin can be used as a cry for...
Nigeria: The Legacy of Nigerian Feminism
Eccentric Yoruba's analysis of feminism in Nigeria: “Since I returned to Nigeria earlier this year, I have not met any woman who openly identified as a feminist. It almost seems as though the word ‘feminist’ is blacklisted…”
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering Wayne
On the one-year anniversary of Wayne Brown's death, The Caribbean Review of Books posts an essay by Mervyn Morris on the writer's life and poetic achievement.
Cambodia: Prehistoric site destroyed
An archaeological site in Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia was destroyed early this month to make way for a temporary housing and development project.
Bolivia: City of Cochabamba Celebrates its Bicentennial
Coinciding with the bicentennial celebration [es] of the city of Cochabamba, in 200 words Fadrique Iglesias writes [es] about his thoughts on freedom, development and what he hopes will happen in the next 200 years.
