Historical amnesia and its consequences: the need to build histories of practice

Abstract

This paper focuses on two key themes: the role of history as a witness to key events, moments, or shifts in history; and the role of history in the on-going development of identity - identity of individuals, of groups, of nations or generations. I will conclude with some comments about the way the study and the teaching of history can be approached. My argument has several strands: First history is useful in the specifics - sometimes there are stories we should not forget. We owe it to stand witness. Each culture has these je me souvien moments. Some, like Hiroshima or the Holocaust, belong to the whole world. Second, there are stories that it is wise not to forget - we should learn from the blunders of those who came before us and show some wisdom. Finally I argue that historical amnesia is dangerous. Memory is necessary - we need to know who we are if we have any hope of knowing where we are going.

Tendências recentes da produção em história da enfermagem no Brasil

“…Para tanto, o registro sistematizado da história da enfermagem nas diversas faces e fases desenvolvidas nas diferentes regiões do mundo poderá ser um exercício de autoconhecimento dos enfermeiros com consequente explicação de sua identidade enquanto profissão (Nelson, 2009). Desse modo, o reconhecimento por parte da sociedade possivelmente virá por meio de uma prática exercida efetivamente e consubstanciada pelo próprio desempenho de profissionais da enfermagem, sendo que isso ainda é outro desafio a ser enfrentado.…”

Historically Informed Nursing in the Time of Reconciliation

“…We were drawn to the work of Canadian nurse historians, such as Grypma (2017), Nelson (2009), and Toman and Thifault (2012), recognizing that each has particular perspectives to share that could shed light on the critical intersecting nature of history and the current health care milieu, and how people's experiential stories of accessing care can be honoured. When we viewed their work as a collection, what surfaced, we would challenge, were key curricular questions for nurse educators to assess how and in what ways history is being taken up in the curriculum.…”

“…Grypma (2012Grypma ( , 2017 asks how history informs "nurses' identities." Nelson (2009) pragmatically challenges the questions of why we should bother with the past. Toman and Thifault (2012) argue that studying nursing history provides insights about the evolution of the roles nurses have in today's health care system and how their roles reflect their professional status within the communities they practise in.…”

“…Moreover, Bourque Bearskin et al 2016and Mary Jane Logan McCallum (2014) are bringing to the fore in nursing Indigenous research methodologies and history. Nelson's (2009) claim that memory is necessary reverberates in our research and teaching practice; historical informed nursing is a means to enacting critical social justice. As Nelson (2009) acknowledges, "We need to know who we are if we have any hope of knowing where we are going" (p. 787).…”

Historically‐informed nursing: A transnational case study in China

“…History bears witness, gives voice, and dispels myths. Whether we are aware of the details or not, the gestalt of nursing practice in a particular place has been shaped by its history (Nelson, ). This, the authors believe, is true of nursing in Shandong.…”