ISSN 1993-8616
2009 - Number 8
History of Peoples: recasting the past
© UNESCO
Rock art in La Cueva de los Manos (Argentina).
UNESCO’s historiographic collections on humanity, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the civilisations of Central Asia and Islamic culture are the result of forty years of international cooperation, involving some 1600 specialists from all corners of the world. To date, 51 volumes have appeared, some translated into dozens of languages.
These pioneering reference works, with their interdisciplinary approach and international exchange of knowledge, combine the history of events with the history of ideas, societies, civilizations and institutions in the regions and cultural zones concerned. More
Special feature produced in collaboration with UNESCO’s Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue. Conception and coordination: Monique Couratier, former Chief of the communication, information and publications section of UNESCO’s Culture sector.
Writing histories in the plural
The spirit behind the foundation of UNESCO was to foster a consciousness of the unity of the human species, in all its diversity. No sooner had the Organization been founded, than it embarked upon compiling a new History of Humanity. No mean feat. Thirty years on, a major revision was needed, with a change in methodology and renewed efforts to overcome ideological obstacles. The latest volume came out this year. More
Decolonizing history
Once African countries had won their independence in the 1960s, the challenge taken up by a group of intellectuals from Africa, or of African descent, was to rid people’s minds of prejudice by remedying a widespread ignorance of African history. More
An ear for the past
Can the spoken word be used as a historical source? Guinean historian Djibril Tamsir Niane argues that written records are not the only stewards of history. As Burkinabe writer, Joseph Ki-Zerbo, put it, oral traditions are living museums, giving flesh and blood to the skeleton of the past. More
Steppes and the Silk Route
Central Asia, crossroads and meeting-place of cultures, has also known periods when it was closed off from the outside world. The History of Civilizations of Central Asia shows that despite ideological barriers, historical and cultural links between inhabitants weave a regional identity. More
History seen through societies
A world first: the General History of Latin America focuses on the societies and civilizations that have inhabited the central and southern American continent, more than on the nations. Even so, the lack of historical sources on indigenous and African-Latin American peoples has posed some problems. More
Shared destiny
For the first time, thanks to the General History of the Caribbean, populations united by their common culture but scattered around this region are given prominence in history, not as mere objects but as subjects and actors of their own destiny. More
Messages from Islam
The faith of Islam in God and mankind has enabled it to play a significant part in the edification of human civilization. But its strength emanates not so much from the “fixism” of an imposed order, but from the durability of a model that is always ready to be reinvented, starting from divine inspiration and the demands of the moment. More
