Abstract
In 1557 Hieronymus Wolf coined the phrase “Byzantine Empire.” No political entity ever called itself the “Byzantine Empire.” This was an imaginary construct based on a desire to re-frame the conquest of the Roman Empire as a German enterprise rather than an Ottoman project. Not only does this deprive Rome of its last 976.7 years, it also corrupts any understanding of Western history. Just as an example of how it re-frames the world, most of us think of Rome as an ancient memory, conquered one millennium before Columbus’ infamous journey. Yet the reality is that Rome was nearly a contemporary of the conquest of the Americas. It fell just 39 years before Columbus reached the Bahamas. This is just an example of how ideology has twisted our understanding not just of history but of the cultures that it produced. The need to categorize is instinctual to the human experience. Categories serve as a mechanism to simplify and possibly even enhance knowledge, but when coupled with an agenda, categories are designed to mislead. This paper explores several ways in which European and North American education have made an accurate understanding of “Western Civilization” impossible.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Traveling Concepts: The Transfer and Translation of Ideas in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
History, Western Civilization, Transmission of Ideas, Cultural Connections
