My History Reading Map

Growing up, History was my favorite subject in school. I loved the stories of time past, stories about inventions, people, revolts, trade and more. There is something about getting to know the roots of where I am from, though in my teenage years, I had not put these feelings into words. Today, I head back into reading History of the world through My History Reading Map and below I explain why.

With the recent unrest around the world, whether it is the US and George Floyd’s death, the protests in Hong Kong or the laws being passed in the Philippines and India, the struggles for equality continue. We have all at some point felt dissatisfaction with the very History that we have been taught, the mindset that we have grown up with. There are conversations about countries colonized, institutional reforms that have not come and injustices that continue to this day. No matter where you look in the world, there is some truth hidden in History that so many people do not know about because they have not been exposed to it in their schooling.

I believe, History at its very core is the same for the world. The color, caste or religion of the people might change but ultimately, someone feels they are superior and is able to roll out policies that help them keep that status. In junction with more general themes, it is important to learn about the specific injustices and understand the specific components that build up such injustices. This will help me see the big picture that I find myself currently unable to see.

Knowing that truth is not all we learn in school, I have started my journey to understand the History of the world – the story of the colonized, the aftereffects of colonization and wars, the very politics that has shaped the countries of today. Even though we feel more connected with social media, our outlook is limited by the knowledge we choose to pursue and the places that we care about.

I grew up in India. India was colonized by the British and when we won our freedom in 1947, the country was partitioned into smaller parts. Though we have numerous National languages and religions, inequality still persists. I want to learn more about my country’s History, and this time, understand it, rather than just learn it because I have to for school. Look at the hard facts.

I live in Canada now and my introduction to the History and colonization of Canada has been fairly recent. It was only in Year 3 that I learned about the Indigenous people of Canada and what it means to be on Treaty Six territory. It was in Year 4 that I learned about Residential schools and Truth and Reconciliation. In Year 5, I learned about the eugenics. Am I just missing the History that my fellow Canadians already know? No. Living and growing up somewhere does not mean that we know every major event that has shaped our world. I am the only one who can get that knowledge for myself and that is why I want to understand Canadian History. 

My History Reading Map

As a student and learner, I cannot stop at knowing about two places. This is why I have started a personal learning project called My History Reading Map. Through My History Reading Map, I will be picking up books from around the world, looking at the struggles and issues that matter to those places, and building a holistic picture for myself. Reading a book or two about a place does not mean I know everything but at least I will know more than I did before. There is no end to learning and I hope that I will be able to find further knowledge to pursue as I read. Something new will pique my interest as I learn. 

My hope is that as I read these books, I will be able to make connections to not just my experience but also others around the world. After all, every segregation policy has been inspired by another. New ideas are often amalgamation of existing ideas, applied in a new context.

Below is a list of all the books that I will be reading, organized by continent and country. I will add links to my thoughts and research after I finish each book.

If there are non-fiction History books you know of which will help me lean more, please mention them in the comments. Though this list has primarily non-fiction works, if you know of fictional books that are great to learn from, please feel free to suggest them in the comments too.

I will be updating this map and plan to evolve it into an interactive one in the coming months to fit more books. Some of these books offer lessons on being anti-racist so if you are looking for those books, you will find some in the list below.

Overarching Research

• Blood that cries out from the Earth (A psychological examination of religious conflict) – Goodreads

Asia

• [Vietnam] The Sacred Willow: Four generations in the life of a Vietnamese Family – Goodreads
• [India] From Plassey to Partition and After: A History of Modern India – Goodreads
• [Israel, Palestine] The Israel-Palestine conflict: Contested Histories – Goodreads

Europe

• [UK] Why I am no longer talking to White people about race – Goodreads
• [UK] Brit(ish): On Race, Identity, and Belonging – Goodreads
• [German-Occupied Poland] All Rivers Run to the Sea – Goodreads
• [Russia] The Gulag Archipelago – Goodreads

Africa

• [South Africa] Born a Crime: Stories from A South African Childhood – Goodreads – Thoughts posted June 13, 2020
• [South Africa] A Country Unmasked – Goodreads

North America

• [USA] Stamped from the Beginning – Goodreads
• [USA] The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee – Goodreads
• [USA] The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir – Goodreads
• [USA] At America’s Gates: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 – Goodreads
• [Canada] Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival – Goodreads
• [Canada] First Peoples in Canada – Goodreads
• [Canada] Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Japanese Canadian Internment in the Second World War – Goodreads
• [Canada] Righting Canada’s Wrongs: The Chinese Head Tax and Anti-Chinese Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century – Goodreads

South/Central America

• 1491: New revelations of the Americas before Columbus – Goodreads

Non-Fiction I have read previously

• [Netherlands] When a toy dog became a wolf and the moon broke curfew – Goodreads – Thoughts posted Oct 20, 2019
• [Iraq] Baghdad Burning: Girl blog from Iraq – Goodreads – Short Review posted February 14, 2018

Fictional Works

• [UK] The Confessions of Frannie Langton – Goodreads

I hope this project will propel you to embark on a journey in History too. Thank you for reading!

Feature Image: Photo by Nicola Nuttall on Unsplash