Self-education: History focusing on social movements

[Jackie]

This question is for me, not my child. My history education is sorely lacking. I (sort of) learned collections of names and dates and battles while in school, but there was no human element to it. As I’ve learned some history with my child using books written in narrative style, stories, historical fiction, I’ve seen that history can be engaging, and that it can be about actual people instead of a collection of facts. 

I have some reading time on my hands the next few months. It’s generally 30 minutes here, an hour there, in busy spaces that don’t lend themselves to lots of focus, so “lighter” materials would work best. Nothing video-based like Great Courses, due to the spaces I’ll be in. I generally enjoy following modern politics, social movements, and social justice issues, so narratives about those through history would especially be welcome.

I have An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States for Young People on the shelf, so I’ll start there. Other suggestions?

[Matryoshka]

Howard Zinn would be a good place to start, I'd think.  A People's History of the United States, and he also has a Young People's version.

I'm planning on reading the adult version of the Indigenous People's History next year (the one by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz - I'm assuming that's what the Young People's version is adapted from?).  Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown is another fantastic book on that topic.  I'm also thinking of reading Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer this year, which focuses on indigenous US History since Wounded Knee (Dee Brown's book ends there).

Is there any particular social movement in history that interests you? I might be able to come up with more targeted suggestions.  Zinn's a good overview, I think.

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by Matryoshka

[Lori D.]

From Wikipedia, here's a "List of Social Movements", with each listing linked to an article about that movement. Each article is short enough to read in 15-30 minutes.

On that same page are links to other lists that might be of interest:
- Art Periods -- because art often reflects what is going on socially/economically/politically in a culture
- Revolutions and Rebellions Around the World -- list of major break-away groups for social/political/economic reasons
- Historical Separatist Movements Around the World -- list of major attempts to "break away" (largely failed), which highlight differences among the people groups in
- Religions and Spiritual Traditions -- list of major beliefs around the world, because religion plays a large role in forming culture, and also is a factor in decisions made by a country -- and thus, a big part of history

Edited December 21, 2019 by Lori D.

[Jackie]

Thank you!

Some other examples of things I have read and enjoyed and might fit into what I am looking for, in case they make anything jump to mind for someone:

Hidden Figures, for another view on the space race, and focusing more on the social aspects of the women’s involvement than the technical

I Am Malala, which looked both at the conflict in Pakistan in a general way and personalized it through one person’s story

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges, while I wouldn’t normally include a picture book on my list (I don’t need things this simplified!), it still comes to mind because of the excellent job it did of telling the story from multiple points of view of those involved plus including quotes from articles published at the time of the events

The musical Hamilton, while it doesn’t fit the “needs to be a book so I can tote it along” requirement, also exemplifies the general nature of what I want, by focusing on the personalities and interpersonal conflict of the people involved

[katilac]

Radium Girls is an amazing book about the young women who worked in radium dial factories in the WW1 era (and paid a very high price for doing so). It's an engaging look at their personal experiences and their efforts in the labor movement to increase worker safety. 

[EKS]

Not history, but in order to understand the origins of movements that have a moral basis, I highly recommend the book The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.