of view. It’s up to the student to do what they need to do, which is read, and you’ll find that it’s not [always] biased: there are always sources there. It is up to you to come up with an objective view, which is philosophically impossible, but I don’t believe it is.
Q5: Why should we even look at history in the first place?
Why should we look to tomorrow?
Q6: In the presence of digital media and the continuous usage of social platforms, is history being written on a daily basis? Do you think that’s a good, positive thing?
In a way, yes. Although not documented in the exact manner that you would document history, it is being recorded daily. It depends on who’s documenting it. Are you documenting it?
Q7: Living in a region which is immersed in historical heritage and pride, how do you think this affects people in our current time?
I think people here have lost their connection to history; not many people know the most basic things, and some don’t even know when Jordan gained independence anymore, and I do believe that’s a regional thing. Problem is: people don’t understand that history does repeat itself, and that history is a key to understanding how people act within a country. This loss of a connection to the past, I think, is an outcome of development. We have two words [for it in Arabic]: we have something called “تطور”, which means development, and that you move ahead and forget your old traditions and what connects you to the past. Another beautiful word that is in Arabic is “معاصرة ", which means you move forward but keep your traditions; we’re barely clinging onto that, and traditions are essential for identity.
Q8: The Arab world is generally visualized by other nations as less civilized; how do you think history and historians have participated in painting such a portrait?
I don’t think historians have done that, I think we’ve done that.