Beyond the myth : Columbus in historical perspective / Howard Zinn.

Historian Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States," provides a critical look at the reality behind common beliefs about Christopher Columbus and his explorations of the Americas. Zinn points to the dehumanization which Columbus exhibited upon the "discovery" of the New World. Motivated by greed, Columbus did not consider the inhabitants of Hispanol as human, they were merely barbaric heathens. In a contemporary setting, the lesson of Columbus is how the profit motive has shaped the way we examine and behave in the world. Zinn calls for a reexamination of Eurocentric traditions which only consider the Western world as "civilized." This perspective has shaped Euramerican actions for 500 years.|BEYOND THE MYTH : COLUMBUS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE / Howard Zinn. - Historian Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, provides a critical look at the reality behind common beliefs about Christopher Columbus and his explorations of the Americas. Zinn points to the dehumanization which Columbus exhibited upon the "discovery" of the New World. Motivated by greed, Columbus did not consider the inhabitants of Hispanol as human, they were merely barbaric heathens. In a contemporary setting, the lesson of Columbus is how the profit motive has shaped the way we examine and behave in the world. Zinn calls for a reexamination of Eurocentric traditions which only consider the Western world as "civilized." This perspecive has shaped Euramerican actions for 500 years. For a similar talk by Zinn, see: SZ0694. - RECORDED: California State University, Fresno, 13 Nov. 1991.