The fact of the matter is that the field of History is rife with incoherences. These incoherences typically stem from biases, gaps in evidence and of course differing interpretations.

Incoherences in historical studies, particularly bias and subjectivity, historical revisionism, and selective memory, have profound implications for societal understanding and cohesion.

For example, Nationalistic histories often reflect bias and subjectivity, glorifying a nation’s achievements while downplaying or omitting negative aspects such as colonialism or internal conflicts. This skewed portrayal fosters an unbalanced national identity and can fuel xenophobia and hinder reconciliation with marginalized groups.

Similarly, historical revisionism, such as the denial or minimization of atrocities like the Holocaust, distorts collective memory and undermines the suffering of victims, leading to a lack of accountability and awareness that may allow similar atrocities to recur.

Additionally, the selective memory in historiography, which frequently overlooks the contributions and experiences of marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, perpetuates systemic inequalities and denies these groups their rightful place in the historical narrative.

These incoherences, therefore, not only misrepresent the past but also have damaging implications for contemporary social dynamics and justice.

• Robin Ford Coron

@Robin Ford Coron,
Robin, thanks for sharing with us how in the field of history, incoherences also show up, particularly when it perpetuates stereotypes and bias. How are such tendencies and revisionism curtailed in the field of history? Yes, like Economics, inaccurate history have damaging ramifications. Do budding historians get trained to question history in certain ways and is refutation that is common in Economics, also present in History?

• Cat Ho

In our Art and Design curriculum there is a minute section where we touch on resources available to arists and designers as well as biomicry and sustainability practices. I feel after more so than ever after reviewing this section of this project that we need to incorporate more knowledge and learning opportunities about these topics into our classrooms. There seems to be surface material only, again showing banking of education with a focus on making according to tends so that potential clients can increase their spending based on a linear step by step process. The Doughnut economics module, introduced as a compass, should be incorpoprated so as to show future artists and designers where they can make their mark in a positive way by taking all aspects of the production of their goods in the direction that we should be going which should regenerative. This will enable us to see adaptabilty as a strength and can be used on smaller projects intending to create a domino effect whereby we see growth in jobs, in the social foundation of the doughnut, as well as environment preservation, seen in the ecological ceiling of the doughnut. More and companies should be disclosing this important information about their footprint and more consumers should be demanding it. We have so many family members and friends aside from ourselves who are becoming sick or developing health related issues and we learn about what foods to eat or not to eat but we still do not know the effects of producing on the environment contributing directly to those we love who are getting sick sometimes with the end being death. The more the issue “hits home” the more awareness we seem to have but yet there is still information that needs to be exposed as we are not changing in a timeous way. We seem to have misinformation which needs to be corrected… information that gcontinues to be omitted so that the GDP can keep rising disregarding the real price that we pay.

• Nina Wakefield

@Nina Wakefield,
I really love how you are able to pull together the different ideas in our course and the accurate use of economic terms in your updates, Nina!

Yes, i agree, there is misinfomation and unfortunately, also banking of a particular form of information, that creates incoherence in our subject fields that we sometimes cannot see.

I think of education as a field in itself - how Neoliberalism has in many ways corrupted education, where it is no longer about the learning and development of a person, but much more now a means to an economic end of better qualifications, better paying jobs etc. In this sense, is an educated person one who is successful materially but yet is part of perpetuating an unjust system where one benefits from poverty (in Jo's powerful words).

In order to change to occur, I think the first step is we need to name it. We cannot change what we cannot name. Hopefully as we see how Economics has changed all our fields in big and small ways, we can identify, analyze and hopefully resist and bring about change.

• Cat Ho

@Tammy Cheng, I liked your examples! It is unbelievable that so many businesses use chemicals negatively affecting human health without taking any responsibility for that. It reminded me a story happened in China a couple of years ago. Apple's supplier was using a highly toxic chemical to clean the components, that led to the leukemia. There were many cases in that factory when young workers got this deadly diagnosis even after a short time using it. A lot personal tragedies took place and many lives were affected. But the most unbelievable fact is that the replacement this poisonous substance with a safer one would cost an i-phone user just 1 or 2 dollars price increase.

• Kristina Pilgueva

I agree with this... I cannot imagine a world where we let this injustice continue. I did not know about this and if I did I certainly would have raised awareness about it. I do not think that any compensation is acceptable but it will certainly be a start in reparation. The problem is the externalities cannot be measured and we have no idea the negative impact /domino effect this will have for generations to come. There are still far too many who do not want to face the reality... they would rather go with the flow and buy the phone for status. Hopefully the majority would pay the extra dollars so that a safer substance can be used.

• Nina Wakefield

@Kristina Pilgueva, are you talking about benzene & n-hexane? They are classified as carcinogens and neurotoxins. I think I have found the related article in SCMP so thanks for remembering! This is an extremely compelling example! It happened 10 years ago and the article ended with the quote The most important thing is that existing regulations on Health & Safety and the prohibitions of certain chemicals are enforced by local authorities. Was the local authorities given a national guidance to begin with? Very unfortunate..... Is anyone familiar with the phrase Mei Ban Fa?
I think the SCMP is trying to write an article that is non-confrontational..... Honestly speaking, the reason why apple outsource their supply chain is also primarily, I would argue less strict regulations & overall, low level of bureaucracy and cost involved I hope those workers have been compensated well even though we know that that might not be enough....

@Cat Ho, I have more concerns for long term occupational hazards that are Not showing immediate health impact but slowly creeping in, degrading our health system in a way that it is more difficult to prove at individual level. We are now back to your initial starter picture of fixing the the immediate leakage than finding the root of the problem!

• Tammy Cheng

@Tammy Cheng,@Kristina Pilgueva,
Wow, thanks for such a powerful example, Tammy! Does it not boggle the mind that such a substance is still in use even when there is conclusive evidence that it leads to such tragic outcomes? And Kristina, that is truly so sad that businesses persist in using substances and production processes that are so harmful. Why do you think there has not been a change?

• Cat Ho

In IGCSE Business Studies sustainability and social aspect of doing business is nonexistent. There is a chapter or two but most of the questions students deal with are limited with simple application and pure definition. In IB the situation is much better I believe. After revising the curriculum two years ago IB decided to pay more attention to the questions of CSR and business sustainability. But it also comes with a shortcoming. Although sustainability is added to the new IB Business management curriculum and there is the whole paper dedicated to the struggles of a social enterprise, I have got an impression CSR is introduced more like a marketing concept, that assists increased sales and profits in the long-term rather than the value in the heart of all the business activities. Milton Friedman's idea about business being profitable is the main form of social responsibility is still dominant.

• Kristina Pilgueva

@Kristina Pilgueva, so I have always been checking the source or origin of an established curriculum and I will paraphrase a little here with the addition of my own understanding: IB is a niche course, designed to cater for the need of Diplomats and highly mobile Expats community, and mostly importantly, the give a holistic education that enable the candidates to further their studies in Liberal Arts at tertiary education. My question is, are we offering this curriculum for the focus of attracting students or are we truly addressing the needs of our students? I think this is a debatable question! Would really like to know everyone's thoughts on this!
I wonder what does it take to set up an IB course, if not the whole IB school....... @Cat Ho, is this a chicken an egg problem?

• Tammy Cheng

@Kristina Pilgueva,
That's really insightful delineation of the 2 courses. And even though the IB curriculum does a better job, as you said, Corporate Social Responsibility can often be a marketing ploy, and as we also talked about Greenwashing when products or touted to comply with Sustainability requirements, but could be only marginally so.

I am curious about your last line about Friedman's impact on business - how did that come about? why does it persist even today?

• Cat Ho

I have learnt how to connect circular, doughnut and regenerative economy. Although chemists might have design many useful products, we have probably neglected the harm some chemicals might have generated. Circular economy can focus on the design of a product, building or materials; Doughnut E can be an evaluation of how it has taken a holistic approach consider its social impact during the process. Ideally, all the steps and things involved could be Regenerated and reused so that resources are optimized for the planet. to the All these three should be intertwined for the better of our new economy!

• Tammy Cheng

I appreciate the comments specifically those on the use of chemicals to produce products. I wonder what some people would do given the chance to go back in time. Would they repeat their choices and still create/use those chemicals? Learning about the doughnut economy and the differences between circular and regenerative economy has made a positive effect on my own practices which I will share with my family, business associates and students I teach. Even in Art throughout the centuries we have toxic chemicals that are used in art supplies including formaldehyde that are used in artworks. Such an artist is Damien Hirst: Death is a central theme in Hirst's works. He became famous for a series of artworks in which dead animals (including a shark, a sheep, and a cow) are preserved, sometimes having been dissected, in formaldehyde. The best-known of these was The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a 14-foot (4.3 m) tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde in a clear display case.

• Nina Wakefield

@Cat Ho, one example of a widely used chemical in production that is known to be harmful to consumers and third parties is formaldehyde. You can smell this in DCB South Dome!!! Long-term exposure has been associated with respiratory issues, and it is classified as a human carcinogen, meaning it can cause cancer. Prolonged exposure increases the risk of developing nasal and sinus cancer, as well as leukemia. I think this is a serious occupational hazard in China! Workers in industries that use formaldehyde are at higher risk of exposure, which can lead to serious health problems. Try go near new buildings, including those built for tourism around Beijing and there is this special smell......slow leakage of all sorts of volatile organic solvents. Formaldehyde is juts one of many...... It is commonly used in the production of building materials and household products, such as pressed-wood products (like particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard), glues, adhesives, permanent-press fabrics, paper product coatings, and certain insulation materials.

• Tammy Cheng

@Tammy
Yes, Tammy, that is the idea. Would you be able to articulate for us one particular chemical for example that is widely used in the production process but that is also known to be harmful to consumers and third parties?

Also, at the heart of Chemistry, what is the goal of this science in improving people's lives...in what ways does it live up to this and in what way does it not?

• Cat Ho