Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s argument is that history is actively produced through power. Before reading this book, how did you think about the nature of history? In what ways did Trouillot’s ideas either challenge or confirm your views?

2. Trouillot’s project of uncovering and analyzing silenced histories shares goals with other influential works. How would you compare his approach in Silencing the Past to books like Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, or Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States? What makes Trouillot’s method of analyzing the how of silencing unique?

3. Which of Trouillot’s main case studies did you find most powerful or illuminating? What was it about that particular example that best demonstrated his theory for you?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Trouillot opens the book by reflecting on how his experiences under the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti shaped his understanding of history. What are some of the first historical narratives you remember learning, and how have your views on them changed over time?

2. The ongoing debates about historical monuments and holidays like Columbus Day are a real-world example of Trouillot’s ideas. Has this book changed the way you think about the statues, street names, or commemorations in your own community? How does it make you consider the “silences” they might represent?

3. Trouillot describes his visit to Chichén Itzá and his feeling of disconnect from the ancient Mayan past. Have you ever visited a historical site and felt either a connection or a sense of distance? What do you think creates that feeling of historical “authenticity” for a person?

4. Trouillot explains how groups like Italian American and Irish American immigrants used Columbus to assert their place in the United States. Can you think of a historical story or figure that is particularly important to a community you identify with? How is that story told, and what purpose does it serve for the community’s identity?

5. The author shares an anecdote about two young Black students, one who found the history of slave resistance empowering and another who felt fatigue and wanted to hear about Black successes. How does this anecdote illustrate the complex and varied needs people have for history?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Silencing the Past was written in the context of the 1992 Columbus quincentennial. Where do you see the battles over historical meaning that Trouillot described playing out in our society today? Are the arguments and tactics used by different groups similar to or different from what he observed?

2. The Haitian Revolution was silenced, Trouillot argues, because it was an “unthinkable” event that challenged the West’s entire worldview. Are there contemporary social or political movements that you think dominant narratives struggle to comprehend or represent? In what ways are their stories being silenced or banalized today?

3. What does the controversy over Disney’s abandoned America theme park reveal about the commercialization of history? Why do you think representing traumatic historical events in a space designed for entertainment is so fraught with conflict?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What is the importance of Trouillot’s distinction between historicity 1 (the sociohistorical process) and historicity 2 (the narratives about that process)? How does this concept unlock his argument about how power shapes our understanding of the past?

2. Trouillot outlines four moments where silences enter the historical record. Which of these stages did you find most surprising or insightful? 

3. How does the author use the physical state of the two Sans Souci palaces—Frederick the Great’s preserved monument in Germany and Henry Christophe’s crumbling ruin in Haiti—to make a larger point about whose history gets preserved?

4. Trouillot’s framework distinguishes among people as passive “agents,” reactive “actors,” or conscious “subjects.” How does applying this lens to the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue fundamentally reframe the story of the Haitian Revolution and restore their agency?

5. Trouillot uses a story by Jorge Luis Borges, about a writer who rewrites Don Quixote word for word, to explore the idea of authenticity. How did this example help you understand his argument that historical authenticity is about an honest relationship between the past and the present?

6. Although this is a work of historical theory, Trouillot often includes personal anecdotes and reflections on his travels. What effect did this narrative choice have on you as a reader?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you’ve been tasked with creating a small museum exhibit or a short documentary based on one chapter of Silencing the Past. Which case study would you choose, and what specific artifacts, images, or testimonials would you use to make the concept of “silencing” understandable for a general audience?

2. If you could add another chapter to this book, which historical event or figure would you choose to analyze using Trouillot’s framework? How would you explore the four moments of silencing in the production of that particular history?

3. The Epilogue reveals that in Haitian Creole, the word “kolon” can mean both “Columbus” and “colonist.” Can you brainstorm some other words or phrases that hold a hidden or contested history within them?