--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's really hard for me to use the term…" description: "\"It's really hard for me to use the term 'history' in the singular, because it suggests a reductivist view of how moments and events congeal and reflect..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/barbara-kruger-7415_events_it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-use-the-term_1599737.jpg" --- # It's really hard for me to use the term 'history' in the… ![“It's really hard for me to use the term 'history' in the singular, because it suggests a reductivist view of how moments and events congeal and reflect the passage of time. I'd rather stick to the pluralness of 'histories' in order to suggest the simultaneity, the parallel forces at work, which…” quote by Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/barbara-kruger-7415_events_it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-use-the-term_1599737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/barbara-kruger-7415_events_it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-use-the-term_1599737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e0/barbara-kruger-7415_events_it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-use-the-term_1599737.jpg) > “It's really hard for me to use the term 'history' in the singular, because it suggests a reductivist view of how moments and events congeal and reflect the passage of time. I'd rather stick to the pluralness of 'histories' in order to suggest the simultaneity, the parallel forces at work, which produce lived experience.” [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term 'history' implies a single, linear narrative, but reality consists of many overlapping stories shaping experience. **In simple terms:** History is plural, not singular. Key Takeaway Recognize multiple narratives in events. Themes history plurality perspective time experience Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - Teaching history - museum curation - public policy - personal storytelling - media analysis Key Concepts Narrative theory postmodernism relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify competing narratives? - What benefits arise from embracing multiple histories? A Different Perspective Singular narratives can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Histories Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/histories-order-6081381/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Singular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-singular-6081379/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Parallels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parallels/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Passages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passages/) [Pluralness Histories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralness-histories-6081380/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Singular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singular/) [Singular Suggests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singular-suggests-6081382/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [“It is said to be the age of the first person singular”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-said-to-be-the-age-of-the-first-person-singular/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Postmodernism was a reaction to modernism. Where modernism was about objectivity, postmodernism was about subjectivity. Where modernism sought a singular truth, postmodernism sought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/postmodernism-was-a-reaction-to-modernism-where-modernism-was-about/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“I find nothing so singular in life as that everything appears to lose its substance the instant one actually grapples with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/i-find-nothing-so-singular-in-life-as-that-everything-appears-to-lose/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Remember: Y'all is singular. All y'all is plural. All y'all's is plural possessive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/remember-y-all-is-singular-all-y-all-is-plural-all-y-all-s-is-plural/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [I think leadership is never singular. In a good organization, it's plural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-think-leadership-is-never-singular-in-a-good-organization-it-s/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [“And I kept thinking about how sky is a singular noun, as if it's one thing. But the sky isn't one thing. The sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-i-kept-thinking-about-how-sky-is-a-singular-noun-as-if-it-s-one/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“When our mental functioning is whittling away and our mind becomes a lame duck, perception does not form the context anymore and all connections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-our-mental-functioning-is-whittling-away-and-our-mind-becomes-a/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [My career has evolved at its own peculiar pace. American careers are supposed to have a much more singular direction than I've been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-curry/my-career-has-evolved-at-its-own-peculiar-pace-american-careers-are/) [Tim Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-curry/) > [In my experience, 'SNL' has Lorne Michaels, who is, you know, the captain of the ship and gives the show direction and a singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taran-killam/in-my-experience-snl-has-lorne-michaels-who-is-you-know-the-captain/) [Taran Killam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taran-killam/) > [... as a rule of thumb, whenever there appears a plural, correct for a singular. Should I ever let slip a royal WE, put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/as-a-rule-of-thumb-whenever-there-appears-a-plural-correct-for-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [By the time we get to the 2040s, we'll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold. That will be a profound change that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-the-time-we-get-to-the-2040s-we-ll-be-able-to-multiply-human/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I think god is singular and exists everywhere and for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sourabh-raj-jain/i-think-god-is-singular-and-exists-everywhere-and-for-everyone/) [Sourabh Raj Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sourabh-raj-jain/) > [If art is singular expression, then by nature, the best art is controversial. But when art stirs debate for reasons besides its artistic integrity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/if-art-is-singular-expression-then-by-nature-the-best-art-is/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The singular man is singular in comparison to other men, but a companion of Heaven. So it is said, the petty man of Heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-watson/the-singular-man-is-singular-in-comparison-to-other-men-but-a/) [Burton Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-watson/) ## More by Barbara Kruger > [I have frequently said, and I will repeat again, in the manner of any well-meaning seriality, that I'm interested in mixing the ingratiation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-have-frequently-said-and-i-will-repeat-again-in-the-manner-of-any/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I'm trying to deal with ideas about histories, fame, hearsay, and how public identities are constructed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-m-trying-to-deal-with-ideas-about-histories-fame-hearsay-and-how/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I like suggesting that ‘we are slaves to the objects around us,’ that ‘plenty should be enough,’ or that the ‘buyer should beware,’ within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-like-suggesting-that-we-are-slaves-to-the-objects-around-us-that/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Money talks. It makes art. It determines what food we eat, whether we are cured or die, and what shoes we wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/money-talks-it-makes-art-it-determines-what-food-we-eat-whether-we/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I'm living my life, not buying a lifestyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-m-living-my-life-not-buying-a-lifestyle/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [It's good to keep in mind that prominence is always a mix of hard work, eloquence in your practice, good timing and fortuitous social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/it-s-good-to-keep-in-mind-that-prominence-is-always-a-mix-of-hard/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Direct address has been a consistent tactic in my work, regardless of the medium that I'm working in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/direct-address-has-been-a-consistent-tactic-in-my-work-regardless-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Prominence is cool, but when the delusion kicks in it can be a drag. Especially if you choose to surround yourself with friends and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/prominence-is-cool-but-when-the-delusion-kicks-in-it-can-be-a-drag/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I want people to be drawn into the space of the work. And a lot of people are like me in that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-want-people-to-be-drawn-into-the-space-of-the-work-and-a-lot-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [“Your comfort is my silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/your-comfort-is-my-silence/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I believe that who we are, and consequently the work that we make, whether we're visual artists or writers or journalists or filmmakers, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-believe-that-who-we-are-and-consequently-the-work-that-we-make/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Love is something you fall into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/love-is-something-you-fall-into/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Memory is your image of perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/memory-is-your-image-of-perfection/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I mean, making art is about objectifying your experience of the world, transforming the flow of moments into something visual, or textual, or musical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-mean-making-art-is-about-objectifying-your-experience-of-the-world/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Do you know why language manifests itself the way it does in my work? It's because I understand short attention spans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/do-you-know-why-language-manifests-itself-the-way-it-does-in-my-work/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) [Explore all 91 Barbara Kruger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) ## More Events quotes > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [My political views have never made me insensitive to the pain and suffering caused to the innocent victims of events such as the Warrington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/my-political-views-have-never-made-me-insensitive-to-the-pain-and/) [Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Sporting events like the Olympics have developed and maintained a clear message of promoting gender equality as an essential criterion in the success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/sporting-events-like-the-olympics-have-developed-and-maintained-a/) [Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/) > [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [It's really a pity that there are observers who view political events like comic strips. There has to be a Zorro, there has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/it-s-really-a-pity-that-there-are-observers-who-view-political-events/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [Everything is not black-and-white . I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/everything-is-not-black-and-white-i-m-really-interested-in-the-gray/) [Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/) [Browse all 5,384 Events quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's really hard for me to use the term 'history' in the singular, because it suggests a reductivist view of how moments and events congeal and reflect the passage of time. 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