Name

Exercise 2

Early Societies

CULTURAL OBJECTS

Various groups of individuals identify cultural objects differently and in the other hand, different

groups of people profit differently from the artifact, while others do not benefit from the piece.

Artifacts translated or interpreted by a group like the Black Lives Movement can be useful. The

treatment of African-Americans in the nineteenth century is comparable to how they are treated

now in some states and by the police, (Bernu, 2019). The White community does not profit from

such an artifact since they are repressive and racists who continue to subjugate the Black people.

Historians gain from it because it is an artifact that has been passed down the centuries and

contains valuable information.

In light of the above analysis and interpretation, the certificate of freedom for Joseph Trammell

can be a very important cultural artifact in the contemporary world. Different social agents

interpret it differently and relate it to the pursuit of freedom differently. Still, the underlying

concept throughout the essay is the evidence that the certificate determined Joseph Trammell's

freedom. In order to protect that freedom and not find himself back in slavery, he built a tin that

was to act as a safe for the certificate, (Bernu, 2019). The certificate has been handed down

through generations of his family until recently when it was donated to the national museum,

which is now responsible for interpreting the meaning of the cultural artifact.

On May 15, 1988, photojournalist Robert Nickelsberg captured a photo of a smiling Afghan

soldier handing a red flag to a departing Soviet soldier. The Soviet soldier is departing in a tank
decorated in purple and pink flowers and there are other Soviet tanks following behind it. In the

background of the photo, the presence of other Afghan soldiers is also visible. This photo acts as

a lens for the history of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and has a strong rhetorical

analysis that explains the future impact the Soviet invasion has had in relevance to Afghan

refugees today.

According to Henry Bradsher in his book, “Afghan Communism and Soviet Intervention”, in the

mid-1950s, Afghanistan had turned to the Soviet Union for armaments. Afghanistan during this

era was a backward kingdom that led a small number of Afghans to embrace the Soviet model of

Communism because of their search for learning on how to improve Afghanistan. The Afghans

who did not support the Communist model turned to religion to search for an answer to the

growing pressures of a changing world (2001). This division caused a civil war in the country. A

Communist party formed in Afghanistan known as the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan

(PDPA). Their ideas were based upon Marxist ideology and allegiance to Moscow and in

reaction to the Marxists, the group of people who turned to religion for an answer became known

as the Islamists (Bradsher, 2001). Government power was turned over to the PDPA, as Prime

Minister Mohammad Daoud’s government was overthrown. The PDPA was also supported by

the Cuban Prime Minister according to an Afghan newspaper article Kabul Times, (Kabul

Times, 1979).

The new regime was aided by the Soviet political police. This new form of government

challenged Afghanistan’s social, economic, and religious customs. Therefore, a rebellion was

provoked and the rebels became known as the mujahideen. This led to an appeal for help from

Soviet troops and a decision was made in Moscow to commit the Soviet Army to Afghanistan

(Krickus, 2011). An Afghan Communist supporter viewing this image may feel a strong
disappointment because of the departure of the Soviets. On the flip side, an Afghan mujahideen

viewing this image may feel strong relief because Afghanistan would no longer be controlled by

Soviets. Another group of Afghans that may feel anger towards this photo are the refugees who

fled due to the civil war. Both of these artifacts are from the same culture because they represent

freedom from something.

REFERENCES

Krickus, R. J. (2011). The Afghanistan question and the reset in U.S.-Russian relations. Carlisle,

PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.

Afghanistan, "Kabul Times, April 1979" (1979). Books in English. Paper 57.

http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/afghanuno/57

Bradsher, H. (2001). Afghan Communism and the Soviet intervetion. USA: Oxford University

Press.

Bernu, C. (2019). BLK Issues: Preserving BLK Magazine in the DuSable Museum of African

American History Archives. American Quarterly, 71(2), 397-403.

https://doi.org/10.1353/aq.2019.0034