Concept of History - First Term

• The following are study notes from the provided text

First Term

Concept Of History

• In week 1 the meaning of history is covered
• In week 2 the aims and reasons History is taught and studied in schools is covered
• In week 3, the sources of history (primary sources) are covered
• Week 4 covers the sources of History(secondary sources) are covered
• Week 5 is mid term test
• Week 6 covers the sources of History (tertiary sources)
• Week 7 covers how to access sources of history
• Week 8 is the mid term break
• Week 9 covers the importance of history to the individuals
• Week 10 covers importance of history to society
• Week 11 covers importance of history to a nation
• Week 12 is examination

Meaning of History

• History is derived from the Greek word ‘Historia” meaning inquiry into or knowledge acquired by investigation
• To a layman, History means the study of past events
• History can be defined as the study of the past, relating it to the present to reshape the future
• History takes a general look at past experiences
• History brings back the past experiences so that we can become informed, learn from it, build on it and use it to better our present and the future
• Herodotus is regarded as the father of History because he was the first historian to systematically record the events that happened and he was interested in history

Aims/Reasons Why History Is Taught And Studied In Schools.

• To enable the next generation to know themselves and their environment in historical context
• To avoid mistakes made by people who lived in the past.
• To appreciate the factors that make for national unity and global understanding
• To develop in the students the ability to present clear, relevant and logical arguments in every discussion they engage in
• To create awareness about the main historical development in Nigeria, West Africa and the whole world from the earliest times to the present
• To inculcate the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in the students
• To satisfy man's instinct and curiosity about all aspects of life: economic, social, political, educational, etc.
• To admire and learn the characters of our heroes and heroines and their achievements
• To know the way our fore- fathers lived and the environment in which they lived and how it influenced their culture
• To raise future historians

Differences between History and Story telling

• History deals with the study of the past while storytelling is an account of imaginary or real people/events
• History is based on real facts and evidence while storytelling can either be based on fact or fiction
• History is studied for educational purposes, while storytelling is listened to or read for entertainment and relaxation
• History is studied for improvement and development of the society while storytelling is meant for teaching morals and life lessons

History Makers

• History makers are experts that provide resources and academic materials used in getting past events
• History makers analyse past events for the purpose of improving society
• Historians are scholars or researchers who write, study and analyse past events
• Archaeologists are experts that study the remains of ancient civilisation; they dig for artifacts
• Artifacts are objects made by people in the olden days which could be farming tools, adornment materials, or weapons
• Artifacts reflect the culture of people that lived in the past
• Anthropologists study artifacts and fossils to detect the type of culture and lifestyle of people who lived in the past
• Cryptographers are experts who specialise in explaining the meaning of ancient writings.
• Palaeontologists give data of fossils of plants and animals encountered by ancient people.

Sources of History (primary sources)

• Sources of History are the means or ways through which information about past events are known or discovered
• History relies on different sources which can be classified into primary, secondary and tertiary sources
• Primary sources of History can be defined as first –hand information and account got directly from the actual event or people involved
• Examples of primary sources include eye-Witness accounts, artifacts, oral tradition, legends, folklores, archival materials, charters and photographs

Eye-Witness Account:

• A person that witnessed the event can write details of his experiences in a book or newspaper
• E.g. Nationalists like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe could give a first-hand account of events leading to Nigeria independence in 1960

Artifacts:

• Ordinarily, artifacts refers to the material remains of past generations/evidence which are either dug out from the ground through archaeological excavations and are preserved in museums for future reference
• Examples of artifacts in Nigeria include the Benin Ivory mask, Igbo-Ukwu Bronze, and Nok Terracotta

Oral Tradition:

• Refers to verbally preserved information that are handed down from one generation to another by words of mouth

Legend:

• Refers to stories and narratives (folklores) about past human actions which are believed by both the narrators and listeners to have significantly determined the cause of man's life over time
• Oduduwa, the father of Yoruba was believed to have migrated from Middle East while Bayajidda, the father of Hausa was also believed to have migrated from Baghdad

Folklores:

• These are the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth
• An example is a Yoruba myth about the creation of the world had it that a cock spread sand throughout the world which provided soil and land for all human beings

Archival Materials:

• Archival materials refer to preserved materials (e.g. documents, artifacts) which show evidence about past events of mankind
• It contains primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual's (organisational/society's) life time

Charters:

• These are documents showing agreement entered into by two or more countries either to form an international organisation or to jointly pursue a particular programme of interest

Photographs:

• Photographs are important primary source of history as events captured in photographs are substantive, undeniable and indisputable
• Presently because of photo shop, photos can be cropped, removed and retouched to repair old photos thereby altering the reality.

Sources of History (secondary sources)

• Secondary sources of history refer to sources of reconstructing history that are created by people who did not have any first-hand experience or participate in the events of interest to the historian Examples of secondary sources of history are:

Textbooks

• Textbooks refer to a book used as a standard work for the study of a subject
• They could be curriculum-based as used in Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools or course work-based as used in universities and other institutions of higher learning
• Popular history textbooks authors in Nigeria are Professor Ade Ajayi, Michael Omolewa, and Obaro Ikime

Academic Journals

• Journals are scholarly publications of both empirical researches and positions papers by people who are in the field of teaching and research
• Journals are usually used by universities, polytechnics, colleges of Education and other research based institutions like Historical Society of Nigeria, African Journal Online-Nigeria.

Government Publications

• Government publications cover a range of materials on different subject matters
• They include reports of commissions of enquires, annual reports of various ministries, departments and agencies etc
• Such publications are very useful sources of information for history

Biographies

• A biography is a comprehensive life story of an individual written by another person
• It includes facts and details about his birth, family background, work experiences, social interactions and relationship, achievements and impacts of the person in the society

Autobiography

• An autobiography is a detailed narrative of a person's life history written by himself
• The person highlights various aspects of his or her life and is written sequentially or chronologically

Memoirs

• A memoir has been described as a historical account written from personal knowledge
• It is possible to write the memoir of an individual if you have lived or worked with him over a long period of time

Sources of History (Tertiary sources)

• Tertiary sources of History are sources that critically digest and analyse both primary and secondary sources
• Tertiary sources of history include student's projects, bulletins, memoranda, bibliography, dictionaries etc
• Examples of Tertiary Sources of History: Students Projects

Students Projects:

• These are special academic works of research usually carried out by final year students of higher institutions which include universities, polytechnics, colleges of education etc
• Students are assigned to supervisors who would guide them throughout their investigation
• Students are expected to explore and analyse both primary and secondary sources of history in order to make an informed conclusion in their investigation

Bulletins:

• Bulletins are defined as a short official statement or summary of news
• A bulletin may carry new research findings from a team of archaeologists which they want to bring to the knowledge of the society

Memoranda:

• These are brief but informal reports that are used for record keeping and documentation within an organisation
• Memoranda are useful in the reconstruction of past events.

Bibliography:

• This is defined as a list of specific books used by an author in academic writing
• Most textbooks, academic journals, and student's projects normally come with bibliography otherwise known as references
• These references act as ways of getting better information on the subject when the books are used

Encyclopaedia:

• An encyclopaedia is an alphabetically arranged set of books providing detailed information on different topics
• Encyclopaedia contains specific information on archaeological findings, summary of oral history and analysis of historical discoveries both from primary and secondary sources

Ways of Accessing Sources of History

• Primary, Secondary and Tertiary sources can be accessed through any of the following means:

Excursions:

• Excursions are deliberate visits to places of importance for the purpose of knowledge

• Through excursion, students of History have opportunity to have first' hand information of what they have been taught in class, read in books, watched on television, internet or told as stories by elders etc

• Among historical sites normally visited by students in Nigeria are Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Point of No return in Badagry, The First Storey Building in Nigeria at Badagry, National Museums etc

Exhibitions:

• Exhibitions are public display of works of art in galleries/museums or public demonstration of skills/talents
• Exhibition are usually advertised and given wide publicity so that people who are interested could attend
• Historians are often in the habit of participating in exhibitions to interact with exhibitors of artifacts relating to events they are studying

Libraries:

• A Library is a place where books and other academic materials are kept for reference purposes Historians patronise libraries to interact with available resources in order to establish a fact about an event they are investigating

Cultural Festivals:

• A cultural festival is a special event for display of cultural heritage of a community
• Egungun festival is very common among the Aworis, Eyo festival is peculiar to Isale Eko people in Lagos and New Yam Festival is common among the Igbos and a few communities in Nigeria

Museums:

• A Museum is a place where collection of artifacts and important objects of great cultural, historical and scientific values are preserved
• Museums are normally opened to the public for display of artifacts and historical materials

Importance of History

• The importance of History will be discussed in three ways: to the individual, to the society and to the nation.

Importance of History to the individual

• History makes you understand your race, lineage and ancestors and makes your origin clear to you
• History teaches individuals to make right and wise judgement
• History helps us to learn about men and women who have changed events of the world and gives us an insight into what you can do as individual to positively influence the world
• History affords us the opportunity of understanding how cultures are formed and developed
• The study of History inspires people to take actions that will bring about progressive change in the society

Importance of History To the Society

• History helps to transmit culture and values of the society from one generation to another
• History teaches causes of change, effects of conflicts, wars, violence and intolerance on the society
• History gives us information of how families and tribes in our society came into existence
• History makes us know information about our tribe, ancestors, norms, values etc
• History aids inter-group relations among communities

Importance of History to the Nation

• History promotes nationalism and patriotism to the nation
• History provides road maps for national planning and development
• History makes us know the causes and events that led to great conflicts, violence, wars etc. For example, the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970)
• The stories of our past nationalists and great leaders are preserved for younger ones through the study of History
• These achievers produces role models for the younger generation
• The knowledge of History, for instance political trends will help predict what may happen in future

Second Term

Geography and environment

• Week 1 covers the revision of the first term examination and historical sites in Nigeria, including Nok culture, covering its meaning, artifacts, people and occupational activities
• Week 2 includes the significance of Nok culture in Nigerian history and information about Ile-Ife, its location on themap of Nigeria and its place in Yoruba History
• Week 3 Covers figures and artifacts of Ile-Ife
• Week 4 covers the people, occupational activities and significance of Ile-Ife culture in the Nigerian history
• Week 5 is the mid term test
• Week 6 covers Benin, its location on the map of Nigeria, the Edo (Benin) culture and history, and figures/artifacts
• Week 7 is the mid term break.
• Week 8 covers the people, occupational activities and significance of Edo (Benin) culture in the Nigerian history
• Week 9 covers Igbo-Ukwu, including its location on the map of Nigeria and the Igbo-Ukwu culture and history
• Week 10 covers figures and artifacts, plus the people of Igbo-Ukwu
• Week 11 covers the occupational activities of Igbo-Ukwu
• Week 12 is the Examination

Third Term

Political Development in Nigeria

• Week 1 involves the revision of the second term examination, plus the meaning of centralised states
• Week 2 focuses on the characteristics of centralised states
• Week 3 covers examples of centralised e.g. Hausa states
• Week 4 covers centralized states e.g. Karnem-Bornu, Nupe, Oyo empire
• Week 5 is mid term test
• Week 6 covers centralized states e.g. Igala kingdom, Benin empire
• Week 7 is mid term break
• Week 8 covers non-centralised states e.g. Niger Delta city states, Calabar, plus the meaning of non-centralised states
• Week 9 Includes examples of Non-centralised states in non- colonial Nigeria
• Week 10 covers non-centralised states e.g. Tiv, Idoma
• Week 11 covers non-centralised states e.g Igbo, Urhobo
• Week 12 covers non-centralised states e.g. Ijo and Oro (Oron)
• Week 13 is the examination
• A project is set to design a brochure of any of the centralised states, its date due is the 8th of May 2023