Definition and Nature of History

Definition and Nature of History

• History comes from the Greek word 'Historia', meaning 'information' or 'an enquiry designed to elicit truth'.
• History is not merely a catalogue of events in order, similar to a railway timetable, per A.J.P. Taylor.
• Napoleon Bonaparte believed history is typically written by those in power or the victors.
• Michael Crichton stated that knowing history is essential; without it, individuals are like a leaf detached from its tree.
• George Santayana warned that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
• Marcus Tullius Cicero suggested ignorance of the past equates to perpetual immaturity.
• George Orwell warned that the obliteration of a people's history is the most effective way to destroy them.
• Confucius advised that studying the past is crucial if one wants to define the future.
• George R.R. Martin views history as cyclical because human nature is unchanging.
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe opined those disconnected from history and three thousand years are living without substance.
• Robert A. Heinlein affirmed that a generation disconnected from history possesses neither a past nor a future.
• Mahatma Gandhi urged to not repeat history, but add to the inheritance left by ancestors to make new history.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. submits that individuals are not the makers of history, but are shaped by it.
• Karl Marx stated that the history of all existing society is the history of class struggles.
• Victor Hugo suggested studying history avoids repeating mistakes.
• David McCullough sees history as navigation during difficult times and it defines identity and existence.
• Robert Penn Warren sees that the lack of historical understanding is the damnation of the modern world.
• Marcus Garvey said that a people without knowledge of their history, origin, and culture resembles a tree lacking roots.
• Winston S. Churchill hoped that history would be kind to him for his intentions.

Nature of History

• History is studying the present to make sense of the past to interpret how society evolves and to reveal cause and effect relationship
• History is studying man and it deals with man's development analyzing events in context and to trace how man controls his environment and grow from the past.
• History is concerned with the human development over time and it gives perspective, lending charm to the past.
• History is concerned with the interaction between humankind and the environment and shapes the political, social, economic, and cultural spheres of man's activities and achievements.
• History is an objective record of events that is based on original sources, ensuring clear understanding and well-informed decisions.
• History happenings cover all aspects of social life, and is not limited to politics.
• History is a dialogue between the events of the past and progressively emerging future ends, shaping interpretation with new goals and attempt to predict what happens in the future.
• History involves unearthing and analyzing causal relationships and comparing them across different groups to validate general laws.
• History passes down from generation to generation, carrying the burden of advancement.
• History includes relevant events that increase the understanding of present life.
• History deals with political, social, economic, religious, literary, aesthetic and physical aspects.

Aims of teaching History

• History promotes self-understanding
  • Understand racial, national, family and individual traditions
  • Useful for understanding daily names, places, dates
• History gives a proper conception of time, space and society
• History teaches tolerance
  • Understand different faiths, loyalties, cultures, ideas and ideals
• History develops right attitudes
  • Build intellectual judgment based on facts and unaffected by personal feelings
  • Develop desirable attitudes through self-control, patient, sympathy and self-respect
• History fosters national feelings
  • Support the emotional and national integration of People
• History develops international integration
• Destroy national prejudices
• Teaching History helps pupils develop handling the controversial with truth insisting on free discussion
• History aids in resolving social and individual problems and trends in the field of commerce, industry, international affairs, regional politics
• History promotes socialization by enabling citizens capable of promoting common welfare

Values of teaching History

• History provides mental training
  • By developing mental faculties
  • Providing insight to social, political, economic, and religious problems
• History offers insight into the human problems like
  • Science and art
  • Language and literature
  • Social and political life
  • Philosophical speculation and economic development
  • Rational assessment
• Its essential to grasp cultural and social values
• History describes past to explain the cultures of the current time (customs, usages, institutions)
• One of the main motives of history teaching has been to give the rich heritage of mankind
• Enables understanding of different forces
• History supplements scientific study by studying development of political and social phenomena in time.
• History teaching renders service in creating a patriotism sense
• To know past deeds can easily inspire the child emulate great lives.
• History shows how nations are interdependent
• Learners come to understand their laws have been created that helps with understanding of tolerance, kindness, sympathy and good will.
• History has unique value, behaviour and action of beings
• Develops thought through teaching of history
• Conditions: teachers should now enough stories

Types of Historical Sources

• A source is anything left behind by the past that provides information that can add to the knowledge of the past.
• Historians obtain info from primary and secondary sources
• Primary: First hand sources
• Secondary: Second hand sources

Categories Of Sources:

• Documents: written or printed materials produced in the past
• Numerical records: numerical data in printed or handwritten form
• Oral statements: statements made orally by someone
• Relics: objects with physical or visual characteristics providing information

Primary Sources

• Primary sources are those created during events recorded at the time like physical objects or documents
• Primary sources the user being at the point of of what they were looking at and give a the most important tools of understanding
• Provide window into past.
• Includes first-hand information that includes eyewitness accounts.
• Examples include documents, archival materials, letters, government and court records, parish records, court transcripts and business ledgers.
• Include artifacts such as Manunggul Jar, edifices like colonial churches
• Other examples include:
  • Autobiography - an account of a person's life written by that person
  • Memoir - composed from personal observation and experiences
  • Diary - a regularly kept record of the diarist's activities and reflections
  • Personal Letter - a type of letter that concerns personal matters
  • Correspondence - a body of letters or communications
  • Interview - a conversation where questions are asked and answer are given
  • Survey - a list of questions aimed at extracting specific data from a particular group of people
  • Field research - gathering information outside a laboratory, library or workplace setting by informal means
  • Photographs and posters
  • Paintings
  • Drawings
  • Speech

Secondary Sources

• Involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information, document
• Description of event obtained by another like an author
• Examples
  • Bibliographies
  • Biographical Works
  • Periodicals
  • Literature review

Tertiary Sources

• Index or textual consolidation of primary and secondary sources, third hand, bias
• Examples
  • Library - collection of sources of information and similar resources
  • Archive - accumulation of historical records
  • Museum - institution cares for(conserves) a collection of artifacts
  • Historical Society - organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching

Importance of Using Sources

• Engage Students and promote a deeper understanding of history
• Develope critical thinking skills that challenges assumptions.
• Construct knowledge as they form opinions on the material
• First hand knowledge helps students in understanding events
• Gives understanding of all points of view
• Understand how people make history by primary source of doucmentation.
• Provides empathy for the human condition

Historical Criticism and Bias

• Historical criticism or higher criticism
• Investigates origin to understand
• Discover text original meaning
• Secondary goal seeks to establish reconstruction

Types of Historical Criticism

• External - the validity of a source admissible evidence
• Internal - checks documents

Questions to check source:

• How close was the author to the event?
• When was account being studied?
• Who was the recipient?
• Is account common since?
• Did everyone agree to what happened?

Historical Bias

• Its when a person doesn’t consider something for a view
• Is bad to believe some people are better then others
• When a study is biased.
• People may be biased to an individual, a religion, a social class or political party.
• Is synonymous prejudice
• Can easily creep into textbooks

Types of Biases

• Gender - when someone isn’t the gender they were signed
• Cultural - interpret word or action according to meaning
• Religious - against religion beliefs
• Racial - assigns race based on color
• Political - When someone is inability to understand

Historical Significance

• Evaluate that helps significant
• Students can make judgements
• The past can be important to remember what happened to change a period
• Need perspective a event can acquire something to tell importance Relevance is what people care in their lives
• To know how the event happened after time
• What people are trying to tell Was the event remarked on by people at the time or since?
• The way in which an event has developed
• Does it give consequence
• Does it affect
• superficial is important for a event
• Historical Sources
• Original source with historical information.
• Clues to study
• Historical source includes
  • Documents
  • Artifacts
  • Arch sites
  • Features

Definition of different Historical Sources

• Chronicle -Is acct to write or series of events -Means to write or show them in broadcast in the order that they occurred
• Declaration of Principles
• -Paradigm on equality
• -Drawing on establishment and emerging principles of of a law
• Memoirs
• • Account or bio written from personal knowledge or skills source
• Proclamation
• • public official announcement
• • matter of importance
• Cartoons
• drawing showing features with characteristics. -Humorously exaggerated. -Stirilcal one in a new paper.
• Speech
• -Expression or ability to express thought