1. Why Study History
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This reconstructive process is a perilous one, fraught with potential for misinterpretation and/or misuse of the facts. The ambiguity of the "facts" themselves are clearly problematic, but more so are the ways those facts are "discovered" and subsequently presented. How does a historian know when he has reached genuine testimony of an event that transpired before he himself had even existed? Pictures can lie, and printed matter can be partisan. Though commonly accepted as being true likenesses of their subjects, photographs and portraits (the former more so than the latter), are actually only indicative of what either the subject or the artist wanted others to see. Bearing this caveat in mind, pictures then become subject to the same scrutiny as any other piece of evidence, so much so that examining the angle, focus, location and pose of pictures becomes more revealing than perhaps the picture itself. Think about it - why was this information deemed important enough to paint or take a picture of, and by whom? For what purpose or audience was it intended, and how if at all, did that intention differ from it's actual use? What was going on around the subject that didn't get captured in the picture? With any of these questions left unanswered, it becomes apparent that though a picture may well be worth a thousand words, they can still only tell half the story. .
Clearly then, the historian must approach his search for knowledge with a critical eye for potentially misleading information. However, in stripping away the layers of subjectivity that were superimposed on the "facts" by times, places and people before him, can he simultaneously assure that these layers are not replaced with his own assumptions and interpretations in the process? The very search for objective evidence, however noble in intent, necessarily involves some preconceived notions of where to look and what to look for.
Why study history? ... First, I study history to learn about America's past times. ... Another reason I study history is to make myself more intelligent. ... That is why everyone should be required to study history. ... Everyone has their own opinions on why we study history, but we all have to study it. ...
World history is the study of the ways in which the world changes over time. ... When studying World History it must be taken into account why Columbus was looking for another route to eastern Asia and what the trade situation was throughout the rest of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. ... By studying World History one can find the origins of the Muslim religion with Muhammad. ... The study of World History allows a scholar to understand why parts of the Muslim community disagrees with the actions of the Christian World and the many events throughout the wor...
Linda Levstik wrote a book called "Doing History" that explains how to teach Social Studies in a classroom. ... I also have learned that it is important to have a strong literature based Social Studies program so that children can deepen their understanding of the topic and integrate it into other areas of study. ... This chapter focuses on linking children to the past through family histories. ... Students can find out their origin and discover why their family immigrated, when they immigrated, and find out different problems family member might have faced when they first can to the Unit...
Other myths account for the organization of the world and society, for instance how men and women were created and why they are different from one another. ... (www.mpm.edu/wirp/ICW-14.html) Oral tradition is a great way to research and to study about a culture or civilization. ... For example in the first pages the griot introduces himself and tells what his job is and why he is important. ... Both of these methods are helping historians to understand how these once great African kingdoms rose to power, and why they collapsed. ... When I become a historian I would try to study oral tr...
Scientific history was a better source to prove why different things happened throughout the ages, through studying the specific details from events that occurred in the past, to understand if they caused other things to happen. ... One main reason why this method is so accurate, whereas the work of earlier historians is suspect or "untrue" because the facts of the story are unverified and unverifiable, is because his account, by contrast, is based upon firm evidence, which he has made considerable efforts to check. ... Sacred history is different from scientific history for two main reasons. ...
"Why Western History Matters- is an essay adapted from a speech Donald Kagan delivered to the National Association of Scholars, and was reprinted in the December 28, 1994, issue of the Wall Street Journal. ... He does so by examining older cultures and explaining why they were quintessential to the past and to our future development as a society. ... In conclusion, my acceptance of the ideas expressed by Donald Kagan's essay makes the study of Western History an obligation to bettering of society. After reading this essay of "Why Western History Matters- I feel I have a better understa...
Why I like History Everyone takes at least one history course during his or her educational career. ... History is part of our everyday lives. ... Cars, for example, have been improved upon by studying historical records of the first Model T's. History plays a major part in everyone's life. It is important for us to study our past so we can better understand the world we live in today. ...
Beverly Southgate's work, History: What and Why?... Examining history and the study of history, Southgate provides a thorough analysis of where the study of history has been, and where it is going. ... This serves to further his thesis that the study of history is an evolving idea. ... The study of studying history is heavily based upon philosophy and ideas. ... History: What & Why, is nice tool to aid in the understanding of the study of history. ...