Historical Themes:
Political Issues
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Deals with how societies structure their government as well as indicating societal rules and norms.
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Relationship between “ruler and ruled”
The Power of Thought
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The exchange of ideas within a society and also between them
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Religions, Cultural Practices, Intellectual Theories (ex: Locke)
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Ideas are central to social change – Nationalism, Revolution
The Role of Economic Systems
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Denotes not only how societies reach subsistence but also exchange and trade
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Types of economic systems: Subsistence agriculture, Trade based, Mercantilism, Slave based, Industrialized,
Free and Wage Labor
Social Aspects - Class Systems, Marriage and Family Life, Rural versus Urban, Gender Roles
Culture - Traditions and Rituals, Religious Practices, Food, The Arts, Education
Science and Technology
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The role of discoveries and technological innovations
Scientific discoveries and technological advances forever change the way societies interact
Environmental Factors - How humans go from being controlled by their environment to controlling their environment,
Environment touches on every single aspect of a society, Examples – disease, changes in the land
Cause and Effect - Understanding why is sometimes the most important aspect of interpreting historical events
Bias - It is critical for the student of history to understand the bias of historical interpretations, primary and secondary sources
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Human beings are inherently biased
Propaganda
Sources - Primary Sources - Legal Documents, Personal Histories, Oral Histories, Artifacts, Photographs, Newspapers… and Secondary Sources - Texts, Biographies, the Internet
Compare and Contrast - Historians often compare and contrast events, people and places to draw conclusions, Identify major characteristics in order to find similarities and differences
Fact vs. Opinion - It is important for the student of history to be able to recognize fact from opinion
Perception vs. reality - Hindsight is 20/20
Even though we can look back and judge decisions it is often difficult to put yourself in their place