History and Historians
1.0
Every man his own historian
periodize your life
identify primary sources
family archives
2.0 How do you think historically?
3.0 Some Quotes
“History is something that never happened, written by
someone who wasn’t there”
“The first educational affect of studying history is to train the
mind of the citizen into a state in which he is capable of just view of
political problems”
“History is God’s work, which we must submit to, but which
we may seek to understand in order that we may submit to it
intelligently”
“The historians concern with the future is not to predict but
to envision.”
“Every generation must inevitably understand the past and
anticipate the future in the light of its own restricted experience,
must inevitably play whatever tricks on the dead it finds necessary
for its own peace of mind.”
“The scientific historian sets down the facts and lets them
speak for themselves.”
“It is not I who speak, but history speaks through me.”
“I think that when the history of this period is written by men
not embroiled in the turmoil of the times, they will conclude that
we have done a pretty fair job.” Nixon
“history’s greatest tradition is to help us understand
ourselves and our world so that we may formulate relevant and
reasoned alternatives.”
“History is one of the most misleading, and therefore
dangerous approaches to knowledge if viewed or practiced as a
process of reaching into the past for answers sufficient unto the
present and the future.”
“History repeats itself.”
4.0 What are the tools of the historian?
5.0 What factors shape the personal reference of the historian?
[bias]
personal
age, gender, family, religion, income, group, theory or
philosophy, oral or metaphysical, thesis
6.0 How is the historian like. . . .
judge, detective, artist, statesman, scientist
7.0 Is it possible for the historian to “rethink” the past?
8.0 Is history a science? Prove or disprove. Must first decide
what a science is.
1.
Body of knowledge methodically arrived at and
systematically related
2.
Have general truths or laws that are always true
3.
Be able to make absolute predictions
4.
Must be Objective
9.0 Theories of History
Religious
Geopolitical
Economic
Challenge and Response
Organic
Great Man
10. Obstacles to the Historian who seeks truth objectively
access to sources, censorship, travel, classified documents,
distant past
evaluation of sources
language barriers
nationality
Time and Expense
travel permission [visa & passport]
Asking the right questions
Assessment and Evaluation
What is fact?
What is important?