HISTORY
Areas of Knowledge
What is an area of knowledge?
The areas of knowledge, whichare situated within theperimeter of the TOKdiagram, are subject areas ordisciplines into whichknowledge is frequentlyclassified. They may be seenas an application of ways ofknowing, perhaps shaped bymethodology, to particularsubject matter.
Your thoughts…
Can you classify each of yoursubject areas into an area ofknowledge? If not, why not?
Are any of the areas ofknowledge moreimportant/more highly valuedthan another?
What similarities/differencesdo you perceive between themethodologies associated witheach of the areas ofknowledge?
Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past;for human events ever resemble those of preceding times.This arises from the fact that they are produced by men whoever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the samepassions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
Machiavelli
This I regard as history's highest function, to let no worthyaction be uncommemorated, and to hold out the reprobationof posterity as a terror to evil words and deeds.
Tacitus
History
What is history?
Which of the following is the most persuasivedescription of history: an account of great individuals,an account of great historical forces, an account of adecline from the greatness of the past, an account ofprogress towards the future, or a cycle of recurringevents? What other descriptions might be appropriate?
What do historians do?
Gather evidence from a variety of sources (writtentexts, archaeological remains, artefacts, oral historiesetc).
Critically analyse sources to determine theirreliability and worthiness. In particular, they aretrying to identify bias (prejudice) within sources.The bias of an author affects the reliability of asource.
Utilise appropriate evidence to formulate theoriesabout people, events, concepts and ideas from thepast.
Critical analysis of sources
One of the most important things a historian does iscritically analyse their sources. When analysing asource, historians ask themselves a number ofquestions in order to judge the reliability of thatsource. This skill is useful in other areas as well!
What questions would you ask in order to assess thereliability of a source?
Common questions to assess reliability of sources
Is this a primary source (written at the time of events) orsecondary source (written after the event, usually by a historian)?
Who is the author/creator of the source?
When was the source written/created? How close is it to the dateof the actions/events it describes?
What sources of information has the author/creator used toconstruct this source?
What sort of information is in the source?
Was there a purpose in writing/creating it (eg propaganda)? Whowas the audience?
What is the tone of the source? Is it biased, reasonable, emotional,propagandist etc?
Is this source supported by other sources?
What can the source be used for? It might be good evidence for oneissue, but unreliable for another.
Which source is the most reliable? Why?
A history text book
An encyclopaedia
A photograph
A video recording
A diary entry
Archaeological evidence
A newspaper article
A website
A political cartoon
What impact does the historian have?
What is the role of the historian? Does the historianrecord history, or create it?
Can the historian be free of bias in the selection andinterpretation of material?
Is the power of persuasion a characteristic of a goodhistorian?
Ten Minute History
In the next 10 minutes, write your personal history.Remember, time is limited so you will need to considerwhat you should emphasise and what you should leaveout.
Reflection
What did you include in your personal history?
What did you leave out?
What impression would a person get from yourpersonal history? Is this a full and accurateimpression?
Given your answers, can one talk meaningfully of ahistorical fact? How far can we speak with certaintyabout anything in the past?
Topics for discussion
What is the significance of Carlyle’s view that “Thehistory of the world is but the biography of greatmen”?
What do you understand by George Orwell’scomment that “Who controls the past controls thefuture. Who controls the present controls the past”?To what extent do you agree with it and itsimplications?