Welcome to

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Welcome to United States History History 17A
Instructor Carol Jean Cox
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PASSIVE/ACTIVELEARNERS

• How many are here because you want to be?
  (active)
• Take an active approach - get more/retain more of
  class
• Passive Learning - MRF Memorize/Regurgitate/Forge
  t

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MOTIVATION LEADS TO SUCCESS

• My job is to motivate
• But true motivation/interest must come from you!
• Grades vs. Mastery approach
• either you can do something or not

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VALUE OF LEARNING HISTORY

• History helps us to understand the WHY of things
  occurring the way they do.
• History gives us the foundation of time and
  process.
• History and Geography give us the context of all
  human knowledge

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VALUE OF LEARNING HISTORY

• History is a basis for learning
• who we are and why
• History provides an understanding of contemporary
  issues in comparison
• WHY do we teach History in College if it's
  taught in Junior Senior High?
• more than one presentation
• forget (don't retain because not motivated)

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HISTORY INTEGRATES KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge must be integrated
• One can't study
• history without economics, or
• Psychology without Human Behavior, or
• Philosophy without discussing geography
• and social problems
• What is this class?
• Psychology 1a, Sociology 1a, Philosophy 1a,
  Geography 1a, Economic 1a

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HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY

• Steps leading to an understanding of the past.
• It is a SCIENCE
• 1) Gathering of Data - reading information
• establish primary sources
• documents events of the past
• are statements
• inquiry leads to the WHY

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HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY

• 2) Interpretation of the data
• What does this mean?
• Evaluation in a SCIENTIFIC MANNER
• i.e. statistics
• HOMELESS in Colonial America
• records of court actions against homeless
• transients ousted by constables

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HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY

• 3. Establish Historical Truths
• Discussion - What is True?
• OBJECTIVE - knowledge conforms to reality
• SUBJECTIVE - my knowledge of a topic
• women weaker sex
• Scientific data supports objective

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HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY

• One must ask questions to interpret history to
  find the truth
• OPINION is incomplete data
• i.e, Kennedy assassination
• INQUIRY/DATA--gt
• INTERPRETATION --gt
• TRUTH (supported data)

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HISTORIC PERSPECTIVES

• A Historical Event Can be Viewed from a Variety
  of Perspectives
• Bias - hard to present materials without bias
• Can the subjective be entirely separated from the
  objective?

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HISTORIC PERSPECTIVES

• History is open to interpretation
• This class is U.S. History according to Carol
  Jean Cox
• Various perspectives are needed to create a
  holistic interpretation

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PAST REALITY

• There is a true unchanging past reality
• So little of history has even left a surviving
  trace of its existence.
• It is not even the raw materials from which the
  historian works to reconstruct the past
• What tangible evidence is there of your
  existence?
• Your own life as an example.

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HISTORY PYRAMID

• What percentage of historic materials is unusable
  because it is
• UNDISCOVERED
• BURIED BENEATH A TEL
• COVERED BY JUNGLE GROWTH
• LOCKED AWAY IN THE GOVERNMENTAL ARCHIVES
• COLLECTING DUST IN A TRUNK IN AN ATTIC

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DISCOVERING HISTORIC TRUTH

• Our ability to know the past is limited by
  documenting authenticity reliability
• Is the source credible?
• We must make discerning use of those sources
  that have survived
• There is an assumption that something much closer
  to the real truth will emerge from the
  reconstruction process . . . NOT TRUE

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DISCOVERING HISTORIC TRUTH

• Differing interpretations conclusions can be
  obtained from the same data
• Example each person has been in the position of
  interpreting others actions
• Each generations concerns create a new sense of
  the relevance of the past

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DISCOVERING HISTORIC TRUTH

• The text is not history but a peephole or
  limited vision using fragments of information
• a speck of insight into the past
• This class further distills the text and other
  materials into oral form in the process of
  transmitting history
• However . . . The truth is out there!

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REVIEW OF MAIN POINTS

• Active vs. Passive Learning
• Motivation Success
• Value of Learning History
• History integrates knowledge
• Historic Methodology
• Gather data
• Interpret data
• Establish truth from substantiated data
• Historic Perspectives
• Unchanging True Past Reality
• History Pyramid of knowledge loss
• Discovering Historic Truth

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Welcome to United States History History 17A
Instructor Carol Jean Cox