Studying History

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Studying History

• K.J. Benoy

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What is History?

• History is the witness that testifies to the
  passing of time it illuminates reality,
  vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily
  life, and brings us tidings of antiquity.
• Cicero

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What is History?

• History is, indeed, little more than the
  register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes
  of mankind.
• Edward Gibbon

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What is History?

• History is a myth we all agree to believe.
• Napoleon

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What is History?

• History is the Essence of innumerable
  biographies.
• Thomas Carlyle

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What is History?

• What is past is prologue.
• William Shakespeare

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What is History?

• History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from
  which I am trying to awake.
• James Joyce

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What is History?

• The past is useless. That explains why it is
  past.
• Wright Morris

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What is History?
We used to believe everything that wasnt true.
We call it History. The Wizard, speaking to
Elphaba in Wicked.
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What is History?

• There can be no history of the past as it
  actually did happen there can only be historical
  interpretations, and none of them final, and
  every generation has to frame its own.
• Karl Popper

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What is History?

• History deals not only with the lives of great
  individualsit may be said to consist of the
  sediment of the lives of millions of smaller men
  and women who have left no name, but who have
  made their contribution.
• A. L. Rowse

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What is History?
Gary Larson The Far Side
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Why Study History?It is fun.

• Wander through a castle or a cathedral.
• How can you not want to know about the past?
• How did people live?
• What did they think?
• How were they like me? How did they differ?

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Why Study History?It is fun.

• Stories from the past are often stranger and more
  interesting than anything in fiction.

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Why Study History?We can learn from it.

• Those who do not learn the lessons of history
  are doomed to repeat them

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Why Study History?To understand the present.

• The past created the present.
• It makes sense that we need to look to the past
  to see how we became what we are.

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Why Study History?To see trends.

• The present is just a moment.
• The past stretches back for us to see.
• To get an understanding of where we are going, we
  need to look at the road weve been driving along.

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Why Study History?To understand why people and
societies differ.

• We are the way we are.
• Others are the way they are.
• To get along, we need to understand each-other..

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Why Study History?To understand ourselves.

• What do we believe in?
• Where did our ideas come from?
• We need to examine ourselves and to question our
  thinking in order to grow and improve.

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Why Study History?To understand change and how
it affects us.

• One thing is certain things change.
• History shows us how this occurs and by studying
  it we try to find out how to arrive at positive
  outcomes.
• We might also find lessons in how to cope with
  negatives.

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Why Study History?There is beauty in the past.

• Great achievements in the past tell us that we
  can also achieve greatness today.

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Why Study History?There is ugliness and horror
in the past.

• We also need to see the other side of humanity.
• Man has done terrible things in the past we need
  to know that we can do the same or worse again.

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Why Study History?To be inspired by great people.

• Great and inspiring people populate the past.
• Their examples can inspire us to also strive for
  greatness.

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Why Study History?To learn to question.

• The study of history requires us to ask new and
  important questions.
• Learning how to formulate questions is an
  important life skill.

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Why Study History?To learn how to research.

• Answering questions about the past makes us learn
  how to find answers.
• We enquire, we read, we dig for information.

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Why Study History?To become more analytical.

• We are sure to find contradictory information we
  need to decide what to believe and why.
• Historians must trust in the weight of evidence.
• We need to keep an open mind and not to simply
  look for what we already believe.

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Why Study HistoryTo see different points of view.

• We need to look at things through a variety of
  lenses.
• Historians need to see not only through their own
  eyes, but through the eyes of others too.

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Why Study History?To improve our writing.

• Historians not only research the past, but they
  then share their work with others.
• Historians must learn to write clearly and
  convincingly.
• This is a skill useful to all.

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The Historical Approach

• How can we understand anything of other people
  or ourselves, if we know nothing of history?
  The historian shows us how change has worked in
  the past and helps us to understand the present
  and make educated guesses about the future.

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