Area of Knowledge: History I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention -Catherine Morland on History (cited in Carr 1961)

Guiding Questions:  How reliable is eyewitness testimony as a primary source for history?  To what extent is any certainty attainable in history?  What knowledge issues arise in gathering historical knowledge?  Should historians make moral judgments about the past?  Can we apply the scientific method to history? How does history differ from the other social sciences?  In what way is all history fictive?

But questions for today:  What is history?  Why do we study it?  How do we study the past?  What are the problems of history?  Whose version of history do we study?  What approach do we take in compiling histories?

What is History?  What actually happened in the past  Deals with the accounts of past realities or what is called historiographies

Key points from Bastian et al  Truth is based on historical fact  Truth can be approached from multiple perspectives  Truth in history cannot claim to be absolute except in terms of historical facts  Truth in history is sensitive to paradigm shifts and interpretations

 An historical fact has little worth without interpretation  History should aim to be objective, but not value-free or sterile  Historical facts have similar weight to scientific facts – worth is measured in what caused it and its outcomes/effects  Exists only within a given context – context gives meaning  Is dynamic, fluid and continually rewriting itself

 …and a quick look at p ….

Cheques Lab Instructions: Do only what the current screen directs you to do; do NOT work ahead!

You are Historians….  Your job is to try to find out what happened in the past.  You will make your determination based on artifacts from the past.  You must be able to defend your conclusions using evidence from the artifacts that you have studied.

You are TOK Students….  Your job is to observe how knowledge is made.  Be alert to both practical methods AND abstract use of Ways of Knowing.  Be alert for strengths as well as weaknesses in the processes your group employes for making knowledge.

1 st Artifact Collection  When you are told to do so, draw FOUR checks from the envelope. Set the envelope aside. DO NOT look at any of the other checks!

1 st Hypothesis  Working with your group, study the data you have acquired. Formulate a GROUP hypothesis that accounts for all the data (explains the story line) in your data set.  Write your hypothesis in the space provided on your worksheet.

2 nd Artifact Collection  When you are told to do so, draw FOUR checks from the envelope. Set the envelope aside. DO NOT look at any of the other checks!

2 nd Hypothesis  Working with your group, study the data you have acquired. Formulate a GROUP hypothesis that accounts for all the data in your data set.  Write your hypothesis in the space provided on your worksheet.

3 rd Artifact Collection  When you are told to do so, draw TWO checks from the envelope. Set the envelope aside. DO NOT look at any of the other checks!

NO MORE CHECKS!  Alas, historians never get all the information that there was, and, in fact, they seldom, if ever, even know what resources there may have once been that are now lost. You will not, therefore, have any further access to additional checks! Those that are left in your envelope do not exist!

3 rd Hypothesis  Working with your group, study the data you have acquired. Formulate a GROUP hypothesis that accounts for all the data in your data set.  Write your hypothesis in the space provided on your worksheet.

Consultation w/other Historians  When you are told to do so, you will have SIX minutes to consult with historians from other groups to discuss your findings.

FINAL Hypothesis  Working with your group, study the data you have acquired. Formulate a GROUP hypothesis that accounts for all the data in your data set.  Write your hypothesis in the space provided on your worksheet.

Publication of Findings  Select a spokesperson for the group.  When called upon to do so, present your findings to the class.

Reflection  Answer the questions on the bottom of your group worksheet.

Next:  Answer the questions on the bottom of your group worksheet.