What is History? And how do we study it?

Learning goals By the end of this lesson students will: define and describe the term ‘history’ distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information evaluate the credibility of sources and information

T h e I m p o r t a n c e o f H i s t o r y: Consider this quote: “History is memory, inspiration, and commonality – and a nation without memory is every bit as adrift as an amnesiac wandering the streets. History matters, and we forget this truth at our peril.” Source: Jack Granatstein, Canadian historian and director of the Canadian War Museum For discussion: What it the subject of the quote? Who said it? Is he a reliable source? According to the author, why does history matter?

D e f i n i t i o n Here is a 3-part definition of history: History is… “The study of past events, that affect people, based on the interpretation of evidence.”

F i e l d s o f H i s t o r y Some of the fields of history are: Political History Social History Sports History Cultural History Economic History Military History

S o c i a l H i s t o r y: A r e W o m e n P e r s o n s?

M i l i t a r y H i s t o r y: C a n a d a a t W a r World War I (1914-1918) World War II (1939-1944) 62,000 dead 42,000 dead Korean War (1950-1953) + 500 dead

P o I i t i c a l H i s t o r y: T e r r o r i s m

C a n a d i a n P r i d e T h r o u g h S p o r t

Refer to handout (1st side) H i s t o r y v s. N o n - H i s t o r y Refer to handout (1st side)

T y p e s o f E v i d e n c e: Evidence is proof that an event occurred. There are two types: Primary (1st hand) – anything that exists from around the time period of the actual event. Ex. a diary, an autobiography, a newspaper, an interview, a piece of clothing, Secondary (2nd hand) – anything that was created after the event occurred. Ex. a textbook, a documentary on the CBC, a biography, a movie…

Refer to handout (2nd side) Evidence continued Refer to handout (2nd side)

F a c t v s. O p i n i o n What is the difference between a ‘fact’ and an ‘opinion’? A fact is something that can be proven to be true with evidence. For example: “Birthrates in Canada dramatically rose in the period following WWII.” An opinion is a viewpoint held by one or more people. It is not necessarily true. For example: “The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup.” What?!?

W h e r e d o y o u F i n d H i s t o r y? Any ideas? History is all around us. We find it in common places such as books, newspapers, magazines, and TV documentaries. However, there are other places to find history that you might not have thought about. . .

M o v i e s a s H i s t o r y ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNcpu8fjEbE

C a n M u s i c B e H i s t o r i c a l ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

T o W r a p U p . . . History is a multi-faceted discipline, and although it focuses on the past, those events/people/stories/lessons still very much affect us today.