Historiography EDCI658 History of Education Sept. 4, 2006

The Uses of History Sense of our own identity Sense of our own identity Better understand the present Better understand the present –“present-mindedness” Corrective for misleading analogies and “lessons” of the past Corrective for misleading analogies and “lessons” of the past Tendencies of humankind, of social institutions, and other aspects of human condition Tendencies of humankind, of social institutions, and other aspects of human condition Develop tolerance and open-mindedness Develop tolerance and open-mindedness The basic background for many other disciplines The basic background for many other disciplines Entertainment Entertainment Critical thinking skills Critical thinking skills

Continuity and Change: The Stages of Historical Consciousness History as Fact History as Fact History as Casual Sequence History as Casual Sequence History as Complexity History as Complexity History as Interpretation History as Interpretation –Moral certain and ambiguity –Absolute truth and relativism

Context and Moral Judgment of History Disagreement among professional historians on passing moral judgment on past events and Disagreement among professional historians on passing moral judgment on past events and individuals using current standards individuals using current standards –Ranke –Novick (1988): That Nobel Dream, Historicism Originated in an effort to criticize naturalism, historicism says that knowledge and understanding are inevitably interpretive, particular, perspectival, and contextual, which is consistent with the underlying philosophy and theory of qualitative inquiry (Schwandt, p. 117)

Objectivity of History The founding of American Historical profession in the 1880s-First World War The founding of American Historical profession in the 1880s-First World War –Establishment of objectivity as the central norm of the profession World War I-World War II World War I-World War II –Historical relativism World War II-The End of Cold War World War II-The End of Cold War –Chastened objectivist synthesis, trivializing the relativist critique by partially incorporating it Mid-1960s-present Mid-1960s-present –Confusion, polarization, and uncertainty (Novick, 1988)

Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology Ontology: is the study of being or existence or to study conceptions of reality Ontology: is the study of being or existence or to study conceptions of reality Epistemology: is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge Epistemology: is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge Methodology: a body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline, a particular procedure or set of procedures, or the analysis of the principles or procedures of inquiry in a particular field Methodology: a body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline, a particular procedure or set of procedures, or the analysis of the principles or procedures of inquiry in a particular fieldWikipedia

Positivist and Naturalist Axioms Reality Single, tangible, fragmentable Multiple, constructed, holistic Knower/ the known independent, dualism Interactive, inseparable Possibility of generalization Time and context- free Time- and context-bound Casual links Real causes, distinguishable causes and effects Mutual simultaneous shaping Values Inquiry is value- free Inquiry is value-bound

Phenomenology and Hermeneutics Phenomenology: rejects scientific realism and the accompanying view that the empirical sciences have a privileged position in identifying and explaining features of a mind- independent world Phenomenology: rejects scientific realism and the accompanying view that the empirical sciences have a privileged position in identifying and explaining features of a mind- independent world Hermeneutics: the notion refers to the nature and means of interpreting a test. Construing the meaning of the whole meant making sense of the parts, and grasping the meaning of the parts depended on having some sense of the whole Hermeneutics: the notion refers to the nature and means of interpreting a test. Construing the meaning of the whole meant making sense of the parts, and grasping the meaning of the parts depended on having some sense of the whole

The Writing of History The Beginning” The Beginning” –Old Testament –Herodotus: The Histories, personal observations, surviving records, interviews of witnesses –Thucydides: The History of Peloponnesian Wars, verifiable, relevant facts only, explain events in a way that can be substantiated by evidence –Roman Empire –Renaissance  Machiavelli: The Prince  Guicciardini: History of Italy

The Writing of History Cont. Leopold Von Ranke and the rise of Modern History Leopold Von Ranke and the rise of Modern History –Establishing history as a respected discipline in the universities –Firmly established the notion that all sound history must be based on primary courses and a rigorous methodology: footnotes and bibliography, scientific –Historical-mindedness

The Writing of History Cont. The nineteenth-century history The nineteenth-century history –Political, legal, or diplomatic –Ethnocentric, nationalistic Karl Marx Karl Marx –Progressive Theory –Economics interpretation of history, economic determinism –Example.: Charles A. Beard Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis The twentieth-century history The twentieth-century history –Social history: average men and women, marginalized groups –Women history –Psychohistory –The Impact of IT, computers, statistical packages

References Furary, C., & Salevouris, M. (2000).The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide. (2 nd ed.). Wheeling,IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc. Furary, C., & Salevouris, M. (2000).The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide. (2 nd ed.). Wheeling,IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Novick, P. (1988). That Noble Dream: The “ objectivity question ” and the American historical profession. New York: University of Cambridge Press. Novick, P. (1988). That Noble Dream: The “ objectivity question ” and the American historical profession. New York: University of Cambridge Press. Schwandt, T. A. (2001). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Schwandt, T. A. (2001). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Wikipedia: Wikipedia: