Studying History K.J. Benoy

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

What is History? “History is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind.” Edward Gibbon

What is History? “History is a myth we all agree to believe.” Napoleon

What is History? “History is the Essence of innumerable biographies.” Thomas Carlyle

What is History? “What is past is prologue.” William Shakespeare

What is History? “ ‘History,’ Stephen said, ‘is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” James Joyce

What is History? “ The past is useless. That explains why it is past.” Wright Morris

What is History? “We used to believe everything that wasn’t true. We call it History.” The Wizard, speaking to Elphaba in Wicked.

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

What is History? “History deals not only with the lives of great individuals…it 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

What is History? Gary Larson – The Far Side

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?

Why Study History? It is fun.  Stories from the past are often stranger and more interesting than anything in fiction.

Why Study History? We can learn from it.  “Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them”

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.

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 we’ve been driving along.

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..

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.

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.

Why Study History? There is beauty in the past.  Great achievements in the past tell us that we can also achieve greatness today.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Why Study History To 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.

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.

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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