History as an Area of Knowledge

TaK - History Write down the two most significant events that have happened at the College since you arrived in the summer of 2009. Who do you think is best qualified to write a history of RCNUWC: a graduate? a teacher? a member of the board? a local journalist? Why?

“Historians are dangerous people. TaK - History “Historians are dangerous people. They are capable of upsetting everything” Khruschev “He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” Orwell “If you do not like the past, change it.” Burton

TaK - History

TaK - History

“Those who don’t study the past are condemned to repeat it” Santayana TaK - History “Those who don’t study the past are condemned to repeat it” Santayana “What experience and history teach is this - that people and governments have never learned anything from history” Hegel

To what extent do you think that people keep making the same mistakes? TaK - History To what extent do you think that people keep making the same mistakes? Why?

Why should you care about the past? TaK - History Why should you care about the past? What dangers are there in being obsessed with the past? What dangers are there in ignoring the past?

TaK - History “History is bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present.”Henry Ford

What is history? Is it enough to define it as “the study of the past”? TaK - History What is history? Is it enough to define it as “the study of the past”? Concerned with: Evidence (the present traces of the past) Significance (concerned with significant events) Explanation & Understanding (not only describing the past, but also explaining it)

Different histories Over-reliance on the written word? TaK - History Different histories Over-reliance on the written word? In parts of West Africa, history is told through song by a griot, a respected wandering musician Among many Australian Aborigines, the land itself is history. Geographical features reflect the creation stories of the ‘dreamtime’

What is history? Micro histories. Our own. “For the want of a nail…….” TaK - History What is history? Micro histories. Our own. “For the want of a nail…….”

How can the past be known? TaK - History How can the past be known? Primary Sources (materials produced at the time of an event by people who were there) Fallible eye-witness Social bias Deliberate manipulation Secondary sources (second-hand accounts)

Writing history History is the selection of a selection TaK - History Writing history History is the selection of a selection Advantages of hindsight Disadvantages of hindsight

Perspectives in history TaK - History Perspectives in history Study the historian before you study his facts Reading an 18th Century account of the 13th Century will possibly tell you as much about the 18th as it will about the 13th Century Propaganda and persuasion

Some Problems of Bias Topic choice bias Confirmation bias TaK - History Some Problems of Bias Topic choice bias Confirmation bias National bias

Theories of history The ‘Great Person’ theory Economic Determinism TaK - History Theories of history The ‘Great Person’ theory Economic Determinism No meaning, only chance! “Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the whole history of the world would have been different” Blaise Pascal

Why study history? History gives us a sense of identity TaK - History Why study history? History gives us a sense of identity History is a defence against propaganda History enriches our understanding of human nature

Some key points: TaK - History History seeks to study and explain the significant events of the past on the basis of currently existing evidence The study of History can be justified on the grounds that it contributes to our sense of identity, is a defence against propaganda, and enriches our understanding of human nature History is based on primary sources, but since they are selective they cannot always be taken at face value In seeking to explain the past the historian has the benefit of hindsight which can sometimes result in hindsight bias We can perhaps get closer to the truth by exploring the past from a variety of perspectives Historical events rarely have a single cause but are usually the result of a combination of factors

Essays 1) “We see and understand things not as they are but as we are.” Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing. 2) Are some ways of knowing more likely than others to lead to truth? Mathematics Ethics Sense Perception Natural Sciences Reason Ways of Knowing Knower(s) Arts Emotion Language Human Sciences Areas of Knowledge History Theory of Knowledge Diagram

TaK - History History Reason Maths Perception Natural Sciences Ethics What fallacies arise in studying history? Maths What role do statistics play in history? Perception How reliable is eye-witness testimony as a primary source? Ethics Should historians make moral judgments about the past? Natural Sciences Can the scientific method be applied to history? History Fallacies (examples): Arts How is history similar to fiction? How is it different? Human Sciences How does history differ from other social sciences? Language Can historical events be described in neutral language?