1. Historians What do they do? Reconstruct (Remake) the past
Why study history?
History serves as a bank of examples for contemplating present problems.
What tools do they use?

2. Think like a Historian, Look for:
bias
evidence
argument
sources
Context of the period the document was written

3. “Just the Facts”? Historical facts by themselves are meaningless.
Historical facts are only important when we give them meaning.

4. Shannon Leggett 2008

5. TOK syllabus & History: 4 strands
Nature of History
Methods of Gaining Knowledge
History and Knowledge Claims
History and Values

6. Nature of History
What is the significance of Carlyle’s view that “The history of the world is but the biography of great men?’”
“Great man,” Socrates, Napoleon, Bismarck, Lincoln, Stalin, Mao, Hitler
Time magazine’s recent response in their “Person of the Year” issue

7. Nature of History George Orwell
Who controls the past controls the future.
Who controls the present controls the past.
George Orwell

8. Shannon Leggett 2008

9. Methods of Gaining Knowledge
How far can we speak with certainty
about anything in the past?”

10. Methods of Gaining Knowledge
“How does the context within which historians live affect historical knowledge?”

11. Shannon Leggett 2008

12. History and Values
Are the lives of some groups of people more historically significant than the lives of others?

13. Should value-laden terms, such as hero or freedom, always be avoided?
History and Values
Should value-laden terms, such as hero or freedom, always be avoided?

14. Can history be used for propaganda?
History and Values
Can history be used for propaganda?
If so, how?”
Shannon Leggett 2008

15. Shannon Leggett 2008

16. History and Knowledge Claims
Can history provide a guide to understanding current affairs?