In Source A, Tom Griffiths offers a complex, multifaceted and distinctly relativist view of history. With a perspective inextricably linked to the ideas of a multitude of other historians, philosophers and thinkers, past and present, Source A considers the purposes and the construction of history, Griffiths presenting his own particular viewpoint. Source A posits that the purpose of history is predominantly to inform, with an understanding of the past offering new and greater ways of understanding the world. In regards to the construction of history, Source A makes an argument for the importance of inclusive, popular history, the significance of historical imagination, and the importance of a precise and careful methodological approach to the …show more content…
Popular history essentially refers to history writing that is presented in an accessible manner, appealing to a wider audience than academic history, often by emphasising narrative over strict scholarship. Historically, academic historians have often looked down upon popular history for this reason, generalising it as automatically inferior to academic history. Popular history is so important to the construction of history because, as Source A notes, history is so ‘integrated with our public and private lives’ that ‘it can be hard, sometimes, to detect its daily revolutionary influence.’ This subtlety is of course, detrimental to furthering what Source A deems the primary purpose of history, as in order for people to learn from history it must be noticed and actively engaged with, by the widest possible audience. Source A argues that as a result historians must ‘cultivate wonder as a technical skill,’ in order to ‘make the familiar strange’ and draw attention to history that would otherwise go unnoticed. In other words, history should be constructed in such a way that it appears strange and interesting, and is widely accessible. And this is what makes for the success of popular history, which strives to construct not the most academic account of history, but the most entertaining one. Its success in doing so is clear, with popular history being just that, popular. History-makers such as David McCullough, William Manchester and Peter Fitzsimons have produced, to great effect, popular history that appeals to a very wide audience, by extension greatly fulfilling the purpose of history by allowing many people to learn from the past. As a result, Source A clearly asserts that popular history is integral to the construction of history as its focus on accessible narratives prompts wider readership and
“He slowly and carefully built up our knowledge of Western intellectual history – with facts, with connections, with speculations”. And Jack served as more than simply a source of numbers and figures, he also helped “make a potentially difficult book accessible with his own explanations”.... ... middle of paper ... ...
What is history? Many believe that history is what is read in textbooks, or what is seen on the news. If Susan Griffin were asked that question, she would probably argue that history is much more than that. It is about the minds and souls of the people who went through the historical event, not simply what happened. In her essay, Griffin incorporates stories of people from totally different backgrounds, and upbringings, including herself, all to describe their account of one time period. Each person’s history is somehow connected with the next person’s, and each story contr...
In a comprehensive summary and analyzation of the history of mankind’s record of affairs, Mark T. Gilderhus tackles the many aspects of the overall biography of human existence. Through scrutiny of the goals of past and present historians, a brief explanation of the origins of historiography, a thorough exploration of the philosophies behind history, and a review of the modern approach to past events, Gilderhus sums up the entirety of historical thought in one hundred and twenty-five pages. His superior knowledge is exemplified through his work which effectively conveys the full extent of historiography.
The study of past events have been a common practice of mankind since the verbal telling of stories by our ancestors. William Cronon, in his article “Why the Past Matters,” asserts that the remembrance of the past “keeps us in place.” Our individual memories and experiences shape how we act in our daily lives. In addition to influencing us at an individual level, our collective history binds us together as a society. Without knowing where we have been or what we have experienced, it is nearly impossible to judge progress or know which courses of action to pursue. The goal of the historian is to analyze and explain past events, of which they rarely have firsthand memory of, and apply the gained knowledge to make connections with current and future events.
In his short article “World History as a Way of Thinking” Eric Lane Martin, “…argue[s] that the most important things the field of world history has to offer the researcher, teacher, student, and general public are the conceptual tools required for understanding complex global processes and problems.” Anyone who follows the evening news or shops at Wal-mart, has encountered the processes and problems Martin speaks of. Our modern society puts pressure on a variety of citizens to grapple with and attempt to understand issues on a scale that moves beyond the local and national. History has long been a tool utilized by scholars, politicians and citizens to help them put current day happenings into context. That context has allowed for a deeper understanding of the present day. In an era when the issues cross national and regional boundaries the need for a different scale of history has become apparent. World history has emerged as a relatively new discipline within academia that is attempting to provide the context for large-scale processes and problems. As the field has grown a variety of authors, some historians, some from other fields, have attempted to write a history of the world. With such a daunting task how can we define success? How can we analyze the history that provides a true global perspective on processes and problems we face? By taking Martin’s two key characteristics of world history, one, it is defined by the kinds of questions it asks and two, it is defined by the problem-solving techniques it uses, we can analyze texts purporting to be world history and access their utility in providing context for the global processes and problems we face today.
Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History by historian David Christian explores a “modern creation myth” (2). Christian takes his readers from the big bang to modern day in a technical and historical narrative. He believes that big history is a new, yet important, area of history ignored by historians. Christian tells us big history is “a coherent story about the past on many different scales, beginning, literally, with the origins of the universe and ending in the present day” (2). The strength in Christian’s argument is in that he carefully takes his readers through each stage in history, much like a textbook, using charts, graphs, pictures, and the language for each area, like astronomy or biology. However, Christian’s goal is not complete. Christian, at multiple points, tells his readers there are many more details and theories that surround any one of his given subjects. Although his book is a great overall coverage for a topic as large as big history, his readers may wonder if such the idea of big history is a good one.
In addition, the micro-historical events left the viewer to their own interpretations and imaginations of what transpired. The intention of using popular culture to convincingly replicate the philosophical epistemology shifts of early modern Europe is left in question
John Lewis Gaddis, in his book, The Landscape of History, generates a strong argument for the historical method by bringing together the multiple standpoints in viewing history and the sciences. The issue of objective truth in history is addressed throughout Gaddis’s work. In general, historians learn to select the various events that they believe to be valid. Historians must face the fact that there is an “accurate” interpretation of the past ceases to exist because interpretation itself is based on the experience of the historian, in which people cannot observe directly (Gaddis 10). Historians can only view the past in a limited perspective, which generates subjectivity and bias, and claiming a piece of history to be “objective” is simplistic. Seeing the world in a multidimensiona...
The patterns of living that the world witnesses today are greatly influenced by history. This is because of the fact that history plays an immense role in forming one’s future; the abundant interactions socially, economically, politically, result in repercussions that can hardly be unraveled. However, this does not in anyway mean that one cannot trace today’s state of affairs back to its roots. Tracing today’s occurrences back to their origin is possible due to the fact that the agents’ (nations) origins are known.
Iggers opens the book by talking about a revolutionary way that the Western world was taught about history. Throughout the book he ascertains the changes that take place throughout historiography and the nature of history itself. He also examines prior historical notions and the way that historiography was altered after World War II. History morphed from previous antiquarian teachings into a deeper, more evaluated approach. Historians gained a more intimate relationship with postmodern ideas and began looking at history in an objective manner using contemporary discipline. Iggers studies the way postmodernism was changed by new social sciences which allowed more detail into cultural influences and the problems surrounding globalization theories. He also explains the birth of microhistory which replaced macrohistory.
“All People Are Living Histories-Which is Why History Matters” is an article by Penelope J. Corfield, and answers the question of why the study of history is important and necessary to our society. Corfield makes the claim that history is vital because it connects us to our pasts, and helps us understand our basic human nature. Additionally, Corfield also presents common arguments against and for history, and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. History has always been regarded as something important to know, but at the same time dispensable. The author attempts to overturn this notion by arguing that history is something that we cannot live without.
If historians are successful in focusing their work on large-scale historical contextualization and the common reader, then they can restore
Between the inescapable minimum and the pleasure of deep commitment comes the history that, through cumulative skill in interpreting the unfolding human record, provides a real grasp of how the world
Though our history may bring back horrible memories of the ?grimmest dimensions of human nature? (Limerick 472), it is necessary to have a good historical background. History gives us the ability to improve future outputs, satisfy our unending need for knowledge, and understand how many policies and regulations have come to be. Without history mankind would be very primitive and ununified. Our complete molding of the world today is almost completely dependent on the fact that we study our history. Without history present day humans would be nothing more than cavemen.
History is everywhere today. I don’t think some people really realize how broad the word history really is. Basically when someone hears the word history they automatically think of some sort of culture like the ancient Egyptians, or some important date like December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the United States officially entered the Second World War. But people don’t really realize there are so many other types of history. World leaders are making history with wars, conflicts, and new laws; movies are making history by selling outrageous numbers of tickets, athletes are making history by setting records everyday, and students are making history by graduating college. Every part of what you do is some type of history