What is History? We always ask ourselves what history truly means to us and sometimes we all have our own understandings of what history is or considered to be. According to John H. Arnold in History: A Very Short Introduction, he believes that history often refers to the past and to what historians analyze and write about the past. Historiography has been a subject that has been created to study and analyze the process of writing history or the study of that process. Leopold von Ranke is considered to be the father of historiography. Ranke felt that history should be produced in a “scientific” manner and contain factual proven “evidence”. Ranke laid the foundations for analyzing history and made it a custom for historians to begin questioning …show more content…
Many new areas of focus in history have been developed and analyzed by historians. One area of history that has been focused by historians has been oral history. Oral history is the organization of people 's testimony about their own life and experiences. Historians are acknowledging that everyday memories of everyday people, not just the rich and famous, have historical significance and importance. Many historians are trying to uncover and analyze oral testimonies from the past and are to trying to preserve these surviving oral accounts. Historians have to be cautious of biased and unreliable sources. This was a big concern for some conventional historians, who felt that oral accounts of the 1960s and onwards were unreliable and tainted by personal subjectivity. A British oral historian named Paul Thompson pointed out that the major strength of oral history depended on the particular facts and detailed accounts of everyday events. In the 1970s Thompson tried to approach oral history in an empirical way, however, many professional historians found his ideas to be difficult to achieve. Oral history is viewed by many historians as methodology, rather than a theory. In recent years, historians have developed a number of theories on how memory and subjectivity and narrative create the building blocks of oral history. Analyzing oral history is an important tool that allows us, historians, to rely on past surviving testimony and to try to understand these testimonies and connect them to a historical period or era. We historians want to know what was happening in a certain time period and how people 's oral accounts can relate to that specific time period. Recent historians have created a revival of oral history and are trying to uncover the silent voices in history. History is always told in the perspective of the winners and the voices of the losers have been
Research of the past is necessary to improve society, and prevent history from resurfacing. There is a debate of whether or not history is based on pure study or if it has been altered by those who tell it. Each side of this argument is represented, William H. McNeill claims that history is subjective rather than factual. Oscar Handlin rebuts this claim by stating that history is a collection of data and evidence. History is not objective and is altered over time. Within the article, “Mythistory, or Truth, Myth, History, and Historians”, McNeill states, “ Only by leaving things out, that is , relegating them to be disregarded…” (McNeill 13). Historians will include only the significant portions of history and leave out details
The understanding of European politics during the latter half of the extended nineteenth century, particularly from 1848 onward to the First World War, is as much about the European political climate as a whole as it is about the key figures within this climate. For example, one cannot fully understand the multitude of independence and nationalist movements in the Balkans during this time without first understanding the outside pressures placed on these movements by the three competing empires of the Russians, Habsburgs, and Ottomans; and only then delving into the multitude of persons whom inspired the individual movements. Likewise, understanding the German situation at this time is just as much about the European picture as a whole, as it is about the people within the German system itself; of which, Otto von Bismarck is clearly the synonymous figure. With that said, it follows that a purely biographical approach to this turbulent time in German politics, focused on Bismarck, will leave one largely without the knowledge of the greater European situation; however, this same biographical approach also helps to understand the political interworking and personal relationships that forged a unified Germany, something that the study of the European climate as a whole fails to do.
“Oral history is a maddeningly, imprecise term: it is used to refer to the formal, rehearsed accounts of the past presented by a culturally sanctioned tradition-bearers... informal conversations about “the old days” among friends, neighbors, family members… to recorded interviews deemed to have an important story to
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.
Over the past decade, historians have gained a new respect for the value of oral
A beginning group of historians to take a closer look at is the empiricists. The empiricists have a very strictly factual and logical view on history and how to examine it. They believe that past is both “observable and verifiable” and that through adherence to three strict principles, the past can be represented objectively and accurately. (Green, Troup 3) The three aforementioned principles can be summed up as: meticulously examining historical evidence and verifying the evidence with references, making sure the research is completely impartial and free of biases and prejudices, and using an inductive, or observational, method of reasoning. (Green, Troup 3) The empiricists seek to find universal historical truths through objective research and sticking to the facts.
...ons. First, the oral history sources are well integrated with the existing literature. Next, by covering relatively long period of time, the reader gets a good sense of the dynamics of change.
History is an important thing to hold on to. It helps to gain an understanding not only of the past, but also of the present. The people who lived through the important turning points in North American history helped to shape what North America is today. History comprises not just the Jeffersons or the Lincolns, but it also comprises the Van Camps, Lyons, and Lanes. People need to remember the major and minor players in history. Researching one’s family history would be a perfect way to start exploring the makeup of the past and providing for the future.
History is a powerful form of context. History is one thing that almost every reader can grasp and have a great understanding of. Also, history is one thing that will always stay current. ...
Until modern times, history was regarded primarily as a special kind of literature that shared many techniques and effects with fictional narrative. Historians were committed to factual materials and personal truthfulness, but like writers of fiction they wrote detailed narratives of events and vivid character sketches with great attention to language and style. The complex relations between literary art and historiography have been and continue to be a subject of serious debate. (Partner, Nancy F. "History and Historiography." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation,
Oral history is a method of conducting historical research through recorded interviews between a narrator with personal experience of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of adding to the historical record. Historical interview helps to know about the historical event that happen in the past. In the 1970s the state of America ended its involvement in the Vietnam War and the civil and women rights movement attained many of the goals that they were advocating for. The economy during the 1970s was hit by a very hard recession that saw high-interest rates and inflation. The historical interview helps to examining the principles, theories, writings and uses of historical methods. History based on the past, or describing people who lived in the past or events that happened in the past. Another example was historical research is vital is the judicial system. History sets precedents of judicial cases, which are studied by judges to before they make decision in similar cases themselves. The effectiveness of certain punishments for offences is also evaluated through history. The study of history is very important for a society as we all know. It instills a sense of pride and respect in the hearts of the people. The study of history also boosts the overall skills of a person who know about historical event, since history is a study that complements many other fields of study. The
History is a story told over time. It is a way of recreating the past so it can be studied in the present and re-interpreted for future generations. Since humans are the sole beneficiaries of history, it is important for us to know what the purpose of history is and how historians include their own perspective concerning historical events. The purpose and perspective of history is vital in order for individuals to realise how it would be almost impossible for us to live out our lives effectively if we had no knowledge of the past. Also, in order to gain a sound knowledge of the past, we have to understand the political, social and cultural aspects of the times we are studying.
Historians look at both sides of the event gaining an understanding of the causes or factors leading to the event itself. Historians thus must produce questions in order to study the past events (Dunn). In April 199...
History is a series of important past events that connect with something. History is what makes people make better decisions. There are many definitions of history and everyone has their own.
I define history as important events that have happened in the past, and the ones that are presently happening. At some time or another everything will be considered history. History tells a story, whether it’s written, painted, carved, or sung; a collection of events that someone explains to you that is usually important.