JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
1
Those who cannot
remember the past
are condemned to
repeat it.
George Santayana (1863-1952), an American philosopher
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
2
AN INTRODUCTION
TO HISTORY
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
3
At A Glance
•
•
•
•
•
•
What History is
Reasons for studying History
Primary & Secondary Sources
How History is recorded
Measurement of time
Problems historians face
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
4
WHAT IS HISTORY?
• History is a record of what took
place in the past
– About people who changed the world
– About discoveries and events that
have changed the world
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
5
WHY STUDY HISTORY?
• To understand the present more
clearly
• To see how far we have come
• To study the achievements of our
forefathers
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
6
WHY STUDY HISTORY?
• To learn from the mistakes of the
past
• To know how people feel and think
• To help train the mind
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
7
FINDING OUT ABOUT HISTORY
• Historians use various forms of
evidence
– Oral
– Pictorial
– Written
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
8
ORAL EVIDENCE
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
9
PICTORIAL EVIDENCE
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
10
WRITTEN EVIDENCE
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
11
HOW IS HISTORY EXAMINED
• Oral, pictorial and written evidence
are referred to as SOURCES
• 2 types of sources
– Primary Sources
– Secondary Sources
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
12
PRIMARY SOURCES
•
•
•
•
Provide first-hand information/original
2 types : Published and unpublished
Eg bones, stones, artefacts
Eg Man-made objects like pottery and
buildings
• Eg Items left behind by people living in
a certain period – maps, writings,
diaries, letters, documents, newspaper
reports
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
13
SECONDARY SOURCES
• Provide second-hand information
• What others have written
• Produced after a certain event;
normally after studies of the event
have been made
• Producers of these sources may
not have been there when the
event took place
• Eg Films, radio and TV
programmes, books produced after
a particular historical event took
place
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
14
ARCHAEOLOGY
• “ANCIENT” and “STUDY”
• Study of objects or items that
are very old
• Historians find out about
prehistory through archaeology
• Archaeologists specialised in the
study of archaeology
• Like detectives – try to find out
about past activities, most of
which are buried below the
surface of the earth
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
15
ARCHAEOLOGY
• The places which they dig up (excavate) are called
SITES
• Stone, bone, wood, metal
• Bits of jewellery, pottery, tools or artefacts
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
16
MEASURING TIME
• A.D. : Anno Domini (Latin)
• The Year of the Lord (Birth
of Christ)
• B.C. : Before Christ
• See page 12
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
17
PROBLEMS OF HISTORIANS
• Collecting information
about the past
• Limited records – writing
invented only about 5,000
years ago
• Not everything recorded
was the truth
– Incomplete
– Biased
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
18
PROBLEMS OF HISTORIANS
• INFORMATION
– Fact vs opinion
• What is a fact?
• What is an opinion?
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
19
EVALUATING EVIDENCE
• The 3 C’s
– Credibility
– Consistency
– Corroboration
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
20
NEW SOURCES, NEW INTERPRETATION
• There is always new evidence
• This will provide new explanations
of the past
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
21
HISTORICAL CONCEPTS
•
•
•
•
•
Compare and Contrast
Change and Continuity
Cause and Effect
Similarities and Differences
Empathy
JOURNEYS (OXFORD)
22