11 12 History

HISTORY
Compiled By Ar. Vaishali Latkar

For HTC-I
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M.Arch.( Arch. Conservation)
Sinhgad College Of Architecture
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WHAT ARE HUMANITIES?
The Humanities are the branches of learning
concerned with human attributes and qualities and
are regarded as having primarily a cultural character.
They are concerned with expression and aesthetic
value.
Those areas of study that explore humans and their
relationship to the world around them.
Those academic disciplines which study people --
their ideas, their history, their literature, their artifacts,
and their values.
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The definition of history. Webster's Third New
International Dictionary gives three relevant definitions
of the word "history":
a) "a narrative of events connected with a real or imaginary
object, person, or career";
b)"the events that form the subject matter of a history";
What is History?
b)"the events that form the subject matter of a history";
c)"a systematic written account comprising a chronological
record of events and usually including a philosophical
explanation of the cause and origin of such events."
We note from these three descriptive definitions that the word
"history" can mean either a record of events or the events
themselves and it can also mean a narrative of real events or of
imaginary events.
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History = His Story
History is written by the winners
History is one-sided
Be aware of bias in your textbook, articles, books, documents, and
other sources.
Break up the word, History
Two types of sources used
Primary Source record of past events created by people who
were there during the event
Secondary Source record of past events created
by someone who was not present during the event
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Historical method basically involves four things:
a) a technique of investigation;
b) an ability to identify what really took place;
c) knowledge of what others are affirming in one's own field, in cognate
fields, and in allied disciplines;
The Historical Method
fields, and in allied disciplines;
d) an ability to express correctly what one has ascertained
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History is about change and continuity over time and space. We

study the past from many perspectives; such as political, military
and diplomatic developments, economic, social, and cultural
development, and the role of religious ideas and beliefs in shaping
human experiences.
The range of topics open to historians is virtually endless. Some
historians deal with global issues like the rise of capitalism or the
origins of WWI, others take a microhistorical approach and closely
study a small sect or community within a carefully bounded period of
time so as to recover deeply buried experiences and meanings.
The power of ideas in shaping past societies is a popular field, as is
the impact of social and economic structures on such societies. the impact of social and economic structures on such societies.
Historians study the origins of conflict as well as the impact that
such conflicts have upon those caught up in them.
Some historians work on the very recent past: the origins of ethnic
cleansing for example, while others may study societies in the far
distant past. Our geographical scope is just as wide-ranging, with
historians in our department studying Canada, China, Europe, Latin
America, the United States, Africa and India.
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With so many possible points of departure, historians must
frequently look to other disciplines in the social sciences and the
humanities to gain the necessary tools.
For example, a study of a community in a time of change can often
benefit from detailed demographic analysis while someone studying
a particular historical document could gain by employing techniques
of literary analysis.
Hence, History emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches.
Training as an historian enables students to gather, organize and
evaluate historical sources, understand complex cause and effect
relationships, and to communicate this knowledge effectively.
History provides a unique awareness of the world from its origins to
the present and gives excellent foundation for careers that require
an understanding of human diversity as well as of how the past
impinges on the present and the future. Compiled By Ar. Vaishali Latkar
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1) Recall: History is what we choose to remember about the
past.
2) Interpret: History involves explaining people and events.
3). Apply: Use what we know about the past to understand the
present.
4). Analyze: History involves figuring out complicated situations.
Method of Historical Inquiry
4). Analyze: History involves figuring out complicated situations.
5). Synthesize: History involves making sense out of jumble of
facts.
6). Evaluate: History involves making judgments about people
and events
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History requires evidence.
History is not everything that happened in the
past, just the important things.
The Past is not the same as History
past, just the important things.
History is not merely a description of what
happened in the past, but also an attempt to
understand it.
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Generally speaking, historical interpretations can be presented in three different
forms that correspond to the basic forms of historical writing:
1. Argument: An argumentative essay presents the interpretation in the form of a
thesis and reasons for that thesis.
2. Narrative A narrative essay presents the interpretation in the form of a narrative
or story.
Three Forms of Historical Writing
or story.
3. Description: Descriptive essay gives a portrayal of a person, place or object at a
particular moment in time.
Depending on the point to be made, a particular author might make use of only of
these forms or might use different ones at different points in the work.
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But the facts of history cannot be repeated and tested like many facts in
science.
Whether or not a mockingbird feather and a gold coin will fall at the same
speed in a vacuum can be checked by experiment. They do. Every
time. But no one can replay the siege of the Alamo.
Yet, like most human statements, historical facts can be verified by
confirming evidence and checked by consistency. Still, they have an
unnerving way of remaining capable of being questioned and disputed.
Historical Facts
unnerving way of remaining capable of being questioned and disputed.
For one thing, historical facts can be based on at least two kinds of sources:
primary and secondary.
Primary means a comment made by someone who was a witness or a
participant in an event. A secondary source is a record made by someone
not present at an event, but who uses primary and other secondary sources
as evidence.
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A letter or an interview can be a primary record from
someone who was an observer or a contributor when
something happened. Of course, this does not guarantee
truth. People can forgetor lieand the older a person
becomes, as more time falls between event and recall, the
more memories alter.
Most history books are secondary records. They can be
Facts & Sources
Most history books are secondary records. They can be
moreor lessaccurate than first-person, primary accounts;
they can be reliable stories or sheer propaganda.
To complicate the issue, the questions one asks when using a
record can determine whether a source is primary or
secondary.
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However defined, the facts of history are not fiction.
In responsible history, an individual cannot simply
decide that something did happen, or did not,
without proof.
And proof in history comes from three sources at a
minimum:
Facts or Fiction?
minimum:
1) reliable witness,
2) logical possibility, and
3) observable causes and effects.
In addition, historical facts must be consistent with one
another. All of them.
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Yet, the facts of history, most of the time, are really the least
important things.
Certainly an invention, or the migration of a people, or a war
of conquest, or the publication of a book, or the success of an
assassination, or the result of an election can be significant.
Such facts cause noticeable effects. But what these events
Facts & Interpretations
Such facts cause noticeable effects. But what these events
and objects mean to people is much more important.
Human knowledge is built on interpretations of objects and
events and people, whether experienced or heard about,
whether self or others.
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Plutarch--Great Men and their Character. His thesis is that the very
character of men changes history. His study of Mark Antony
suggests that his love for Cleopatra blinded him to his duties in
When doing history, it helps to keep in mind that there are many different ways of
determining how history happens. One of the key things to remember is that
historians disagree very much over why almost any event happened. In the
search for how things happen, we get ideas about how to understand our
present world's events and what to do about them, if anything. The following list
of selected historians can give you some ideas of how the great historians "did"
history. Keep in mind that this list is in no way complete or exclusive of other
historians.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
suggests that his love for Cleopatra blinded him to his duties in
Rome and was destroyed by Augustus; who, it turned out, was not a
lightweight.
Historical Forces. This is the assertion that certain ideas,
movements, etc., become irresistible forces that will have their way.
An example is Christianity being such a force that would eventually
not only survive persecution, but emerge victorious over the
Roman Empire. Another is the dominance of Science in the West
over Theology and Philosophy as the authority for determining
Truth.
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Toynbee--Challenge and response. Toynbee's theory is that all
civilizations are faced with a crisis which is either one of ideas, or one
of technology. How they respond determines whether they will
survive. An example is the Fall of Rome. Many blame Christianity for
sapping the Pagan strength of Rome and causing her downfall.
Toynbee points out that the Byzantine Empire (the Eastern Roman
Empire) used Christianity to revitalize and reform the Roman Empire
for another thousand years.
Hegel--Dialectic. Hegel's Theory of History says that for every old
idea, there is a new one which conflicts with it. Out of the struggle a
new idea is created (Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis). He felt that this new idea is created (Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis). He felt that this
was how God led us to perfection and revealed new truth. History is
just the product of conflict
Darwin. Not a historian, but he took Hegel's idea and applied them to
science. His biological application led to the Origin of Species.
Herbert Spencer and others then used his biological ideas to support
their ideas that a struggle among races of people and differing
nations led to the strongest and most able nations ruling the world.
Victory in combat meant the superiority of a nation or people.
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Marx--Material Dialectic. Marx used Hegel's ideas and applied them to classes
of people throughout history. Any ruling class controlled the "means of
production" which gave them wealth and power to rule. Whenever a new
method of production occurred, there was conflict between the older ruling
class and a newer class using the newer and superior means of production. An
example is how the Businessman and his money destroyed the power of the
old Aristocracy based on land and hereditary ownership
Turner--Geography and the Frontier. Turner's thesis said that geography
determines the character of a people and, depending on the situation, gave
them certain advantages and disadvantages. An example is that the English
and Japanese, being Island Nations, would naturally have an advantage at sea
combat. And, in an age of sea-trade they would, tend to be powerful. His thesis combat. And, in an age of sea-trade they would, tend to be powerful. His thesis
explicitly stated how the Frontier shaped the American mind to be open to new
things and to strive for what was new. In our modern technological age,
Americans are very open to new technologies.
Radicals--History is the story of who won. This thesis says that history is little
more than mythmaking. "History is the history of winners." Those who win, write
the history books. Those who have lost are excluded or demonized. History is
determined by who has the political power to write the books. But, for some,
reading a restaurant menu is as important as reading "history."
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Boorstin--The unexpected. Daniel J. Boorstin's books suggest
a thesis that ideas and practices simply come together in
various places and time and can hardly be predicted. What
has mattered, is that the great Creators and Discoverers have
been open to the challenge and took previously unrelated
ideas and put them together in a way that was entirely new.
They thus change the world. An example is how an
anonymous optician in Belgium created the first telescope to
be used in combat. It found its way to Italy where Galileo
began to look at stars with it. His findings undermined the
Ptolemaic system. However, the Church used his information
to create the modern Gregorian Calendar we use today. But to create the modern Gregorian Calendar we use today. But
sixteen years later in the firestorm of the Reformation, Galileo
was ordered to remain silent. Boorstin is hostile to the
Hegelian-Marxist-Darwinian school as it can only tell what the
future is like based on the past. The Hegelians could never
have predicted the impact of the telescope. Boorstin makes
considerable money showing that no one can predict; you can
only remain open to change. Change cannot be managed.
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Nietzsche believe that "God was dead." He was convinced that traditional
values represented a "slave morality," a morality created by weak and
resentful individuals who encouraged such behavior as gentleness and
kindness because the behavior served their interests. Nietzsche
claimed that new values could be created to replace the traditional
ones, and his discussion of the possibility led to his concept of the
superman.
According to Friedrich Nietzsche
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HISTORY

Compiled By Ar. Vaishali Latkar

History is about change and continuity over time and space. We

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