...Historians, for centuries, have written about impactful events that influence American life. Their perception, however, has had an even greater impact on society’s current views. According to the renowned historian, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., “the historian surely brings to the observation and analysis of events a perspective different from that brought by a non-historian” (10). Nonetheless, it is evident that perception is crucial when determining the public’s perception as a whole. One specific event in American history in which historians’ perception impacted the Arab and Muslim group in society was the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001. Abu-Lughod, a professor of Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies at Columbia University...
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...The Return of Martin Guerre Film: Microhistory? History is a broad field and therefore it is no secret as to why historians tend to study within a select few of numerous sub-fields. Even with this specificity, one may find that there are still some events that warrant more attention than others; to achieve a deeper understanding of such instances, they may seek to analyze a microhistory. A microhistory is an “intensive study of small-scale event or places, or individuals,” (Lecture 11/3) which presents an opportunity to learn about the greater society by examination of a particular instance. Typically, these studies attempt to reconstruct people’s worlds, in both a mental and physical sense, while focusing on rather unusual tales (Lecture...
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...How successful was Lenin in creating a totalitarian society by 1924? Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik party and most importantly the ruler of Russia had to sacrifice a lot to get the Communist utopia Karl Marx foresaw. Despite it being a modification of the official ideology which people refer to as Leninism, it had major flaws which made you question, was Lenin really successful in creating a totalitarian society? Lenin was very successful in creating a totalitarian society; one of his beneficial areas of control was his one party state which was crucial in order to achieve Lenin’s adaptation to Marxism, this would mean the Bolsheviks would have complete control over the state and get rid of all and any opposition to their ideology. Lenin did this by dissolving the constituent assembly which meant a step forward in a totalitarian state by means of no opposition, Lenin made sure it stayed this way by ensuring the ban on factions within the Party as well as using the Cheka to make sure everyone stays in line and does not oppose the new Bolshevik regime. This was effective as it now left the Bolsheviks in complete control in this area. Another reason Lenin was successful was the fact he had control over the economy which is absolutely essential in any Totalitarian regime as controlling the economy meant they have the financial capability needed to maintain and produce a totalitarian society. As well as that, it meant sure that the state controls everything and that communism...
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...François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), also known as Voltaire, was a French writer, historian and philosopher who was famous for his political works. All his literary writings were famous, including plays, poems, novels, essays, historical and scientific works. His best-known histories are The Age of Louis XIV (1751), and his Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations (1756). He broke from the tradition of narrating political and military events, and emphasized traditions, societal history and achievements in the arts and sciences. One of his famous sayings, “History is the lie commonly agreed upon”, is quite contrary as some agree with it while others argue that that is not the case. Based on the analysis and readings I agree with what Voltaire said. Some people associate history with past whereas history is not the same as past. As past is the occurrence of all the events even the minor ones while history is the selection of some events from the past which are then given meaning to by the historians. So what we study is not actually history but historiography (the writings of history). An example of which can be a person selling gingerbread man in a low lying area and some random people come to his stall and beat him up and kill him [1]. So the historians will not give importance to this event – which is definitely part of the past but it is not the part of written history. At the same time history is majorly affected by the involvement of the role...
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...of terminologies for it to have a meaning. It therefore refers to a systematic account of natural phenomena involving accounts of events that are narrated in a chronological order and deal with past of mankind. History can also be defined as the dialogues that relates the present with the past. Evolution of mankind sometimes defines the word history. It explains the story of man and his progression in civilization, his downfalls, successes, his laws and wars, religion, arts and development. In other words it can be summarized as the biography of great men who were heroes in the past. The origin of history started way back in Greek being connected to the world famous historians Thucydides and Heredeotus.The word history also relates to writers or narrators of events referred to as historians e.g. we have historians narrating the new history of the Era of the Polis. History follows the example of discovering past human dimensions which one of the history authors divides it into five different stages. The Golden age, the Silver age, the age of Bronze and finally the Iron Age. History incorporates a number of significance that helps us to understand its meaning better. It makes life richer by providing importance to the books one reads, the sites one visits and the kind of music that one hears. It provides a platform for doing research as one has to get information from history that relates to his or her topic. History preserves the traditional and cultural values of a region or country...
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...University of Phoenix Material Historical Sources Historians study records of the past to understand and explain the stories of the people and events of earlier times. These records, or historical sources, form the core of the scholarly practice of history. There are two types of sources on which historians generally rely: primary and secondary. Primary Sources Primary sources are firsthand accounts or records. Primary sources provide a view of historical events or people as witnessed by people who were actually there. Primary sources have not been interpreted by others, but use the words, sounds, or images of those present during a historical period. Primary sources often incorporate the interpretation or attitude of the individual who recorded the experience; different people may often record different impressions of a single event. Examples of primary sources include the following: • A letter written by Otto von Bismarck • A recording or libretto of a portion of Wilhelm Richard Wagner’s The Valkyrie • The recording or transcript of a speech given by Jacques Chirac • The transcript of an interview with an 18th-century factory worker • Property tax registers from Languedoc • A photograph of German troops moving through a devastated Polish town during the Nazi invasion • A reprint of a propaganda poster • The last will and testament of a Norwegian merchant • A print of Paul Nash’s We Are Making a New World • A translation of the diary Anne Frank kept during...
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...Tiara Badie @02732463 October 26, 2015 Essay 2 Rough Draft Years ago, when kingdoms still existed and democracy was just beginning to form, there were not many options for recording important events. There were no iPhones, Google, or Google maps to tell people what happened or where it happened. Most information was passed orally or by scribes. Historians such as the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH), Herodotus and Thucydides were around to explain the events around them. All three of these historians are similar and different in the content of their stories and they way they told them. They are similar because they all helped to give accounts of what was said and done during the time period that they are writing about; for DtrH that time period...
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...Jose Dejesus Dr. Steven Taylor English 11 D22 3/3/2014 2nd Paper Accounting: the need of bringing accounting history into classrooms Would introductory accounting students benefit from the lessons and experiences found in accounting history? That’s how the article “Financial Accounting Courses: An exploratory study” by Satina V. Williams and Bill N. Schwartz starts. According to studies made by Williams and Schwartz, students would better understand the political, economic and cultural issues affecting the development of accounting if they were exposed to the history and evolution of accounting through the years. They also suggested that gathering historical information in the beginning of the course of accounting may stimulate students to learn more about how accounting is actually working (Williams 198). After looking at records and seeing that many students are receive a degree without knowing the history of accounting, they conducted a survey to determine how they can get the history of accounting into the classrooms. After contacting 100 school’s accounting department administrators, they found 79 faculty members to ask for their opinions about incorporating accounting history into undergraduate introductory financial accounting classes. If they can get the majority of firms they might be able to bring accounting history into classrooms. They received 49 responses and 24 of them were in agreement...
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...conversation to a second European whom was not present and asked him to read the document aloud; Europeans by contrast were illiterate during this timeframe (Carnes & Garraty, p. 46, 2008). In the mystery/suspense film, “The Crucible”, another example of an inaccuracy was Indians tribes journeying 1500 miles in the midst of winter only to set up camps to habituate until spring. The “Dilate” according to Carnes, M., & Garraty, J. (2008) was to keep the audience interested in the story line by focusing in on the girls behavior (Carnes & Garraty, p. 76, 2008). . In the “Patriot” Benjamin Martin wasn’t a real person, but in leaders such as Francis Marion similarity can be found, which could also provide some inaccuracies. Historians criticized much of what was told about the South for example the British cavalry wore red uniforms, but they were called “Green Dragons” (Carnes & Garraty, p. 138, 2008). . In the story “The Alamo”, the author talks about the 1960 movie that John Wayne directed. There was no such evidence of him stealing cattle or romancing women. There were inaccuracies with the Santa Ana’s character having...
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...OFTEN THINK IT ODD THAT IT SHOULD BE SO DULL, FOR A GREAT DEAL OF IT MUST BE INVENTION.” -Catherine Morland on History The most naïve policeman would know to not believe everything a witness is saying, even if he doesn’t use the full potential of his knowledge. Similarly, historians (not men) have come to realise that they cannot believe all historical information blindly (evidence would be the wrong word). Historians have understood that manuscripts can be forged, facts can be exaggerated and physical evidence can be faked. Does this leave any room for any distinction between a myth and a historical fact? Having that distinction is important. However, it is an undeniable truth that myths originate from facts and hence cannot be completely false. Then from where does the question of having to make this sort of a distinction arise from? Does a distinction even exit? If yes, where does it come from? Questions like these have made history one of the most uncertain and ambiguous disciplines. When one is asked the question ‘What is history?’, we subconsciously give the answer to the broader question of our view of the society we live in. History can be viewed as a collection of facts produced by historians to reconstruct the past. This means that most people understand the distinction between “history” and “past”. Past includes facts that already happened whereas history is a reiteration of those facts from a historian’s point of view.- I get what you’re trying to say and you’re...
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...significant in other areas of history. Margolin acknowledges the accomplishments of design historians including the wide variety of research that has been conducted and the “growing collection of academic publications.” (Margolin, 2009) However, he criticises the lack of generalisation to other components of history like the social aspects. “Yet despite these accomplishments, the community continues to operate within an intellectual framework that frequently isolates design from much of what other historians do.” (Margolin, 2009) He goes on to describe how subjects such as history of technology, engineering, material culture and many more may also be relevant but that design has failed to engage with these other topics. In the second part of the article, Margolin talks about the successes of technology historians who manage to link subjects of technology and invention to a wider range of other topics. He refers to a book American Genesis: A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm, 1870-1970, by Thomas Hughes who described technological inventions in terms of “systems” rather than “individual objects.” According to Margolin, this was important as discoveries involved people as well as the “machines and processes”. I feel that this is a central point in his argument as views are often limited by people reporting their findings. Another issue that is presented is that historians of design have ignored other subjects whilst in search of an answer to their own inquiries...
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...Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth he examines China’s nineteenth century Boxer Rebellions through three historical lenses in an effort to both show both the benefits and potential pitfalls of the tools available to a historian in practicing his craft. He contends that reconstruction, experience, and myth are all necessary when studying history; that one of these keys should not be favors to the exclusion of others. The first key or lens that Cohen examines is that of historical reconstruction or studying an event in itself. Cohen attempts to traverse the academic “No Man’s Land” in the hotly contested conflict between historians that contend “there is a fundamental difference between history and reality” due to the narrative nature of history in contrast to the chaos of reality and those others that assert that “narrative is/an essential part of the past reality historians seek to elucidate.” In other words, Cohen argues that narrative and realism both have an equal place in the study of history. Though he champions many of the methods of historical reconstruction, Cohen also warns against the pitfall of “[assuming] with excessive haste that the outcomes we know took place were preordained.” The cardinal sin of the historian is mistakenly making connections between events where they do not exist, especially when these are based on contemporary notions that did not exist during the period in question. Though Cohen offers much perspective in his examination of...
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...HOW TO ANALYSE SOURCES ANALYSING OF SOURCES Historical criticism.-> Original document? How, when, and why did it come into being? Where does it come from? Who is the author or the cartoonist or the cameraman? 2 critical questions: Could the witness possibly have known the truth? Did the witness wish to tell the truth? EVALUATING OF SOURCES Authenticity? (are there factual errors in the source?) Reliability? (how long after the event was the source produced?) Bias/Prejudice? Subjectivity VS objectivity? Historians have an issue, the source is problematic (biased, emotions, etc) and the historian is a human writer. To guard oneself from being manipulated by bias sources, one must cross-reference. This means one must analyse a few sources and then synthesise their own conclusion. QUESTIONS WHICH ASK YOU TO COMPARE IN THE TEST OR EXAM Generally sources can have two characteristics with each other. They are either similar or they are contradictory/different with each other. One should consider the following aspects when answering these types of exam questions: What are the similarities(1) and the differences(2) between the sources? How do these sources complement each other(3)? Which of these sources provides a more accurate viewpoint on the topic(4)? QUESTIONS WHICH ASK YOU TO USE ALL THE SOURCES This is an eight mark question which comes prior to the essay. One is required to write approximately 10-15 lines;...
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...Do you agree with the view that in the years 1515-25 Henry VII wholly surrendered power in government to Cardinal Wolsey? Explain your answer, using Sources 4, and 6 and your own knowledge. There are many different perceptions of the relationship between Henry VII and Cardinal Wolsey, most notably that of the Alter Rex who reserves a traditionalistic view of their liaison. However, it is evident from the three sources that it is not entirely accurate that Henry surrendered all his power to the Cardinal even though it may have ‘seemed’ (S4) that way. It can be argued that despite Wolsey holding significant power, Henry was still king making him the most powerful individual in England. Thought Henry was ‘happy to bestow patronage upon him as long as he was doing his masters work (S6). Therefore, evidence from the sources suggest that it was not the case that Henry wholly surrendered his power to Cardinal Wolsey. It is clear that Wolsey did have a huge responsibility within Tudor government. He played a substantial role in organising the logistics of the King’s foreign policy and his ambitions to conquer France form a financial perspective whilst h occupied the role as Lord Chancellor. Wolsey also played a significant part in Tudor law. His role as Chancellor bought Wolsey a great deal of wealth and meant he ‘held a dominant position in government and controlled the distribution of patronage’ (S5). This led to many people viewing him as an Alter Rex figure. This matter was...
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...History (from Greek ἱστορία - historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation"[2]) is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine events.[3][4] Historians debate the nature of history and its usefulness. This includes discussing the study of the discipline as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the problems of the present.[3][5][6][7] The stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the legends surrounding King Arthur) are usually classified as cultural heritage rather than the "disinterested investigation" needed by the discipline of history.[8][9] Events of the past prior to written record are considered prehistory. Amongst scholars, the fifth century BC Greek historian Herodotus is considered to be the "father of history", and, along with his contemporary Thucydides, forms the foundations for the modern study of history. Their influence, along with other historical traditions in other parts of their world, have spawned many different interpretations of the nature of history which has evolved over the centuries and are continuing...
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