Chapter 1 Notes: Developing a Global Perspective, Primary Sources, and Causation in History

Global Perspective

Cultivating an understanding of history that spans different world regions, cultures, and historical processes to engage with contemporary global challenges.

Primary Sources

Original materials from the time period being studied, used by historians to directly analyze events. Examples include documents, artifacts, and eye-witness accounts.

Causation in History

Identifying and analyzing the factors that lead to historical events, recognizing that causes can be multi-layered and operate at different scales and times.

Historiography

The study of how history is written and interpreted; it involves analyzing different approaches to history, such as

Global Perspective (History)

Cultivating an understanding of history's role in higher education and how it builds lifelong learning skills like critical thinking, analysis, and evidence-based reasoning, especially in relation to different world regions, cultures, and historical processes.

Primary Sources

Original materials from the time period being studied, used to identify different types, analyze in historical context, and interpret effectively to support historical arguments.

Evaluating Primary Sources

A process of asking key questions about the author, audience, intent, and context of a primary source to assess its reliability and perspective.

Causation in History

Identifying and analyzing the factors that bring about historical events, recognizing multiple levels of causation (proximate, intermediate, underlying) and their interplay.

Interpretation in History

The process of producing an accurate historical record by recognizing bias, perspective, and the availability of evidence.

Levels of Causation

A framework where causation is not a single force but a set of layered reasons operating at different scales and times, illustrated by examples like the reasons for reading, World War II entry, or the Conquest of Constantinople.

Carlyle’s Great Man Theory

A historiographical view that universal history is primarily driven by extraordinary individuals (great men) who act as the main force behind historical change and inspiration.

Tolstoy’s Critique of Great Man Theory

A historiographical view arguing that the will of the general mass of people is the fundamental driver of historical events, and individual actions are shaped by larger social laws and collective forces.

Trends in Historical Thought

The evolution of historical thinking from the progressive school of interpretation to contemporary fields like intellectual history (focus on ideas) and social history (focus on ordinary people and social structures).

Roosevelt’s Day of Infamy

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech on 7 \text{ December } 1941 asking Congress to declare war on Japan following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, emphasizing deceit, severe damage, and a unified national response.

Chinua Achebe on Indigenous History

The concept that Indigenous histories, such as those depicted in Things Fall Apart, possess cross-cultural resonance, speaking to universal human experiences like dispossession and colonization across different global contexts.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Adopted in 1949, with Eleanor Roosevelt playing a pivotal role in its drafting (referenced in Figure 1.3).

Conquest of Constantinople

The Ottoman conquest led by Mehmed II in 1453, illustrating how multiple causes converged to produce a pivotal event.

Hagia Sophia Minarets

Four minarets added to Hagia Sophia roughly 1000 years after its initial construction, symbolizing the blending of Christian and Muslim influences over time (Figures 1.4-1.7).

Aztec Events (Cortés vs. León-Portilla)

Accounts of the early 16th-century Spanish arrival in the Aztec capital (circa 1519), with Cortés emphasizing strategic seizure and submission, and León-Portilla's The Broken Spears highlighting Aztec perspectives on violence, treachery (e.g., Sacred Patio massacre), and dispossessio.

OpenStax, UDHR adopted

1949 (with Eleanor Roosevelt playing a pivotal role in its drafting, as referenced in Figure 1.3).

World War II onset and Pearl Harbor attack date

1941; specifically, the "Day of Infamy" attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on 7 \text{ December } 1941. This event led to the immediate U.S. entry into World War II.

Mehmed II

's Ottoman conquest of Constantinople

1453. This pivotal event involved multiple converging causes leading to the fall of the Byzantine capital.

Hagia Sophia minarets addition

Roughly 1000 years after initial construction (Figures 1.4-1.7), symbolizing architectural and cultural transformation.

Cort

és’s entry into Aztec capital (approximate date)

Circa 1519. Moteczuma and Aztec events described in Cort

és’s letters reference dates around the early 16th century.

Sacred Patio massacre duration (Aztec account)

Approximately 3 hours, as provided in Miguel Le

ón-Portilla’s account, The Broken Spears.

Chinua

2 million years ago

Appearance of Homo Habilis, indicated by skull remains.

200,000 years ago

Beginning of the spread of Homo sapiens.

40,000 years ago

Period marked by the presence of Neanderthal women and early art such as the "Venus"-pendant made from mammoth ivory.

3000 BCE

Development of Cuneiform writing in Mesopotamia.

3000 BCE

Establishment of Dynastic Rule, exemplified by the Narmer Palette in ancient Egypt.

3000 BCE

Emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization.

2500 BCE

Construction of the Pyramids of Giza in ancient Egypt.

2500 BCE

Construction of Stonehenge in England.

1750 BCE

Promulgation of the Code of Hammurabi in ancient Babylon.

The Fertile Crescent

A broad swath of land, encompassing parts of modern-day Iraq, Syria, Israel, Palestine, and Turkey, known for being home to the world's first cities, including Çatalhöyük and Jericho.