(introduction)

What is History?

  • History is defined as everything that has been recorded or occurred from the beginning of time to the last instant.

  • It was derived from the Greek word "historia" which means "knowledge acquired through inquiring or investigation".

  • This term was then adapted to classical Latin where it acquired a new definition, "historia" became known as the account of the part of a person or a group of people through written documents and historical events evidence.

  • Traditional historians lived with the mantra of "No Document means no history".

  • It means that unless written or recorded documents can prove a historical event, then it can't be considered as a historical fact.

  • However, a mere record or collection of events is not history, this is just called chronology and it is not different from a logbook of activities kept by a security guard.

  • Therefore, history is not merely a chronology or the list of events that occur but history shows a pattern in how a man and his society has evolved from the primitive form to the present, or a record of the various challenges through time.

Why do we need to study History?

  • It allows us to better understand our current situation.

  • Among the Earth's creatures, only humans are capable of deriving the deeper meaning of history, we are only the creature who can have a profound understanding and can record and learn from it.

  • We use history universally, we apply it to almost any profession, in the fields of medicine, law, economy, Engineering, and Architecture, and even in the aspect of our daily living, we make use of history.

  • Thus, knowing our history therefore makes our life more manageable. By studying it, we will be able to know what to do based on inputs from the past.

  • Therefore, forgetting our history will be the worst enemy that we will face in our lives, we will forget our own identity and we will prey on outside pressures and lose our anchor of morality.

Role of Historians

  • It is the job of the historian to give meaning to facts and organize them into a timeline, establish causes, and write history.

  • However, the historian is not a blank paper who mechanically interprets and analyzes present historical facts. He is a person of his own who is influenced by his context, environment, ideology, education, and influences, among others.

  • His subjectivity will inevitably influence the process of his historical research: the methodology that he will use, the facts that he shall select and deem relevant his interpretation, and even the form of his writings.

History is Dynamic

  • Populations grow and decline

  • Empires expand and collapse

  • Religions spread and whither

Historiography

  • The study of how history was written, who wrote it, and what factors influenced how it was written.

  • a better understanding of history

  •   an understanding of the facts and the historian's contexts.

  •   analysis of the methods, theory, and perspective employed by the historian

  •   understand deeper what is in history.

School of Thought

Positivism

  • emerged between the 18th and 19th century.

  • requires empirical and observable evidence before one can claim that a particular knowledge is true.

  • entails objective means of arriving at a conclusion.

  • primary or even the sole method for the attainment of true knowledge.

  • theology, metaphysics, or untuition are rejected.

Prominent Thinkers of Positivism

  • Henri de Saint-Simon

  • Auguste Comte

  • Emile Durkheim

“No Document No History”

Post-Colonialism

  •   Emerged in 20th century

  •   Postcolonialism concerns itself with the study of the colonization, the
    decolonization, and the neocolonising process.

  •   reaction and an alternative to the colonial history that colonial powers created and taught to their subjects.

  • Tell the history of a nation highlighting their identity free from colonial discourse and knowledge

  • Criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism

Father of Post-colonialism

Edward Said

Summary

  •   History is the study of the past, the events that happened in the past, and the causes of such events.

  •   Historiography is the history of history. It focuses on the study of history itself.

  •   Positivism is a school of thought that requires empirical and observable evidence before one can claim that a particular knowledge is true.

  • "No document, no history"

  • Post-colonialism is the reaction and an alternative to the colonial history that colonial powers created and taught to their subjects.

  • Tell the history and highlight the identity of a nation free from colonial discourse.

  • Criticize the methods, effects and ideas of colonialism