1. Links to Personal Knowledge (Audrey)
1.1. The Guardian: "when history does more harm than good"
1.1.1. Went to Belgrade to visit Vuk Draskovic, a politician against the Slobodan Milosevic regime
1.1.1.1. ultra-nationalist support as well as liberal support
1.1.1.2. dates in question were different
1.1.1.2.1. "sores of history"
1.1.2. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
1.1.2.1. morality is one of the more unassailable pieties of the age
1.1.2.2. taught that remembering of the past and its corollary is one of humanity's highest moral obligtations
1.1.2.2.1. Collective historical memory is no respecter of the past
1.1.2.3. need of human beings for community comes to feel like a psychic and moral necessity
1.1.3. Szymborska: ethical imperative of forgetting so that life can go on
1.1.3.1. everything must come to an end, otherwise blood never dries
1.1.4. Edict of Nantes, issued by Henri IV in 1598 to bring to an end to the wars of religion in France
1.1.4.1. forbade all his subjects, Catholic and Protestant alike, to remember.
1.1.4.1.1. eventually repealed
1.1.5. Yosef Yerushalmi: believed that people no longer knew what needed to be remembered and what could safely be forgotten, without commanding authority
1.1.5.1. time has come to scrutinise our inherited pieties about both remembrance and forgetting
1.2. BBC News: Textbook row stirs Japanese concern
1.2.1. "Time is the best healer" - not in Asia
1.2.2. decisions are met with an outcry from neighbours (China & S. Korea)
1.2.2.1. accuse ministry of giving a nod to history textbooks, whitewashing Japan in World War II
1.2.2.1.1. 1937-38 Nanjing massacre killed 250,000 and referred to as "incident"
1.2.2.1.2. explains that the country's actions were motivated by self preservation and to liberate Asia from Western control
1.2.2.1.3. dangerous distortion of Japan's past
1.2.2.2. believed they approved of right-wing "New History" book
1.2.2.2.1. Shinzo Abe: believes that history textbooks fail to stress the positive advances and achievements made
1.2.2.2.2. believed that left=wing Japan Teacher's union exercises left-wing bias
1.3. BBC News: David Irving
1.3.1. denying that the Holocaust took place
1.3.1.1. 1945: Destruction of Dresden: "1945 air raid on the city, worst single massacre in European history
1.3.1.2. 1977: "Hitler's War": wrote it from Hitler's perspective
1.3.1.2.1. until late 1943, Hitler knew nothing of the Holocaust and he never gave the order for the annihilation of Europe's Jews
1.3.1.2.2. Stated that the Nazi gas chambers did not exist and that 6 million Jews did not die
2. Methodology (Candice)
2.1. The scope of History as a knowledge system
2.1.1. When, What and Who of events
2.1.1.1. Multiple roles as a historian
2.1.1.1.1. Chronicler
2.1.1.1.2. Researcher
2.1.1.1.3. Analysy
2.1.1.1.4. Interpreter
2.1.1.1.5. Narrator
2.2. The processes necessary to produce knowledge in History
2.2.1. Historians do not only report statistical facts, but also answer the why and how
2.2.1.1. Chronicler
2.2.1.1.1. A historian witness the develop of an event, recording the information in as much as detail as possible
2.2.1.2. Researcher
2.2.1.2.1. Reviewing source documents to get the facts correct. Gathering other historians, court records, journals kept by individuals and correspondence files together to find pertinent information.
2.2.1.3. Analyst
2.2.1.3.1. Analysing when historians have found out the basic fact surrounding an event. They analyse the causes and effects on the event. Although the process might be subjective, the role is to decide which facts are relevant and how heavily each factor w
2.2.1.4. Interpreter
2.2.1.4.1. The historians interpret the facts surrounding an event, after analysing them. They might follow “what if” trails to inspect some events that might different when another events had or had not occurred. They also examine the context of an event
2.2.1.5. Narrator
2.2.1.5.1. To inform others so they must choose the logical starting point, organise e middle art of the story and conclude the tale with a satisfying conclusion.
2.3. The importance of OBJECTIVITY in historical research
2.3.1. Aim of a historian:
2.3.1.1. Both secondary or primary sources must be approached with scepticism and caution
2.3.2. Being SUBJECTIVE
2.3.2.1. Use “history” as a vehicle for expressing their own political commitment.
2.3.3. Historians and scientist: Common? Difference?
2.3.3.1. Common
2.3.3.1.1. Both are motivated by the urge to find out.
2.3.3.1.2. Disagree with each other in their interpretations
2.3.3.2. Difference
2.3.3.2.1. Historians are “fallible” and subjective to many kinds of career ad social pressures, or indeed common incompetence.
2.3.3.2.2. History deals with human values so historical evidence is fragmentary, intractable, and imperfect.
2.3.4. UNCERTAINTY stem from
2.3.4.1. individual books and articles class with each other
2.4. PERIODIZATION as an analytical tool
2.4.1. Dividing of the past up into the eras or periods
2.4.1.1. A periodisation makes sense for the West, will not make sense for Africa or Asia.
2.4.1.2. A periodization which makes sense for economic history, may well not make sense for social or political history."
2.5. The Pros and Cons of PRIMARY and SECONDARY Sources
2.5.1. 1. Primary sources
2.5.1.1. Definition
2.5.1.1.1. Studying the relics and traces left by past societies
2.5.1.1.2. Form the basic “raw material” of history
2.5.1.1.3. Came into existence within the period being investigated
2.5.1.1.4. Articles and books written by historians
2.5.1.2. Limitation
2.5.1.2.1. full of prejudices and errors.
2.5.1.3. Advantage
2.5.1.3.1. The salutary effect of bringing one in contact with the thinking and language of past generations
2.5.1.3.2. one primary resource might bring some excitement but read just one source is not enough
2.5.1.3.3. Much has to be garnered indirectly and by inference — Reason
2.5.1.3.4. understanding how and why a particular source came into existence — intuition
2.5.1.3.5. always seeking corroboration, qualification, correction; — reliability, accuracy
2.5.2. 2. Secondary sources
2.5.2.1. Definition
2.5.2.1.1. Converting the raw material into history
2.5.2.1.2. A good secondary source will be as reliable as the historian can possibly make it.
2.5.2.1.3. Different types and levels of secondary source
2.5.2.2. Advantage
2.5.2.2.1. The secondary authorities is useful in separating out the more reliable from the less
2.6. issues with EVIDENCE
2.6.1. Witting testimony
2.6.1.1. deliberate or intentional message of a document or other source
2.6.2. Unwitting
2.6.2.1. the unintentional evidence
2.7. OPVL - a technique for analysing documents (RLS)
2.7.1. Types of document
2.7.1.1. Diary Entry
2.7.1.2. Letter
2.7.1.3. Speech
2.7.1.4. Memoir/ Recollerions
2.7.1.5. Official Government Document
2.7.1.6. Statistics
2.7.1.7. History Text
2.7.1.8. Biography
2.7.1.9. Photograph
2.7.1.10. Carton
2.7.1.11. Newspaper Article or Editorial
2.7.2. OPVL
2.7.2.1. Origin
2.7.2.2. Purpose
2.7.2.3. Value
2.7.2.4. Limitation
3. Historical Development (Audrey)
3.1. Coherence vs Consistency
3.1.1. Among the findings
3.1.2. Interpretations of historical events
3.2. Human activities are culturally constructed, whilst history is not
3.2.1. WRONG: "Each age rewrites it's history"
3.2.2. RIGHT: scope and sophistication has been extended, rather than "culturally determined"
3.2.2.1. Example: 20th century, development away from political history, but was still important
3.2.3. RIGHT: no one type of history is better tahn another
3.2.3.1. provided that the methodolgies are adhered to
3.3. One of the greatest strengths of history is that nothing is ruled out
3.4. Core of history
3.4.1. Scholarly discipline
3.4.1.1. based on the analysis of evidence
3.4.2. Writing up of precise language
3.4.3. Awareness
3.4.3.1. Of methods
3.4.3.2. Of how it is taught
3.4.3.3. Of how it is communicated to wider audiences
4. Scope and Application (Jong/Iris)
4.1. History vs Past(Jong)
4.1.1. History: the bodies of knowledge about the past produced by historians
4.1.2. Past: everything which happened, whether written or known (including unknown knowledge)
4.2. Application(Jong)
4.2.1. knowledge about the past(history) is essential to the present society
4.2.1.1. creates identity
4.2.1.2. provides opportunity to face problems
4.2.1.3. Often based off people's experiences and what they have to share about them
4.2.2. Accuracy
4.2.2.1. should be based on evidence and logical thought
4.2.3. Career
4.2.3.1. tourist attractions
4.2.3.1.1. e.g. Colosseum, Sphinx
4.2.3.2. Art and Literature
4.2.3.2.1. providing contextual knowledge
4.3. Historians vs Futurists
4.3.1. Can be used to 'predict' possible events in the future
4.3.1.1. Turn of fortune in businesses
4.3.1.2. Handling surprises in a plan devised to achieve an objective
4.3.2. Historic narratives need to have some sort of evidence from the past, whereas futuristic narratives have no such pressure
4.3.2.1. Historians are able to link history to scenario-building, therefore making better futurists
4.3.2.1.1. More likely to properly deduct what could happen in the future based on facts which allow them to understand the past
4.4. Video: Witnesses of World War 2(Jong)
4.4.1. Both witnesses provide their personal knowledge
4.4.2. It can be considered as a factual knowledge, however, there are uncertainties that the memories might have been distorted over a long period of time
4.4.3. These personal knowledges might be useful to show the many different ways people lived during the war
4.4.4. The sources are not as reliable because they are very subjective. It might be biased as the way the witnesses perceived the same situation varied due to the difference in background and opinion.
4.4.4.1. The first witness portrayed the war as a dreadful event
4.4.4.2. Meanwhile, the second witness described as an interesting experience as she worked as a foreign secretary in France. This shows the inconsistency when collecting information.
4.4.4.2.1. The video clearly demonstrates the difficulties of checking the credibility or validity of the sources as it was a form of an interview. Despite the fact that the two witnesses went through a same event, the ways they perceive it are totally opposite.
5. Language and Concepts (Yuma)
5.1. Historians VS Novelists
5.1.1. Historians are very different to novelists. Although both write extensive pieces of literature, one has more freedom than the other. Of course, this would be the Historians. Historians are fundamentally not able to use literary techniques in their writing to avoid confusion within past events.
5.2. The Fundamentals of History by Professor Arthur Marwick
5.2.1. Clear, effective and explicit language is crucial in History
5.2.1.1. Related to: - accurate representation of previous events -
5.2.1.2. Using literary techniques in History
5.2.1.2.1. In a certain context, it can make an event seem familiar to a reader and, therefore more relatable, which aids in the understanding of the event.
5.2.1.2.2. It is extremely hard to use it effectively, but it has been done
5.2.1.2.3. It is extremely difficult to use slang, metaphors, clichés and other literary devices when talking about history because more often than not, it ends up confusing the readers
5.3. Reflect and Revise
5.3.1. What is it that you want to say?
5.3.2. Although adding metaphors may make the piece of writing flow better, that is not the most important aspect of History. It is more important to convey the exact message and teach others with accuracy and precision. In this case, adding literary techniques will take away the actual meaning.
5.3.2.1. An uncluttered and precise message is key in historical writing
5.3.2.1.1. Sentiment is not enough, extensive thought is needed
5.3.2.1.2. A vague understanding is not acceptable in historical writing
5.3.3. The style can be elegant without the use of literary techniques!