What is history?

1. History as a
subject
By Thabisile Shabalala

2. What is History??
• History is a record of what has happened in the past. “The
study of the past events considered together, especially
events of a particular period, country, or subject”-
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
• The past includes everything that has already happened,
once an event is over, it becomes History.
• It is the study of change and development in society over
time. history is about learning how to think about the past
which affects the present, in a disciplined way
• The process of inquiry. It is about asking the questions of
the past ( What, When, Why, what were the results?)

3. What are
the importance of history??
History studies provide the story of one's species, race, country, state, forebears, and
culture. That is how one comes to comprehend their own existence and identity.
Studying the past helps one understand the present and live a better future. Learning
about past events such as wars and revolutions (change) and analyzing their causes
and effects allows one to make better choices/decisions when faced with future wars
and changes of a similar nature.
We learn about people like Einstein, Newton, Martin Luther King Jr., and Gandhi who
have contributed important ideas and teachings that we can live by. We can apply
them to our own lives, paving the way for a successful and fruitful future.
An understanding of the governing practices that have been followed throughout
history is required to plan an efficient government to rule efficiently. We will also get a
knowledge of the policies, whether they are effective or not. This should improve
people's comprehension and methods of dealing with them.
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4. History as a
school subject
• When teaching history, one has to bear in mind that
there are important themes or concepts known as Big
Idea that are to be highlighted in each topic.
• Big Idea is not “big” merely
• A unified thought composed of several related
concepts It is more than a vague idea or another piece
of knowledge; it is a way of seeing better and working
smarter. because it categorizes a lot of content.
• In history there are 2 types of concepts:
a. Substantive concepts also known as “1st order
concept”
b. Procedural concepts also known as “2nd order”
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5. What are these two
concepts??
Let’s have a look or rather
lets read…..
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6. “Historical concepts -- How our
thinking shapes the way we
approach historical inquiry”
Substantive concepts
• 1st order concepts are the actual content that
learners can passively absorb, memorize, making
sense of the past in an ordered manner.
• There are 3 types of these concepts:
a. Unique concept
b. Organisational concepts
c. Thematic concepts
Procedural concepts
• 2nd order concepts refers to the concepts that are
provided by the CAPS document that allow
learners not to just memorize the content but also
have a deeper understanding of history, making
sense of the past in an orderly manner.
• There are 5 types of these concepts:
a. Historical sources and evidence
b. Multi- perspectivity
c. Cause and effect
d. Change and continuity
e. Time and chronology

7. Let’s use these
concepts in a
grade 10 topic
about
…….

8. The French Revolution
in short summary….
The French revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political
upheaval in France and its colonies beginning in 1789. France was a
monarchy ruled by the king, King Louis XVI from the Bourbon dynasty
who had a wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The king had absolute power
over the government and the people, yet he had a weak personality
because his wife dominated him. The people of France were divided into
three social classes called ‘estates’. The 1st estate was the clergy, the 2nd
estate was the Nobles, and the 3rd was the commoners, most of French
citizens belonged to the 3rd estate. The French revolution began on July
14th , 1789 when the people of France stormed the Bastille in Paris. It was
a time of political and social rebellion in France that began because of the
inequalities that existed between the rich and poor. A number of factors
came together to cause the revolt of the people against the king.

9. Let us analyse the
topic with historical
concepts…..
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10. 1st order concepts: Substantive
a. Unique concepts- they are derived from a specific context, apply to specific
people, places and events. Learners can use them in specific historical
enquiry to explain and demonstrate understanding. For example; King Louis
xvi, France, Tennis Court Oath, Fall of Bastille
b. Organisational concepts- a set of historical phenomena classified into eras
in which the historical phenomena have connections and the grouping
provides meaning to this relationship. For example; Napoleon Bonaparte
c. Thematic concepts- These concepts are unchanging and help to aggregate
ideas that may be utilized in a variety of historical context. For example;
wars, revolution, liberty, equality.

11. 2nd order concepts: Procedural
1. Historical sources and evidence-
evidence is created when sources
are used to answer questions
about the past. Secondary sources
like textbooks, encyclopedias,
magazine or news articles
dealing with
issues from the
past.

12. ….Continued
2. Multi- perspectivity – there are many ways of
looking at the same thing. Even historians have
varied perspectives on events! Age, gender, social
status, beliefs, and values are all factors that
influence people's opinions. Learners are given the
opportunity to provide their own viewpoints on the
causes of the French Revolution based on how they
see the acts and impact of historic events that took
place.

13. …….
3. Cause and effect - This is the cause and effect of
events that occurred during the French Revolution. It
seeks to discover, investigate, and analyze the
causes of occurrences. There were social, political,
and economic factors that contributed to people
revolting against their monarch and his fleeing the
kingdom during the French Revolution. People in
France staged revolts in order to fight for equality,
fairness, and liberty.

14. ,,,,,,,,,,
4. Change and continuity- Historians
recognize that certain things remain
constant across time while others change.
Change can occur inside a single
civilisation or time period, as well as
across several civilisations and historical
periods. Closely related contrasts are used
to teach history are ‘similarity and
difference’ which help make sense of the
past and the now

15. And lastly but not least…
5. Time and chronology- history is studied and and
written in sequence. It is essential that learners are
able to place events that took place in The French
Revolution in the order in which they took place.
With the use of timelines, they will be able to place
events from June 20, 1789 when the Tennis Court
oath was established till March 25, 1802 when the
French revolutionary wars came to end.
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16. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Unfortunately….it’s

17. REFERENCES:
• Damininema (2015) French Revolution [Power point Slides]
https://www.slideshare.net/damininema/french-revolution
• Kholland, J (2013) What is history? [power point slides]
https://www.slideshare.net/jkholland1/powerpoint-what-is-history
• Ping1973 (2013) Importance of history [Power point Slides]
https://www.slideshare.net/ping1973/importance-of-history
• Rogers, E.K (2015) What is history? [Power point Slides] Bryn
Athyn College of the New Church.
https://www.slideshare.net/EKentRogers/what-is-history
• Woods, J. J (2015) Historical Concepts [Power point Slides]
https://www.slideshare.net/jessicajade82/historical-concepts