This document outlines some key concepts in the study of history. It discusses what history is, the importance of studying history, different types of sources (primary and secondary), and some limitations and biases that historians must account for. Specifically, it notes that history aims to understand and explain the past using available evidence, while acknowledging that evidence can be misinterpreted or biased depending on its source and the historian analyzing it. Historians must consider factors like who wrote a source, potential motives, and compare multiple accounts to develop a more reliable narrative of events.

1. Ayaka Nishimura
Senior Seminar P.4
20 Oct, 2010
History Outline
1. What is History?
a. Evidence
- lack of evidence
Misinterpret the evidence that exists, and jump to conclusions
- too much evidences
b. Significance
- Explaining and understanding the past
- Need to devote considerable energy to establish
 What happened, why it happened?
2. Why study history?
a. History gives us a sense of identity
- “a country without a history is like a person without a memory”
b. History is a defense against propaganda
- dictate a one-sided interpretation
 Highlights a country’s achievements and overlooks its mistake
ex) Stalinist era in the former Soviet Union
- Puncture some of the myths
c. History enriches our understanding of human nature
- by showing us what human beings have thought and done
- problem: self-realizing expectations
3. Primary and Secondary Source
a. Primary source
- one that is written by someone who was there at time
Ex) Julius Caesar’s The Conquest of Gaul
b. Secondary source
- a later, second-hand account of what happened
Ex) Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
c. Fallible eye-witness (limitation)
- people perceive thing differently

2. d. Social bias (limitation)
- reflect the interests of one particular social group rather than society as
whole
 give distorted picture of things
e. Deliberate manipulation (limination)
- by governments and other interest groups
 change the ‘facts’
f. Distinguish a more reliable from a less reliable source
- ask questions: Who wrote it? What was their motive in writing?
- compare different primary sources
- look at documents of a legal and administrative nature
4. The problem of bias
a. Topic choice bias
- A historian’s choice of topic may be influenced by current preoccupations; and
the questions that he asks- or fails to ask- are likely to influence the answer
that he finds
b. Confirmation bias
- A historian might be tempted to appeal only to evidence that supports his
own case and to ignore any counter-evidence
c. National bias
- A historian may find it difficult to deal objectively with sensitive issues that
touch on things like national pride