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Windshuttle The Killing Of History Summary
History has always been commended to have elements objectivity and subjectivity, though
according to
Keith Windshuttle's The Killing Of History (1994) the whole process of constructing history is
somewhat subjective due to various reasons concerning the construction and overall preservation of
historical documents. Jacques Barzun an American Cultural historian does somewhat agree with a
portion of Windshuttle's work in regards with the construction of history. Though Barzun does tend
to disagree with Windshuttle's primary notion that although history is to a degree subjective it is still
also scientific. Barzun being a cultural historian whom greatly values the human element rejects the
concept that history is "scientific" or rather to be absolute as what being scientific demands.
History to some degree is somewhat subjective as history relies on the interpretations of the
historian. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The interpretation of a source may indeed be influenced by the historians own personal biases which
adds to the subjectivity. Barzun acknowledges this known fact in his critique of Western civilization
From Dawn to Decadence in which it states "Waste of breath to point out that every observer is in
some way biased"[2]. However it is quite important to note however that although both Barzun and
Windshuttle agree that history is somewhat subjective it does however contain concrete facts that
according to Windshuttle "do not change, no matter who is looking at them"[3]
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Herodotus 'Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca'
Egyptians and Indians
(An Analysis of the way the Egyptians lived to the way the Avavares lived)
Herodotus is considered by most to have been the first Greek historian which would make him the
first European historian as well. He wrote many books in his time and History contains Observations
on Egypt. Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca was one of the first Europeans to explore the American
Southwest. He wrote La Relacion that talks mostly of the few months that he spent with the
Avavares. Herodotus talks about the way the Egyptians see different animals, perform different
ceremonies, and De Vaca focuses mainly on the lifestyle of the Avavares.
Herodotus talks a lot about the animals that the Egyptians see as sacred and those that are ... Show
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The Avavares have a lot to do with religion and they base their lifestyle on the healers of the tribe.
De Vaca prayed a lot and that helped with a lot of what they were doing in the tribe. He managed to
bring one man "back from the dead". From paragraph 4 of Chapter Twenty–two of From La
Relacion, "I removed a mat with which he was covered, and as best I could prayed to Our Lord to
restore his health, as well as that of all the others who might be in need of it, and after having made
the sign of the cross and breathed on him many times they brought his bow and presented it to me,
and a basket of ground tunas, and took me to many others who were suffering from vertigo." This is
one of the many examples of how they really respected their healer of the
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Rhetorical Analysis A People's History Of The United...
Has History Got It All Wrong?
One of the biggest things people look for in a story is an emotional connection that will draw them
in and can make them feel as though they are seeing things in a whole new light. Howard Zinn
undoubtedly attempts to force an emotional connection to his reader in the first chapter of his 1980
textbook "A People's History of the United States". In this chapter, Zinn tells his reader about how
Europe was unremittingly asperous toward the rest of the world, particularly in the Americas in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While trying to make his point, though, Zinn uses a gratuitous
amount of emotion in his work and very little fact and logic. Zinn's work also features a large
amount of bias to further his argument by severely manipulating his evidence and completely ...
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As Zinn presents his weakly–formed argument in chapter one of "A People's History of the United
States," he uses unconventional amounts of emotion and factual details in an attempt to relay his
message that textbooks and historians deliberately exclude alternative perspectives in order to
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The Bias In History Damon Summary
The Bias in History: An Annotated Bibliography
Damon, Mark. "A History and What–Really–Happened". A guide to Writing in History and Classics.
Utah State University. 2002. This text analyses the complexities in writing and interpreting history.
Mark Damon claims that historians encompass at least three different ways of accessing the past;
remembering, recovering, or inventing. The texts states that no history is the full unvarnished truth
and that memory is usually what many must result to, making the facts potentially flawed. It also
discusses how evidence and artifacts aren't complete without context and some historians result to
fabricating the story behind it. Throughout the text it glances at two very different historians, the
Roman Tacitus and the Byzantine Procopius, and shows the range and difficulty inherent in the
study of the past.
McCutchen, Samuel P. Donald, Ritchie A. History of a Free Nation. Glenco Division,
Macmillan/McGraw ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He goes even further to say that much of history is written by white men. Although, in recent years
we have tried to give women and the minority more of a voice; it is still overshadowed. He states
that we should write history that both expresses the victors and the oppressed. He discusses how we
focus a lot on giving a voice to African Americans, given that abolishment of slavery and equality is
a huge part of our country's history. However, we should put more focus on the Native Americans,
because they are the most oppressed of the groups. "White men won, and white men wrote history",
he writes. Pointing out that white men have claimed the "American" name but have left the real
Americans out of history. Therefore, Chris Ryder believes that what we've been taught is only
"partial
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Why Mental Illness Has Changed American Views On Mental...
Mental illness has continually been part of life in the United States, albeit a part of American life
that is not often discussed. Insane asylums for housing the mentally ill developed later during
colonial America. New scientific ideas and the continuing influence of the Enlightenment led to
further usage of insane asylums, where a widely–used architectural style developed. Commonly
known as Kirkbride or linear plan asylums, these asylums were popular in the mid–nineteenth
century, and were massive, intimidating structures built to impress visitors while providing care to
the mentally ill housed inside. This actual style was predominant from the 1850s to just after the
Civil War and their creation and fall from popularity changed ... Show more content on
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This thesis will bridge the gap between these two theories. It will also address the theoretical
division in the historiography. The architecture of Kirkbride asylums suggests that there was a dual
purpose in the creation of these massive, imposing buildings; they were created to treat the mentally
ill, but the idealistic writings of superintendents of this period did not reflect the true reality of
asylum life, and thus control played a large aspect in the building and workings of insane asylums in
mid–nineteenth century America. There have been scholarly works published about both Kirkbride
asylums and insane asylums in the United States in general. Dr. Henry M. Hurd, a Superintendent at
John Hopkins Hospital, wrote a four–volume book called The Institutional Care of the Insane in the
United States and Canada in 1916, which was one of the first comprehensive scholarly works on
mental hospitals in the United States. His view is important, as he admonished the Association of
Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII), a group of
superintendents over insane asylums, to change its name and focus, as it had changed since
Kirkbride's time. He gave histories of these mental hospitals, and his figures are used through the
twentieth and twenty–first centuries. Another earlier source on this subject is Margaret McCulloch's
"Founding the North Carolina Asylum for the Insane." Her article focused on North Carolina and
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Rise Of The West Essay
We cannot be too sure of what accurately caused the rise of the west, but we could as well be close
enough. The problem about history is that stories will evolve after time passes. Debates between
Historians and other will sometimes change ideas. Authors of some best selling books leave out
some key details that could be needed later on. We have also been false on a certain number of
subjects like how Columbus was the first to discover America when truth was he wasn't. There is a
lot of evidence pointing towards that the West actually did rise, but there are still problems from our
fellow Historians this current day. We all know what we know, it's human nature to depend on
something that we know and also trust. There are though, some minor misconceptions with what we
know. The books we read today give us all the same in text of what happened and how it shaped a
country to what it is today with all the critical points. It's important to know the ideologies,
practices, advancements and connections between countries. Though these things are important,
there could still be more out there. Historians could be basing their facts off just 20% of the
information found while the other portion is unknown. Some findings can be labeled as a "Game
Changer" because of the vast amounts of artifacts and information that have been recovered.
"Scientists using high–tech, airplane–based lidar mapping tools have ... Show more content on
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The role of an Historian is critical to the constant evolution of the historical evidence we have today.
To say we will have a depiction of the past is questionable, as we only know what we unveil. We
continue to seek out past civilizations, looking for the pieces of the puzzle to link the past to the
present. Overall, we can't just be too sure of what caused the rise of the west, but it's always good to
come up with ideas, if they are reasonable, because it may drive more curiosity in
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Persuasive Essay On The War Of 1812
When it comes to Canadian History, perhaps the most controversial and widely disputable topic of
debate would have to be one of Canada's greatest wars: The War of 1812. A wide array of views are
held on many aspects of the war ranging from who won to what ramifications the war would
ultimately sire. In yet another discussion on the ever so controversial War of 1812, a new question
was posed and deliberated by five historians: whose war, was it? Like any other question posed
about this war a multitude of ideas would ultimately arise in each of their differing viewpoints. In
their roundhouse discussion, the historians would ultimately serve to paint the War of 1812 as a war
that transcends much further than the nationalistic view. A view that, though an important part of
Canadian history, has been exaggerated to the point of choking out the many voices who fought and
continue to fight for inclusion in the narrative. In their remembrance of the War of 1812, society
unwittingly failed history in their lackluster commemorations which exclude important narratives
and voices and stand tainted by the misuse of history to serve the nationalistic agenda. The idea of
the exclusion of important narratives is a common theme amongst many of the historians involved
in the discussion. The omission of such narratives would only stand to present an unfinished version
of history from which one cannot grasp the lessons history intends to teach. Catherine Emerson
would be the first to
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In The Long Run The Oppressor
In his novel, A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present, Howard Zinn offers readers a
new and unexpected take on American history. First published in 1980, A People's History is often
received with much controversy and criticism, as Zinn does something that historians rarely do: he
openly rejects the narrative of American history as told by a European perspective. The first chapter
of the novel mainly serves to illustrate two of Zinn's most fundamental ideas: one, that he, as a
historian, chooses to write from the lesser–known perspective of groups whose voices have been
suppressed; and two, that it is necessary for people to ask themselves to what extent is it 'right' to
justify atrocities in the name of human progress. Although ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Zinn does not fully explain what he means when he states this; instead, he leaves it open–ended for
one to interpret as they may choose. It is possible, however, to infer that the meaning of "the
oppressor is also a victim" is a lesson that Zinn wishes to communicate: when a society decides that
oppression and control are the elements that define power and human progress, it unknowingly
becomes victim to the repetition of history that it refuses to learn from (page 10). Far too often, we,
as a society, learn what Zinn calls a "sense of moral proportion," in which we downplay atrocities
and emphasize the importance of human progress, which not only serves to justify what has been
done, but also blinds us to the fact that history has–and will–repeat itself again (page 9). We accept
genocides and other forms of violence, as seen with the Native Americans, and bury them within a
mass of other facts in order to rationalize that such events were necessary for the human race to
progress. The very fact that Zinn's novel sparked such controversy when it was first published
clearly demonstrates that, to at least some extent, people were averse to being exposed to a
perspective on history that does not glorify the Europeans and reveals extreme cruelty and brutality
on both sides. We need not condemn the Europeans for their actions, as it is far too late
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Why Are Historians Important In History
Historians are influenced by countless features of their lives. As a part of any race, gender, religion,
nationality, time period, political identity or social class they have a unique world view. These
factors may help them see a primary or secondary resource in a new light and gain a fuller
understanding of the situation. Their views can also cause historians to overlook important features
in resources or fail to recognize a particular side of the issue. Historians can broaden their horizons
by studying groups that they do not understand. They must keep in mind that these resources also
have all of these influences acting on them. They are only a small piece of the puzzle. Historians
must never accept and resource as fact without analyzing it. Among all the competing influences a
historian is always searching for a new angle and a fuller understanding of events. These factors that
effect historians lead them to subscribe to different schools of thought about ... Show more content
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Historians must acknowledge that Americans do not all hold one view. They are a melting pot of
different experiences and opinions that all deserve to be heard. I am part of the Realist diplomatic
school of thought. The United States has made many poor foreign policy choices. They get involved
in too many wars and military power struggles. Most of these do not directly benefit the United
States, they become a money pit and source of international political unrest. Americans have
historically wanted to fix all the world's problems but their solutions are frequently rejected by other
countries because America does not understand that country's point of view. The United States
should stop trying to intervene in other countries and look out for their own interests instead.
America stands to gain monetarily and politically by stepping back from all unnecessary
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Analysis Of Howard Zinn's Historian As Citizen
The essay "Historian as Citizen" by Howard Zinn presents a call to action for historians everywhere.
To start, he analyzes the delicate need for balance that comes with studying history, how historians
can use patterns of the past to judge contemporary events, but must not overlook the "universe of
tricks" outside that realm. Next, he argues we must also transcend the present and act as if we are
freer than logic may suggest. Finally, Zinn delves into the negative aspects of society's long–
established blame game and submits his proposed solution. Through this text, Zinn seeks a drastic
shift in focus from antiquity to activism– for historians to stop merely scrutinizing old facts but
instead use them as tools with which to examine human nature and build a better tomorrow. The
strengths of "Historian as Citizen" lie in Zinn's practicality. For example, one of the things he
advocates for is acting in spite of oppressive ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He writes,"It is risky to act as if we are free, but (unless one is content with things as they are) it is
just as risky to act as if we are bound, and there is even less chance of reward" (Zinn 45). This lays
out the options, plain and simple. One can either act and have a chance at improving quality of life,
or not act and depend completely on the even more unlikely case of outside intervention. This points
out that surrendering to "logic" in the face of weighty obstacles and giving up is in fact illogical.
Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of searching within. Zinn points out, "When the United
States defines the Soviet sphere as 'totalitarian' and the West as 'free,' it becomes difficult for
Americans to see totalitarian elements in our society" (Zinn
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Criticisms on the Studies of World History Essay
In the late twentieth century, the study of world history has emerged to allow both historians and
students to understand the world from a global perspective. World history is viewed to be part of the
academic field than the research field. According to Charles Hedrick, author of The Ethics of World
History, Western civilization was the main course taught in schools and universities before world
history became part of the curriculum. The need to understand the world in a broader perspective
compared to a Western perspective made the study of world history popular in the United States.
Historians approached the study of world history with a thematic approach to understand the
integration and difference between people and major events of ... Show more content on
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This is most noticeable in patriotic world history. The development of world history from the Right
created the "patriotic world history." This approached to world history advocated American values
and accomplishments. Patriotic world history most obvious criticism is its Eurocentric perspective
on world history. The patriotic world history serves its purpose by "legitimiz[ing] particular political
values." It focuses on the values and experiences of European and Euro–American, while treating
other societies as paths to avoid. Sometime patriotic world history "goes so far as to exclude most of
the world's peoples and societies from world history." This approach is far from the original goals of
world history to understand integration and differences between people and events without
compromising other societies.
Another criticism of patriotic world history is the lack of professional historians. Two advocates of
patriotic world historians are Paul Ganon and Diane Ravitch. While they have a degree in history,
they lack the qualification of a professional historian. They proclaim to understand the meaning of
the global past and use it for their own political
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Essay Interpretations of American History
Interpretations of American History
The world is full of rich culture, diversity and experiences unique to each individual. When
determining the validity of historic accounts we must factor in that particular historian's point of
view, which should be characterized by ethnicity, idealogy, theoretical or methodological preference.
With these factors views of the past often vary from person to person. In this essay I will be
discussing the four different stages that shaped the writing of American history over the last 400
years.
According to Couvares, the writing of American history has passed through four stages: the
providential, the rationalist, the nationalist, and the professional. The providential stage took place
during the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Bancroft believed that Anglo–Saxons were racially destined to lead and spread freedom across the
globe. With the establishment of John Hopkins University, college education became more common
among middle–class Americans, however only wealthy white men still only had access to that kind
of education. This new wave of historians insisted that knowledge of history and physics were of
equal importance.
The final stage of American history and progression according to Couvares, was the professional
stage. Professional scholars rose to prominence from 1910–1945. These historians believed that
modernity, industrialization, urbanization, and class conflict had fundamentally changed society.
Charles Beard argued that "the constitution was not the product of wise men intent on balancing
liberty and order, but a clique of wealthy merchants and landowners who wanted a central
government strong enough to defend their privileges against the unruly masses." (Couvares 77–2).
Beard also thought that many of the major conflicts in society were between economic interest
groups. Many critics found flaws in his idealogy, but at the same time it inspired them to find
answers to questions that plagued the people.
Over the past 400 years, these historians all had different stances on how they thought to improve
society. With the mix of cultural backgrounds, and ethnicities no two viewpoints will ever be exactly
the same. Couvares
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Howard Zinn: A People's History
Howard Zinn is one of the few historians who purposely wrote with a bias; he 'abandoned neutrality'
and took sides when writing about historical topics. Generally people expect historians to just state
objective facts and not show any bias. In school, students commonly read books depicting Pilgrims
as great people, who were peaceful towards their Indian neighbors, but they actually massacred and
tried to convert them. As Winston Churchill once said, "History is written by the victors." This
statement is true in most cases, and it needs to be changed. Most high school and college history
classes stick to reciting objective facts not paying attention to the moral and ethical implications
behind them. However, today's readers should develop their ... Show more content on
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A People's History of the United States begins, "I prefer to try to tell the story of American from the
viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves..."(Zinn, People's
History, 10). Zinn wanted to tell the story of America from the point of view of the oppressed,
victimized, and the 'regular' people, such as commoners and the working–class, of the United States.
To prevent history from repeating itself, the people of American need to be involved in history and
learn about it from a point of views that has not been taught to them. Returning to the quote of,
"History is written by the victors," (Churchill), Zinn wants to show that history is also written by
survivors, the victors commonly destroy and ignore the records of the victims. Zinn gives the reader
the point of view of the survivors of a terrible historical event, allowing his readers to understand
that America is not always fair to people. "...[A] statement I once read: "The cry of the poor is not
always just, but if you do not listen to it, you will never know what justice is."" (Zinn, People's
History, 10). Zinn wanted to give the reader an opportunity to see justice, even if they did not want
to. In an excerpt from Morison, Zinn applauded him for not omitting facts about genocide but he
then states, "But he does something else–he mentions the truth quickly and goes onto other things
more important to him" (Zinn, People's History,8). To Zinn, Morison was more interested in
explaining progress and not the cost of that progress. Zinn believes that a historian should write with
his or her own bias but not cover up the true oppressing history with so many facts and opinions that
it is impossible for the reader to view the 'historical' facts with a new opinion Zinn is skilled at
explaining events from the point of view that people do
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The Last Great Taboo Subject: Exhibiting Slavery At The...
History is in many ways a pool of gray. It is in this realm of ambiguity the historian can be found in
her natural habitat. Of course a creature who lives in a world of gray would herself have a rather
ambiguous role. Historians have a duty to the past but must live in the present. This places them in a
predicament that has plagued the discipline for at least the last century – the conflict between
presentism and 'pure scholarship'. The historian must reconcile her obligation to be fair to the
peoples of the past in presenting and studying their story with her desire to be of service to her
contemporaries. The primary role of the historian is to inform the present of the past, both of the
highs and the lows, the ugly and the beautiful, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Richard H. Kohn discussed this exhibit and the controversy that surrounded it in his article History
and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution's Enola Gay Exhibition. Kohn writes
that "From the beginning, then, the Enola Gay exhibit was designed to provoke its audience," to
question; the United States' decision to use the weapons, the implications of that decision on
contemporary society, and the nature of modern total war generally. History is the study of cause
and effect, of consequences. Historians have a duty to present both the event and artifacts as well as
interpretation of their consequences. As John W. Dower writes in his article Triumphal and Tragic
Narratives of the War in Asia, "Artifacts do not in fact speak for themselves." Historians must
contextualize historical fact and provide interpretation of cause and effect relationships in order to
encourage debate and broaden public discussion of historical effects and their current relevance to
modern
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Historian Peter Burke: A Historical Analysis
Frequently, history is viewed as being biased since it is an individual's narrative that the historian
relies on as a record of events. History continues to be a contentious social science. Today, history
continues to be widely debated because it is perceived as tendentious. Historical narratives, whether
they are primary or secondary sources, tend to present only one point of view. This perspective is
often an inclination or one's own opinion, which can modify the history that is being documented.
Historian Leopold von Ranke believes that a historian's vital role is to record history as a "strict
presentation of facts." Historian Peter Burke would argue against Ranke's expectation of history.
Burke would deem Ranke's notion of history as ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Consequently, this does not make it a more credible source, as historians must analyze the factors in
the source that make it different than the others. These factors revolve around Alexander, they
include his reactions, his role, and motives. Plutarch lies in between the official and popular
tradition which is supported throughout his account. Plutarch presents an Alexander who is sneaky,
fearful, and who is easily influenced by others. This shows the historian how Plutarch viewed
Alexander as someone who was driven by paranoia, fear, and long–held
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History Is Memory
History can be defined in a number of ways. One could say history is a record of events that
occurred in the past, or another person could say that history is the knowledge and facts of the past.
Carl Becker's definition is perhaps the simplest and finest definition of history. Becker defines
history as "the memory of things said and done" (223). Memory is history, which is what history
truly is and how it should be looked at by mankind. As long as mankind has that memory, then that
memory of the things said and done will become history. For mankind to truly be able to define
what history is, they must understand the importance of preservation, interpretations, and
periodization with the things said and done.
If history is memory, and that memory is lost, then history can be lost forever. The Earth itself is
billions of years old and mankind has been around on the planet for only a few thousands of those
years. In her book, Marnie Hughes–Warrington mentions a piece of work from R. G. Collingwood
in which he defines history as "a science whose business is to study events not accessible to our
observation" (35). Mankind has only been around for a small number of blinks of an eye, which
means that there is a significant amount of history that mankind still does not know about, and
possibly may never know. Aphrodite of Melos for example, is a famous and beautiful ancient Greek
freestanding statue from the Hellenistic Period. The arms of the statue are missing and mankind
does
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Christopher Carr's 'What Is History'
The book What is History, has many great points of what Carr is trying to say therefore, the meaning
behind it has to make an huge impacted on his purpose. In the beginning chapter, it starts off as facts
that need to be understood to create history. Carr also notice that studying historian will determine
the major role if its legit. Even though, society is important, because it influences people's
behavior/believes it also has factors that respond to the environment. For an example, an inspiring
philosopher will look deep into details to form a perfect equation that puts the pieces to the puzzle
together.Where an imposter philosopher, will take little to none evidence to figure out the truth
behind their points. Carr stated that, They both ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The debates varied from what to believe and what not to be believed or how the world around us has
an unique way of shedding light on topics in the years before us. I loved chapter 111, because it
dawned on me when, Carr stated, " were hypothese designed to crystallize and organize further
thinking and were subject, to verification, modification, or refutation". This to me was an awesome
way of putting something so simple, which is evandance. Without if it, their would be no meaning to
anything. History, science and morality is the benefits of what knowledge became and grow from.
For me the reader how he puts it, gave me details on how to take in history. Applying the
observation on the a timeline and finding out who, what ,why and discovered it. Another, quote that
I found interesting was,"split into a series of discrete technical problems of social readjustment."
This right here is basically saying, the more sociological history becomes,the better for both.
Therefore, history plays a role in human behavior and where they live as well as technology. The
development of the new world which now is us, came from the people that made history happen
plus our existences. What I mean by that
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Enlightenment Historiography Essay
Did Enlightenment historiography neglect history?
Arthur Marwick in his Fundamentals of History suggests that when studying history it is important
that there is a distinction made between History and The Past, the former referring to the knowledge
produced by historians about the past together with the teaching of that knowledge. Marwick states
that the latter is just 'everything that actually happened, whether known, or written, about by
historians or not'. Enlightenment historiography is particularly interesting because it shifted the way
that historians look at and study history, specifically how society started to prioritise human
rationality over faith. Previously, traditional Christian historians would account every major event or
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This way of studying the enlightenment was criticised initially because it is hard to understand the
progress of enlightenment without any social or geographical context of how the path was paved for
great thinkers of the eighteenth century. Darnton suggested that perhaps new methodologies, that
would position the enlightenment into different geographical and economic perspectives as well as
consider how it was transmitted through media in eighteenth century France, needed to be
developed and practiced. This suggests that perhaps the way that historians such as Peter Gay
studied the enlightenment was far too simplistic and placed more importance on the writings of the
great thinkers than on the actual progress of the enlightenment during that time period. Although this
shows that some enlightenment historians ignored the social, geographical and economic context of
the enlightenment, it does not necessarily mean that they ignored History. This essay agrees with
Marwick in the sense that History should be defined as the bodies of knowledge produced about
history and should not be confused with the past. These enlightenment historians focused
specifically on History by looking at just the writings of philosophes such as Voltaire and Kant, and
rather Neglected The Past by not looking at social perspectives and
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Browning Primary Sources
Historians believe they need to find the truth. They make arguments, write papers, and give lecture
on what they are saying is the truth. Historians want to learn what happened. This is important,
because history teaches many lessons. Students of history agree or disagree with historian's
arguments and what they say happened or what is the cause of some event. The best historians are
the ones who write the strongest arguments. To make strong arguments, it's very important to use
strong sources. Sources are either primary or secondary. The primary sources are the original ones,
which date back to the events of that time period. Secondary sources are the arguments of other
historians or anything that talks about primary sources. Choosing the best sources means
understanding what the source is saying and using accurate information to make your own
argument. When historians feel that the existing work fails to mention or inaccurately claims
something that's important. to the historian, they write their own argument. The historian wants to
write a better argument, which other historians and students will regard ... Show more content on
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Therefore, he was not old enough to experience the Holocaust and World War II, like Bauer. He was
still a baby. Browning's experience is good because he's not especially emotionally connected to the
Holocaust. He published his most popular book, Ordinary Men, in 1992. This is also much later than
the other two writers. Browning had the benefit of Dawidowicz, Bauer, and other historians work,
like future historians will benefit from his. Browning is a functionalist, and he does not believe that
the Holocaust was strictly Hitler's intent all along. The thesis of Browning's book is that the
Holocaust was caused by many factors, and the anti–Semitism began on a smaller scale as Hitler
tried to kick the Jewish people out of Germany, which eventually spiraled into deciding to commit
crazy mass murder.
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Writing : Praxis And Performance By Greg Dening
Of the many wonderful fragments of wisdom in Greg Dening's article 'Writing: Praxis and
Performance', which details how to produce appealing and creative historical prose, I believe one
stands out above the rest. Be mysterious, he tells us. I'd be a fool not to take this on board. With that
in mind, I wish to begin with a small mystery of my own. "He has married many women, but has
never been married. Who is he?" Listen closely, and you might just find out.
In many ways, analysing this article is the most straightforward task I will undertake in my
academic career. I mean, everything I could possibly need to know is explained to me, right there in
the article. It is a self–perpetuating prophecy, describing in stunning and florid detail precisely how
to write about it. It provides concise and understandable lists of tips, rules, and guidelines for
historical writing. And it does all this in engaging, challenging, and imaginative ways. Really, as
long as I actually read the thing, it should be impossible to go wrong. How could I fail?
Nevertheless, presenting this article is also particularly intimidating. Can I live up to that? Can I
actually follow these rules, take on board and rearticulate the wealth of advice? Much like history
itself, I view this is an enticing paradox, one which I wholly intend to embrace. So, as Dening
himself astutely observes, "...let me give some advice on writing, and you can see for yourself
whether I take my own advice." That said, it would be
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Historiography During The Cold War
What is Historiography? The study and analysis of historical writings, the method of analyzing a
historical period based on the perspectives of historians to the event.
What is "critical analysis" in history writing? To critically analyze an event one must read about all
aspects of a historical event in order to fully understand that historical era. This is done by
examining several primary source documents, as well as the perspectives of several historians. This
way we are able to break down a historical time and fully understand its success and failures.
For example: Reconstruction is the most controversial point in U.S. history in regards to its
successes as well as its effect on the course of the country. Historians of the 1900's like ... Show
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Using military strategies, political doctrines, and economic aid, the United States was able to
prevent the smaller countries from falling to into the grasp of communism. brinkmanship: the
practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most
advantageous outcome. In the Cold War, the arms race and the space race where important aspects
of brinkmanship.
Truman doctrine: established that the United States would provide political, military and economic
assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces, this
was a part of the containment policy of the U.S. to stop Greece and Turkey from being taken over by
the Nazis.
Marshall plan: an American initiative to aid Europe, the United States gave $13 billion
(approximately $120 billion in current dollar value) in economic support to help rebuild European
economies after the end of World War
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Herodotus and Sima Qian: Great Historians Essay
History writing has evolved much over time with the contributions of many people. In the modern
sense, it can be traced back to ancient Greece and China, where historians Herodotus and Sima Qian
began keeping records of human existence. Although they were not literally the first people to write
history, together they are named the first great historians of the Western world and the East because
of their individual innovations and extensive work that has long affected history writing up until this
day. There is much to debate when it comes to the greatness of these ancient historians, and although
some believe they were both important and successful in what their works, The Histories and The
Records of a Historian, accomplished, others ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The advancements he made while the act of recording the past was just beginning to flourish were
substantial enough to be considered still effective today. In his work called The Histories, Herodotus
explores a copious amount of topics while keeping not a word impartial and remaining thoroughly
unbiased. His main conflict was centered on the civilizations of the East and the West, a topic that
has been illustrated over and over again by many of his successors. Although in his time technology
was scarce, he took matters into his own hands and began to ask questions of the people at the
places he would write about and unveil their histories, customs, artwork, and buildings.
Herodotus marked a new way of recording and interpreting history: conducting research. He
recorded what he saw, heard, and experienced as he traveled around places like the Mediterranean
Sea, the Black Sea, and as far up as Babylon. He went on expeditions and encountered much of his
information through in person exchange, an accomplishment surely to be considered great. Martin
believes Herodotus explored an extensive amount of history and peoples and showcased a spectrum
of topics like "war, politics, religion, commerce, geography, climate, ethnography, and individual
human motivations" (Martin 7). In his writings called The Histories, Herodotus begins with The
Story of Croesus and
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Comparing Mccullagh's Views On Bias And Perception
Researchers expect historical information to be valid, balanced and lacking in bias. Whether
intentionally or by mistake, bias has often found its way into historical accounts. McCullagh goes to
great lengths to explain why this occurs; what type of biases are most common; and how personal
and cultural bias can be overcome.
McCullagh first asserts that there are four distinct ways in which bias affects historical accounts:
misinterpretation of evidence, omission of important facts, the implication of facts that are known to
be false, and the intentional elimination of causal events. McCullagh contends that these events are
only bias when they occur intentionally, and by definition are "unjustified" if claimed to be mistakes
on the part of the author. As he states: "Mistakes in biased history are motivated, not accidental." ...
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McCullagh refutes the notion of inevitability by noting that standards exist that allow historians to
cognitively avoid bias, and to do so in a manner that is not overly exhaustive. He declares that the
"one important constraint upon historical descriptions is that they [simply] provide a fair account of
the subject." Naysayers at this point would question how one determines if a historical account is
complete to the point of providing enough detail to be considered a fair account. McCullagh insists
that a complete account requires a "preconception of the general nature of the subject" and involves
"a descriptive explanation of
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Essay on American Indians
“’Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of
History';, an essay written by Jane Tompkins, a professor of English at Duke University, outlines
Tompkins dissatisfaction on how American Indians are portrayed throughout history. As children,
we are taught that in “1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue';, and that Peter Minuet
bought all of Manhattan Island from the Indians for only twenty–four dollars worth of trinkets. In
high school, we were taught that in World War II, the Germans were all heartless savages, and that
the best course of action to end the war was to use the atomic bomb on Japan. It is seen that
“the victor writes the history books.'; In other words, the dominant ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Tompkins began her research of the misrepresentation of American Indians with Perry
Miller’s book Errand into the Wilderness. In his book, Miller writes, “the
massive narrative of the movement of European culture into the vacant wilderness of America.';
This passage from Miller’s book provokes a shocking response from Tompkins.
Tompkins is shocked that Miller referred to America’s wilderness as
“vacant.'; It is obvious that upon the arrival of European settlers to America, the settlers
encountered the Indians at some point in time. Thus, America’s wilderness
wasn’t “vacant.'; Miller fails to observe the presence of the Indians. From
his own personal experiences with the vast wilderness in Africa, Miller correlates that experience to
the experiences that the settlers must have had when they arrived in America. It is clear that
Miller’s own experiences have clouded his ability to give an unbiased and totally
truthful account of history. “… What is invisible to the historian in his own
historical moment remains invisible when he turns his gaze to the past,'; (Tompkins, 412).
The book, New England Frontier: Puritan and Indians, by Alden Vaughan, reconciled
Miller’s position on the presence of Indians in American history.
Vaughan’s book describes the interactions between the
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Doing History Summary
In the opening chapters of both Doing History (2013), by Michael J. Galgano, J. Chris Arndt, and
Raymond M. Hyser, and The Methods and Skills of History (2015), by Conal Furay and Michael J.
Salevouris, the authors broadly discuss what history is, as well as the kinds and uses of historical
knowledge. Doing History focuses closely on the definition of history and the variety of approaches
to studying and using historical facts. Chapter One of The Methods and Skills of History emphasizes
upon the importance of history in society, while Chapter Two is centered on the nature of history
and the task of the historian. According to Doing History, the study of history as a whole is an
interpretation of past events based on reliable evidence. However, there can be misuse of historical
facts, such as dependence on popular memory, or, how ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Current events have a basis in historical fact and the practice of analyzing and acting upon past
experiences is all considered thinking historically. Without history, human society would have no
identity or base. Chapter Two begins by expressing what Doing History has already stated on the
definition of history. However, Methods and Skills delves further into the nature of history by
explain that a historian can shed light on an event in history, but nobody can actually show exactly
how things took place during that event. All of history is naturally subject to the historian's point of
view and interpretations, therefore, the absolute fullest and truest version of history is essentially
unattainable. However, this fact does not negate the importance of studying and understanding
history, because historical fact is grounded in reliable, factual evidence from the event.
Consequently, historians must always be asking questions and looking for the best possible answers
for the ever–evolving dialogue of
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Analysis: Why Our History Textbooks Are A Lie
Why our History Textbooks are a Lie
Throughout our educational careers, we have been taught to trust our textbooks. They have always
been a source that you can count on to get the correct answer to your question. Teachers have taught
us that the textbook is always right, and that there should be no reason not to trust in it. However, all
of this has been a lie. As we get older, and have a wider perspective of our society we begin to see
that our textbooks have not given the entire truth.They focus on only the points and ideas of the
colonizers, and leave out aspects of history that might not make them look as great as they would
like to or they just do not view the idea important enough to be taught. Students should not depend
on their history textbooks, for all the answers since they do not give the adequate perspective of
history.
One way that historians do not give an adequate perspective of history, is by telling history only
through the colonizers lense. They only focus on what they are doing and how well they impact
society. A prime example is from Out of Many a History of the American People ... Show more
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A strong representation of this is Christopher Columbus. In our history books he is seen as a hero,
someone who everyone should look up to, and respect. On the other hand some accuse him and his
crew to committing a mass genocide. In Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress the author
claims "the cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete
genocide" (Columbus 7). This reveals that Columbus is not who we thought he was and also that our
textbooks do not depict the entire story of history. Our textbooks choose to only depict certain
perspectives of history which only make the colonizers look exceptional. They do not look at other
cultures perspectives that may see the colonizers in a different
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History Encompasses More Than Merely Events That Occurred
History encompasses more than merely events that occurred in the past. History is about;
understanding how people felt, how they lived and how certain events shaped the society they lived
in. The truth is, today's society only knows bits and pieces of history because most of the history
that's known is often misinterpreted, or misconstrued due to the lack of evidence that has survived,
or the over–abundance of information that is present. Other times, history might be misinterpreted
because historians try to "fill in the blanks" with information. For example, Christopher Columbus is
heralded as the founder of North America; however, it has been proven that there were other
explorers that discovered North America first; years before ... Show more content on
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By reading the diary, you are essentially transported back in time; as though you were walking in
that person's shoes. Even though history is a very interesting area of study there are many different
ways of interpreting it.
The problem with studying history is that it's very hard to accurately say that things occurred a
certain way. World War II ended yes, but who played the bigger role in its conclusion? Depending
on where you are, people would answer the question differently. If you were Russian you would say
the Russians played the bigger role in ending World War II, however, if you were an American, you
might say otherwise. In all, history is only as accurate as the interpretation of the given evidence,
and even then there might be misconceptions.
The epistemological fragility of history makes certain aspects of history hard to interpret and
understand and therefore, it's hard to put together a complete picture. An example of this
phenomenon involves the massacre that occurred in Almo, Idaho in 1861. The massacre served as a
collective identity for the people of the town because it was a reminder of the struggle that the
settlers went through to ensure the survival of themselves, as well as their families. (Maybe add
something here?) Oftentimes, people study history because they want to know where they came
from. A collective
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Analysis Of Howard Zinn 's ' Indians ' History Of The Us...
History 2112
Critical Analysis Paper #1
Dr. Pitts
James Hamby
Monday–Wednesday 8:30pm
Patriot's vs. People's Howard Zinn's, Peoples' History of the US and Larry Schweikart's, Patriots'
History of the US are two analytical views on history that most people would consider politically
conflicting. Zinn's Marxist book was widely praised by liberal activist and Schweikart's book is
greatly publicized by conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. These two widely known
historians turned their focus on writing two historical pieces that would fill in the "historical holes"
that weren't being taught in the educational systems. It created a type of diverse learning that made
for a great argument while still allowing the readers to understand all sides of the topics at hand.
Zinn really dismissed the common "white mans history" and focused his approach on a multiple
minority perspective. Schweikart's book is very different in the sense he takes aim at Zinn as he
targets words like "great discovery" and "war on terror" which Zinn only used as scare quotes.
Schweikart's book really reads like old history textbooks from the moral principals of the American
founders that built this nation to the ideological view of American prosperity. No matter who shares
the views of the political perspectives or condemns them because of its bias stances both historians
felt responsible in writing the history of the United States.
Zinn did not believe in an unbiased approach to history
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The Contrasting Roles of Historians and Scientists Essay
Historians utilize primary sources to reconstruct events that have previously occurred in order to
create a clearer image of the past. In opposition, human scientists investigate varying aspects of
human activity to reveal discoveries that are meant to bring significant changes to the future. This is
presented in the assertion that "The historian's task is to understand the past; the human scientist, by
contrast, is looking to change the future." This appears to be false considering that both the historian
and the human scientist require a satisfactory comprehension of past events, as their roles
necessitate a desire to change the future. The respective areas of knowledge of the historian and
human scientist express this through the lens ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The false assertion claims that historians solely work to determine an understanding of the past. The
historian's role is defined with a dictation of understanding the past; however their study of the past
is through today's lens. Thus, they are writing in hindsight. A knowledge issue is present with the
"fallible" eyewitnesses in primary sources which cannot be entirely accepted as the truth due to
flexible interpretations. History, a reconstruction of events, is viewed from a modern standpoint
allowing the historian to produce secondary sources using primary sources as a basis. These sources
suggest that those who control the past also control the future expressing the need for historians to
look at evidence in terms of the future. Furthermore, historical interpretations are inevitably bonded
with a sense of personal value as historians fail to simply regurgitate prior knowledgebut rather use
it as a creative endeavor combining evidence with imagination. This leads to the derivation of a
unique conclusion in retelling events of the past. Although, it can be argued that the historian's
purpose is to eliminate issues such as bias and empathy. However, this proves to be impossible as
they inevitably include a sense of empiricism.
Trends of the past are evident in history. History is not necessarily proven to repeat itself yet a
considerable amount of information suggests this. This information can be analyzed in
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Herodotus And Sima Qi The First Great Historians Essay
Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China is a book that provides
historical context on both ancient Greece and ancient China written by Thomas R. Martin;
Additionally the book provides primary source documents written by ancient historians Herodotus
and Sima Qian, who tell the history of their nations through numerous anecdotes. Although the two
historians have different motives behind their works since Sima Qian writes the history of ancient
China for personal gain and Herodotus writes to preserve the history and doings of ancient Greece,
they both share topics such as honor in war and women in leadership positions that represent the
morals and ideals of the two ancient civilizations.
The contrast in the motivation behind the creation of these two works is created through the attitudes
and theories in play during the time in which the author's lived in. Looking into Sima Qian's motives
which he attributes to the desire to "...have paid the debt of my shame, I will have no regret if I am
killed ten thousand more times!" (Sima Qian, 93). The debt being the humility he has brought his
family name after being castrated for speaking out of line to the emperor. The punishment and the
reaction to this punishment reflect the two major schools of thought present during Sima Qian's
time. These two schools of thought were the ideas of Confucius and Legalism. The ideas of
Confucius supported tradition and the respect for ancestry (McKay, 103) while
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Except For Those Of Us Who Are Above It By Herb Block
History classes have always been a requirement for high school students to graduate. Some of these
classes include United States history, Government, and World History. Although, there is a lack of
any classes dealing with local history. State history alone only receives attention in the elementary
school system and about a week in Government class. All school systems should include, in the
required classes to take to receive a high school diploma, a local history class, so that the students
may have a knowledge of the place where they live. Although, a more underlining issue behind local
history needs to be answered first. In the general world of history, "local history is too often in the
hands of '... dedicated amateurs ...'" (Hicken ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They should rather figure out their own history and help out the poor amateurs trying their best to
put the puzzle together. Furthermore, local history in general needs to be cared about more. Like
said before, "the top level of prestige" among historians "is occupied by those who teach African or
Asian history" (Hicken 1). This "prestige" is also portrayed very well by Herb Block's political
cartoon "Except for Those of Us Who Are above It." Which, displays bureaucrats sitting on top of
Washington above everyone else, with a caption "Equal Justice Under Law." Which, shows that
those of more important roles consider themselves better than the lower rules. All together, this
shows that after people spend countless years in school and in the work force being a historian, they
are studying the histories abroad and of more accomplishment, rather than their own with facts that
have no meaning. Although, even major historians have hypocritically "given themselves over to the
study of some phase of history which, in the long run, amounted to only a minor aspect of a larger
problem" (Hicken 1). Yet, they ridicule local history and those who research it. These issues
amongst historians are the major underlying issues when proposing the concept of a local history
class. Now, looking at local history in a more positive light; it has an impression on the current
environments people are surrounded with. What has happened in the past has shaped the places
people
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Public History
Danielle Sherrard
Introduction to Public History
Ever since public history emerged on college universities in the 1980s, historians have still had
difficulties defining the term. The National Council on Public History's definition of the term stirred
the debate even more. According to the National Council on Public History, "public history
describes the many and diverse ways in which history is put to work in the world" (NCPH 2016).
This definition helps the public understand that public history focuses around real world issues in an
applicable way. Public history is performed outside of the traditional research–based college
campuses, whether it be in a museum, archive, National Park Service, and more. Public history
should be focused around ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Public Historians use such tools as photographs, oral histories, museum exhibitions, and multimedia
to address a wide variety of historical issues and to present those issues to a non–academic audience.
As historians, we all do research, we all analyze and interpret our findings, and we all communicate
the results. The primary difference between public and academic history is in the area of
communication––in the audiences that we attempt to reach and in the products that we use to convey
our scholarship to those audiences. an interactive process between the historian, the public, and the
historical object. the belief that history and historical–cultural memory matter in the way people go
about their day–to–day lives.
Public history is performed outside of the traditional research–based college campuses, whether it be
in a museum, archive, National Park Service, and more. Public history should be focused around a
shared authority – history is for everyone, not only for discussion by academics and public
historians should be the intermediary between history and the public. No one owns
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Essay on Howard Zinn's Ideas on Motivations for War
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a
number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these
historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many
countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn
causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these
powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example,
WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during war.
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a
number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these
historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many
countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn
causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these
powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example,
WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during war.
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a
number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these
historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many
countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn
causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these
powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example,
WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
The State Of Discipline Essay
The State of the Discipline History cannot be changed, but as time goes on different discoveries,
interpretations, issues, and concerns for the discipline arise that cause historians to analyze the state
of the discipline. To investigate these concerns, I read articles from Perspectives on History,
particularly the October 2017 issue. During this research, I discovered that some of the ideas, topics,
and debates that are occupying historians right now are: student enrollment, the preservation of
history, and the rewriting of history via alternative facts. One major concern currently for historians
is how to revive history in the classroom. In almost every month so far in 2017, there has been at
least one article concerning low numbers ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
An important aspect of these monuments are that they are beginning to memorialize all the victims
from the Holocaust, such as the Jews, handicapped, and homosexuals. Another issue concerning
historians is the idea of "alternative facts" popularized by the United State's current president,
Donald Trump. The author, Robert Blackey, makes his opinion about alternative facts clear: they are
detrimental to history and are not "alternative," but false. An important distinction he makes is that
"alternative facts are not synonymous with alternative interpretations." Historians (and students of
History 200) learn how to formulate historical narratives. As discussed in the last paper, certain
aspects can deviate and focus on various factors that ultimately shape the narrative. However, there
are always facts and evidence supporting every claim. Alternative facts are a lie, and it believe so as
a historian is to betray history, and this is why it is an important issue plaguing the nation. In order
to prove a point or save face, individuals are undermining history and facts.
The topics that are being presented in this article are present issues that have been influenced by the
past. When individuals decide on a stance on the issue of confederate monuments, it is important
that they investigate the past for the context, and this article specifically encourages individuals to
do so. For background information of why Berlin is currently in
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The Flaws and Shortcomings of African Historiography Essay
The Flaws and Shortcomings of African Historiography
History is formed through a combination of personal experiences, psychological state, personal
objectives, relation with the interviewer, position in society and many other factors that cannot be
scientifically monitored and accounted for. Thus, no historian has been able to filter through the
many layers they need to in order to arrive at an accurate account of history. What "personal
narratives" and "life histories" provide are numerous examples of the complexities and ambiguities
that accompany any reconstruction of African history. Each account of history does not offer a
different perspective from which one may view a particular event or time, simply because no two
accounts have ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But that is all it is, interesting! With enough disclaimers and 'considering' any claim, theory, or
historical account becomes valid history.
Relationships Between Interviewer and Subject:
As recognition and acceptance of the subjects' ability to hold back and alter information increased,
so did historians' emphasis on the quality of the relationship between interviewer and interviewee.
For example, Bozzoli made a point of reducing the physical and ethnical variations between
interviewer and interviewee. In order to increase the comfort level of the subject, and in turn, get
more honest and personal information, Bozzoli used female interviewers with racial and ethnic ties
to the subject whereas Mbilinyi had a much more direct approach. Alagoa, Bozzoli, and
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The Landscape Of History : How Historians Map The Past
Gaddis wrote, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, to inform audiences why a
historical consciousness should matter to us today. He used knowledge from past historians to
portray the method that historical writings represent what cannot replicate. Gaddis worked to
describe historical consciousness using visual imagery to express metaphors because science,
history, and art all depend on metaphors. The past is something we can never have and through
metaphors and representation, Gaddis accurately illustrates the meaning of a historian and how
history cannot relive, retrieve or rerun but can only represent it. History can be considered a
metaphor and representation because it is the way people represent it. Using history as a way to sum
up past events is applying the word to an action. Gaddis describes history as a metaphor and
representation by showcasing a study of the past as a way to prepare for the future by expanding
experiences to strike a balance and paint a metaphor. A historian is able to strike a balance once
there is a recognition that there is a trade–off between literal and abstract representation. Meaning
abstractions make generalizations to hold up over time which oversimplify complex realities to
overcome different constraints that separate in time from their subjects. For a historian to paint a
metaphor, one must consider tension between significance and insignificance, polarities of
generalization and particularization, the gap between
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Comparing Herodotus And De Vaca's Writing Styles
A Comparison of Styles
Herodotus versus de Vaca Throughout the course of the world, there have been many great
civilizations that have risen and fallen from power. Many of these civilizations are remembered not
only through the texts or works that they themselves produced, but through the writings of later
historians. Herodotus was an example of a later historian, because he wrote about a civilization of
old, de Vaca was a historian of the moment because he covered a civilization as he experienced it.
The contrast in the two styles is plainly evident for the most part in the two literary pieces.
Herodotus has a very distinct style compared to de Vaca and as de Vaca's works came later it can be
assumed that he was partially influenced by Herodotus. The three main areas that Herodotus and de
Vaca's works differ are the time period in which they wrote their pieces, how they regarded their
subject matter, and who they were writing about. As before mentioned, one of the biggest
differences between Herodotus and de Vaca is the time period in which they wrote their pieces.
Herodotus was a later historian ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Herodotus was writing his passage mainly on the Egyptian people, but he did have references to his
native people the Greeks. De Vaca mainly covered the Avavares, a tribe in modern day Texas who
existed from 1527–1534 according to most historians. The Avavares were short lived as they were
often conquered by more powerful tribes in their area, where the Egyptians were the ones who were
often doing the conquering in the Middle East. The two subjects themselves could not be more
different as the Egyptians owned slaves and the Avavares ended up as slaves. Because of this
discrepancy, there can be no mistaking who is who in the two passages. Herodotus and de Vaca
come from similar backgrounds, but the backgrounds of their two chosen subjects could not be any
more
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Oppression and Class warfare Exposed in Dr. Howard Zinn’s...
Dr. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States might be better titled A Proletarian's
History of the United States. In the first three chapters Zinn looks at not only the history of the
conquerors, rulers, and leaders; but also the history of the enslaved, the oppressed, and the led. Like
any American History book covering the time period of 1492 until the early 1760's, A People's
History tells the story of the "discovery" of America, early colonization by European powers, the
governing of these colonies, and the rising discontent of the colonists towards their leaders. Zinn,
however, stresses the role of a number of groups and ideas that most books neglect or skim over: the
plight of the Native ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
From the Bahamas, Columbus sailed to Cuba and Hispañola, the present–day home of Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. One–hundred fifteen years later and 1,500 miles to the north, the colony of
Jamestown was founded by a group of English settlers led by John Smith; shortly after that the
Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by a group of Puritans known to us today as the Pilgrims.
Because of uneasy and hostile relations with the nearby Pequot Indians, the Pequot War soon started
between the colonists and the natives. Needless to say, the colonists won, but it was at the expense
of several dozen of their own and thousands of Pequots. But despite Indian conflict, exposure,
starvation, famine, disease, and other hardships, the English kept coming to America. In 1619 they
were settled enough that they started bringing African slaves into the middle colonies. Before
resorting to Africans, the colonists had tried to subdue the Indians, but that idea failed before it was
created. Zinn writes: "They couldn't force the Indians to work for them, as Columbus had done.
They were outnumbered, and while, with superior firearms, they could massacre the Indians, they
would face massacre in return. They could not capture them and keep them enslaved; the Indians
were tough, resourceful, defiant, and at home in these woods, as the transplanted Englishmen were
not. "White servants had
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
Historical Truth Analysis
The line between truth and obstruction is paper–thin. One minor detail could throw off even the
most objective of thoughts. It is good that when accounting for events within the narrative of history
that there are multiple witnesses that have or felt the effects of what had particularly happened.
History is the objective struggle for solid truth among older and newer perspectives, and with the
joint effort of historians with various backgrounds in politics, economics, biology, and other social
sciences history itself has been formed into an infallible myth. Truth is term that is universally and
loosely defined. Webster's New World College Dictionary describes truth as that which is true or in
accordance with fact or reality. Counterpointed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Historians can be every day people recording day–to–day events, politicians making decisions that
will affect masses, or biologists recording statistics for animal populations. With these various
backgrounds comes overlapping of perspectives between them. The collective perspectives in the
times of events, strolling hand in hand with the way these events were recorded, shape the way
modern historians view it. Henry Thomas Buckle stated in regards to collective history that, "The
singular spectacle of one historian being ignorant of political economy: another physical science,
some by one man, and some by another, have been isolated rather than united." This statement was
made in the nineteenth century, and since then communications have developed and blended all of
the various backgrounds quite conveniently. The researcher now has unlimited access to primary
and secondary sources. Thus, making research for in the day historians much easier and less
painstaking when putting together various
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

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Windshuttle The Killing Of History Summary

  • 1. Windshuttle The Killing Of History Summary History has always been commended to have elements objectivity and subjectivity, though according to Keith Windshuttle's The Killing Of History (1994) the whole process of constructing history is somewhat subjective due to various reasons concerning the construction and overall preservation of historical documents. Jacques Barzun an American Cultural historian does somewhat agree with a portion of Windshuttle's work in regards with the construction of history. Though Barzun does tend to disagree with Windshuttle's primary notion that although history is to a degree subjective it is still also scientific. Barzun being a cultural historian whom greatly values the human element rejects the concept that history is "scientific" or rather to be absolute as what being scientific demands. History to some degree is somewhat subjective as history relies on the interpretations of the historian. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The interpretation of a source may indeed be influenced by the historians own personal biases which adds to the subjectivity. Barzun acknowledges this known fact in his critique of Western civilization From Dawn to Decadence in which it states "Waste of breath to point out that every observer is in some way biased"[2]. However it is quite important to note however that although both Barzun and Windshuttle agree that history is somewhat subjective it does however contain concrete facts that according to Windshuttle "do not change, no matter who is looking at them"[3] ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 2.
  • 3. Herodotus 'Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca' Egyptians and Indians (An Analysis of the way the Egyptians lived to the way the Avavares lived) Herodotus is considered by most to have been the first Greek historian which would make him the first European historian as well. He wrote many books in his time and History contains Observations on Egypt. Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca was one of the first Europeans to explore the American Southwest. He wrote La Relacion that talks mostly of the few months that he spent with the Avavares. Herodotus talks about the way the Egyptians see different animals, perform different ceremonies, and De Vaca focuses mainly on the lifestyle of the Avavares. Herodotus talks a lot about the animals that the Egyptians see as sacred and those that are ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The Avavares have a lot to do with religion and they base their lifestyle on the healers of the tribe. De Vaca prayed a lot and that helped with a lot of what they were doing in the tribe. He managed to bring one man "back from the dead". From paragraph 4 of Chapter Twenty–two of From La Relacion, "I removed a mat with which he was covered, and as best I could prayed to Our Lord to restore his health, as well as that of all the others who might be in need of it, and after having made the sign of the cross and breathed on him many times they brought his bow and presented it to me, and a basket of ground tunas, and took me to many others who were suffering from vertigo." This is one of the many examples of how they really respected their healer of the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 4.
  • 5. Rhetorical Analysis A People's History Of The United... Has History Got It All Wrong? One of the biggest things people look for in a story is an emotional connection that will draw them in and can make them feel as though they are seeing things in a whole new light. Howard Zinn undoubtedly attempts to force an emotional connection to his reader in the first chapter of his 1980 textbook "A People's History of the United States". In this chapter, Zinn tells his reader about how Europe was unremittingly asperous toward the rest of the world, particularly in the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While trying to make his point, though, Zinn uses a gratuitous amount of emotion in his work and very little fact and logic. Zinn's work also features a large amount of bias to further his argument by severely manipulating his evidence and completely ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... As Zinn presents his weakly–formed argument in chapter one of "A People's History of the United States," he uses unconventional amounts of emotion and factual details in an attempt to relay his message that textbooks and historians deliberately exclude alternative perspectives in order to ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 6.
  • 7. The Bias In History Damon Summary The Bias in History: An Annotated Bibliography Damon, Mark. "A History and What–Really–Happened". A guide to Writing in History and Classics. Utah State University. 2002. This text analyses the complexities in writing and interpreting history. Mark Damon claims that historians encompass at least three different ways of accessing the past; remembering, recovering, or inventing. The texts states that no history is the full unvarnished truth and that memory is usually what many must result to, making the facts potentially flawed. It also discusses how evidence and artifacts aren't complete without context and some historians result to fabricating the story behind it. Throughout the text it glances at two very different historians, the Roman Tacitus and the Byzantine Procopius, and shows the range and difficulty inherent in the study of the past. McCutchen, Samuel P. Donald, Ritchie A. History of a Free Nation. Glenco Division, Macmillan/McGraw ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... He goes even further to say that much of history is written by white men. Although, in recent years we have tried to give women and the minority more of a voice; it is still overshadowed. He states that we should write history that both expresses the victors and the oppressed. He discusses how we focus a lot on giving a voice to African Americans, given that abolishment of slavery and equality is a huge part of our country's history. However, we should put more focus on the Native Americans, because they are the most oppressed of the groups. "White men won, and white men wrote history", he writes. Pointing out that white men have claimed the "American" name but have left the real Americans out of history. Therefore, Chris Ryder believes that what we've been taught is only "partial ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 8.
  • 9. Why Mental Illness Has Changed American Views On Mental... Mental illness has continually been part of life in the United States, albeit a part of American life that is not often discussed. Insane asylums for housing the mentally ill developed later during colonial America. New scientific ideas and the continuing influence of the Enlightenment led to further usage of insane asylums, where a widely–used architectural style developed. Commonly known as Kirkbride or linear plan asylums, these asylums were popular in the mid–nineteenth century, and were massive, intimidating structures built to impress visitors while providing care to the mentally ill housed inside. This actual style was predominant from the 1850s to just after the Civil War and their creation and fall from popularity changed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... This thesis will bridge the gap between these two theories. It will also address the theoretical division in the historiography. The architecture of Kirkbride asylums suggests that there was a dual purpose in the creation of these massive, imposing buildings; they were created to treat the mentally ill, but the idealistic writings of superintendents of this period did not reflect the true reality of asylum life, and thus control played a large aspect in the building and workings of insane asylums in mid–nineteenth century America. There have been scholarly works published about both Kirkbride asylums and insane asylums in the United States in general. Dr. Henry M. Hurd, a Superintendent at John Hopkins Hospital, wrote a four–volume book called The Institutional Care of the Insane in the United States and Canada in 1916, which was one of the first comprehensive scholarly works on mental hospitals in the United States. His view is important, as he admonished the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII), a group of superintendents over insane asylums, to change its name and focus, as it had changed since Kirkbride's time. He gave histories of these mental hospitals, and his figures are used through the twentieth and twenty–first centuries. Another earlier source on this subject is Margaret McCulloch's "Founding the North Carolina Asylum for the Insane." Her article focused on North Carolina and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 10.
  • 11. Rise Of The West Essay We cannot be too sure of what accurately caused the rise of the west, but we could as well be close enough. The problem about history is that stories will evolve after time passes. Debates between Historians and other will sometimes change ideas. Authors of some best selling books leave out some key details that could be needed later on. We have also been false on a certain number of subjects like how Columbus was the first to discover America when truth was he wasn't. There is a lot of evidence pointing towards that the West actually did rise, but there are still problems from our fellow Historians this current day. We all know what we know, it's human nature to depend on something that we know and also trust. There are though, some minor misconceptions with what we know. The books we read today give us all the same in text of what happened and how it shaped a country to what it is today with all the critical points. It's important to know the ideologies, practices, advancements and connections between countries. Though these things are important, there could still be more out there. Historians could be basing their facts off just 20% of the information found while the other portion is unknown. Some findings can be labeled as a "Game Changer" because of the vast amounts of artifacts and information that have been recovered. "Scientists using high–tech, airplane–based lidar mapping tools have ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The role of an Historian is critical to the constant evolution of the historical evidence we have today. To say we will have a depiction of the past is questionable, as we only know what we unveil. We continue to seek out past civilizations, looking for the pieces of the puzzle to link the past to the present. Overall, we can't just be too sure of what caused the rise of the west, but it's always good to come up with ideas, if they are reasonable, because it may drive more curiosity in ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 12.
  • 13. Persuasive Essay On The War Of 1812 When it comes to Canadian History, perhaps the most controversial and widely disputable topic of debate would have to be one of Canada's greatest wars: The War of 1812. A wide array of views are held on many aspects of the war ranging from who won to what ramifications the war would ultimately sire. In yet another discussion on the ever so controversial War of 1812, a new question was posed and deliberated by five historians: whose war, was it? Like any other question posed about this war a multitude of ideas would ultimately arise in each of their differing viewpoints. In their roundhouse discussion, the historians would ultimately serve to paint the War of 1812 as a war that transcends much further than the nationalistic view. A view that, though an important part of Canadian history, has been exaggerated to the point of choking out the many voices who fought and continue to fight for inclusion in the narrative. In their remembrance of the War of 1812, society unwittingly failed history in their lackluster commemorations which exclude important narratives and voices and stand tainted by the misuse of history to serve the nationalistic agenda. The idea of the exclusion of important narratives is a common theme amongst many of the historians involved in the discussion. The omission of such narratives would only stand to present an unfinished version of history from which one cannot grasp the lessons history intends to teach. Catherine Emerson would be the first to ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 14.
  • 15. In The Long Run The Oppressor In his novel, A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present, Howard Zinn offers readers a new and unexpected take on American history. First published in 1980, A People's History is often received with much controversy and criticism, as Zinn does something that historians rarely do: he openly rejects the narrative of American history as told by a European perspective. The first chapter of the novel mainly serves to illustrate two of Zinn's most fundamental ideas: one, that he, as a historian, chooses to write from the lesser–known perspective of groups whose voices have been suppressed; and two, that it is necessary for people to ask themselves to what extent is it 'right' to justify atrocities in the name of human progress. Although ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Zinn does not fully explain what he means when he states this; instead, he leaves it open–ended for one to interpret as they may choose. It is possible, however, to infer that the meaning of "the oppressor is also a victim" is a lesson that Zinn wishes to communicate: when a society decides that oppression and control are the elements that define power and human progress, it unknowingly becomes victim to the repetition of history that it refuses to learn from (page 10). Far too often, we, as a society, learn what Zinn calls a "sense of moral proportion," in which we downplay atrocities and emphasize the importance of human progress, which not only serves to justify what has been done, but also blinds us to the fact that history has–and will–repeat itself again (page 9). We accept genocides and other forms of violence, as seen with the Native Americans, and bury them within a mass of other facts in order to rationalize that such events were necessary for the human race to progress. The very fact that Zinn's novel sparked such controversy when it was first published clearly demonstrates that, to at least some extent, people were averse to being exposed to a perspective on history that does not glorify the Europeans and reveals extreme cruelty and brutality on both sides. We need not condemn the Europeans for their actions, as it is far too late ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 16.
  • 17. Why Are Historians Important In History Historians are influenced by countless features of their lives. As a part of any race, gender, religion, nationality, time period, political identity or social class they have a unique world view. These factors may help them see a primary or secondary resource in a new light and gain a fuller understanding of the situation. Their views can also cause historians to overlook important features in resources or fail to recognize a particular side of the issue. Historians can broaden their horizons by studying groups that they do not understand. They must keep in mind that these resources also have all of these influences acting on them. They are only a small piece of the puzzle. Historians must never accept and resource as fact without analyzing it. Among all the competing influences a historian is always searching for a new angle and a fuller understanding of events. These factors that effect historians lead them to subscribe to different schools of thought about ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Historians must acknowledge that Americans do not all hold one view. They are a melting pot of different experiences and opinions that all deserve to be heard. I am part of the Realist diplomatic school of thought. The United States has made many poor foreign policy choices. They get involved in too many wars and military power struggles. Most of these do not directly benefit the United States, they become a money pit and source of international political unrest. Americans have historically wanted to fix all the world's problems but their solutions are frequently rejected by other countries because America does not understand that country's point of view. The United States should stop trying to intervene in other countries and look out for their own interests instead. America stands to gain monetarily and politically by stepping back from all unnecessary ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 18.
  • 19. Analysis Of Howard Zinn's Historian As Citizen The essay "Historian as Citizen" by Howard Zinn presents a call to action for historians everywhere. To start, he analyzes the delicate need for balance that comes with studying history, how historians can use patterns of the past to judge contemporary events, but must not overlook the "universe of tricks" outside that realm. Next, he argues we must also transcend the present and act as if we are freer than logic may suggest. Finally, Zinn delves into the negative aspects of society's long– established blame game and submits his proposed solution. Through this text, Zinn seeks a drastic shift in focus from antiquity to activism– for historians to stop merely scrutinizing old facts but instead use them as tools with which to examine human nature and build a better tomorrow. The strengths of "Historian as Citizen" lie in Zinn's practicality. For example, one of the things he advocates for is acting in spite of oppressive ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... He writes,"It is risky to act as if we are free, but (unless one is content with things as they are) it is just as risky to act as if we are bound, and there is even less chance of reward" (Zinn 45). This lays out the options, plain and simple. One can either act and have a chance at improving quality of life, or not act and depend completely on the even more unlikely case of outside intervention. This points out that surrendering to "logic" in the face of weighty obstacles and giving up is in fact illogical. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of searching within. Zinn points out, "When the United States defines the Soviet sphere as 'totalitarian' and the West as 'free,' it becomes difficult for Americans to see totalitarian elements in our society" (Zinn ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 20.
  • 21. Criticisms on the Studies of World History Essay In the late twentieth century, the study of world history has emerged to allow both historians and students to understand the world from a global perspective. World history is viewed to be part of the academic field than the research field. According to Charles Hedrick, author of The Ethics of World History, Western civilization was the main course taught in schools and universities before world history became part of the curriculum. The need to understand the world in a broader perspective compared to a Western perspective made the study of world history popular in the United States. Historians approached the study of world history with a thematic approach to understand the integration and difference between people and major events of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... This is most noticeable in patriotic world history. The development of world history from the Right created the "patriotic world history." This approached to world history advocated American values and accomplishments. Patriotic world history most obvious criticism is its Eurocentric perspective on world history. The patriotic world history serves its purpose by "legitimiz[ing] particular political values." It focuses on the values and experiences of European and Euro–American, while treating other societies as paths to avoid. Sometime patriotic world history "goes so far as to exclude most of the world's peoples and societies from world history." This approach is far from the original goals of world history to understand integration and differences between people and events without compromising other societies. Another criticism of patriotic world history is the lack of professional historians. Two advocates of patriotic world historians are Paul Ganon and Diane Ravitch. While they have a degree in history, they lack the qualification of a professional historian. They proclaim to understand the meaning of the global past and use it for their own political ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 22.
  • 23. Essay Interpretations of American History Interpretations of American History The world is full of rich culture, diversity and experiences unique to each individual. When determining the validity of historic accounts we must factor in that particular historian's point of view, which should be characterized by ethnicity, idealogy, theoretical or methodological preference. With these factors views of the past often vary from person to person. In this essay I will be discussing the four different stages that shaped the writing of American history over the last 400 years. According to Couvares, the writing of American history has passed through four stages: the providential, the rationalist, the nationalist, and the professional. The providential stage took place during the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Bancroft believed that Anglo–Saxons were racially destined to lead and spread freedom across the globe. With the establishment of John Hopkins University, college education became more common among middle–class Americans, however only wealthy white men still only had access to that kind of education. This new wave of historians insisted that knowledge of history and physics were of equal importance. The final stage of American history and progression according to Couvares, was the professional stage. Professional scholars rose to prominence from 1910–1945. These historians believed that modernity, industrialization, urbanization, and class conflict had fundamentally changed society. Charles Beard argued that "the constitution was not the product of wise men intent on balancing liberty and order, but a clique of wealthy merchants and landowners who wanted a central government strong enough to defend their privileges against the unruly masses." (Couvares 77–2). Beard also thought that many of the major conflicts in society were between economic interest groups. Many critics found flaws in his idealogy, but at the same time it inspired them to find answers to questions that plagued the people. Over the past 400 years, these historians all had different stances on how they thought to improve society. With the mix of cultural backgrounds, and ethnicities no two viewpoints will ever be exactly the same. Couvares ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 24.
  • 25. Howard Zinn: A People's History Howard Zinn is one of the few historians who purposely wrote with a bias; he 'abandoned neutrality' and took sides when writing about historical topics. Generally people expect historians to just state objective facts and not show any bias. In school, students commonly read books depicting Pilgrims as great people, who were peaceful towards their Indian neighbors, but they actually massacred and tried to convert them. As Winston Churchill once said, "History is written by the victors." This statement is true in most cases, and it needs to be changed. Most high school and college history classes stick to reciting objective facts not paying attention to the moral and ethical implications behind them. However, today's readers should develop their ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... A People's History of the United States begins, "I prefer to try to tell the story of American from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves..."(Zinn, People's History, 10). Zinn wanted to tell the story of America from the point of view of the oppressed, victimized, and the 'regular' people, such as commoners and the working–class, of the United States. To prevent history from repeating itself, the people of American need to be involved in history and learn about it from a point of views that has not been taught to them. Returning to the quote of, "History is written by the victors," (Churchill), Zinn wants to show that history is also written by survivors, the victors commonly destroy and ignore the records of the victims. Zinn gives the reader the point of view of the survivors of a terrible historical event, allowing his readers to understand that America is not always fair to people. "...[A] statement I once read: "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you do not listen to it, you will never know what justice is."" (Zinn, People's History, 10). Zinn wanted to give the reader an opportunity to see justice, even if they did not want to. In an excerpt from Morison, Zinn applauded him for not omitting facts about genocide but he then states, "But he does something else–he mentions the truth quickly and goes onto other things more important to him" (Zinn, People's History,8). To Zinn, Morison was more interested in explaining progress and not the cost of that progress. Zinn believes that a historian should write with his or her own bias but not cover up the true oppressing history with so many facts and opinions that it is impossible for the reader to view the 'historical' facts with a new opinion Zinn is skilled at explaining events from the point of view that people do ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 26.
  • 27. The Last Great Taboo Subject: Exhibiting Slavery At The... History is in many ways a pool of gray. It is in this realm of ambiguity the historian can be found in her natural habitat. Of course a creature who lives in a world of gray would herself have a rather ambiguous role. Historians have a duty to the past but must live in the present. This places them in a predicament that has plagued the discipline for at least the last century – the conflict between presentism and 'pure scholarship'. The historian must reconcile her obligation to be fair to the peoples of the past in presenting and studying their story with her desire to be of service to her contemporaries. The primary role of the historian is to inform the present of the past, both of the highs and the lows, the ugly and the beautiful, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Richard H. Kohn discussed this exhibit and the controversy that surrounded it in his article History and the Culture Wars: The Case of the Smithsonian Institution's Enola Gay Exhibition. Kohn writes that "From the beginning, then, the Enola Gay exhibit was designed to provoke its audience," to question; the United States' decision to use the weapons, the implications of that decision on contemporary society, and the nature of modern total war generally. History is the study of cause and effect, of consequences. Historians have a duty to present both the event and artifacts as well as interpretation of their consequences. As John W. Dower writes in his article Triumphal and Tragic Narratives of the War in Asia, "Artifacts do not in fact speak for themselves." Historians must contextualize historical fact and provide interpretation of cause and effect relationships in order to encourage debate and broaden public discussion of historical effects and their current relevance to modern ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 28.
  • 29. Historian Peter Burke: A Historical Analysis Frequently, history is viewed as being biased since it is an individual's narrative that the historian relies on as a record of events. History continues to be a contentious social science. Today, history continues to be widely debated because it is perceived as tendentious. Historical narratives, whether they are primary or secondary sources, tend to present only one point of view. This perspective is often an inclination or one's own opinion, which can modify the history that is being documented. Historian Leopold von Ranke believes that a historian's vital role is to record history as a "strict presentation of facts." Historian Peter Burke would argue against Ranke's expectation of history. Burke would deem Ranke's notion of history as ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Consequently, this does not make it a more credible source, as historians must analyze the factors in the source that make it different than the others. These factors revolve around Alexander, they include his reactions, his role, and motives. Plutarch lies in between the official and popular tradition which is supported throughout his account. Plutarch presents an Alexander who is sneaky, fearful, and who is easily influenced by others. This shows the historian how Plutarch viewed Alexander as someone who was driven by paranoia, fear, and long–held ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 30.
  • 31. History Is Memory History can be defined in a number of ways. One could say history is a record of events that occurred in the past, or another person could say that history is the knowledge and facts of the past. Carl Becker's definition is perhaps the simplest and finest definition of history. Becker defines history as "the memory of things said and done" (223). Memory is history, which is what history truly is and how it should be looked at by mankind. As long as mankind has that memory, then that memory of the things said and done will become history. For mankind to truly be able to define what history is, they must understand the importance of preservation, interpretations, and periodization with the things said and done. If history is memory, and that memory is lost, then history can be lost forever. The Earth itself is billions of years old and mankind has been around on the planet for only a few thousands of those years. In her book, Marnie Hughes–Warrington mentions a piece of work from R. G. Collingwood in which he defines history as "a science whose business is to study events not accessible to our observation" (35). Mankind has only been around for a small number of blinks of an eye, which means that there is a significant amount of history that mankind still does not know about, and possibly may never know. Aphrodite of Melos for example, is a famous and beautiful ancient Greek freestanding statue from the Hellenistic Period. The arms of the statue are missing and mankind does ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 32.
  • 33. Christopher Carr's 'What Is History' The book What is History, has many great points of what Carr is trying to say therefore, the meaning behind it has to make an huge impacted on his purpose. In the beginning chapter, it starts off as facts that need to be understood to create history. Carr also notice that studying historian will determine the major role if its legit. Even though, society is important, because it influences people's behavior/believes it also has factors that respond to the environment. For an example, an inspiring philosopher will look deep into details to form a perfect equation that puts the pieces to the puzzle together.Where an imposter philosopher, will take little to none evidence to figure out the truth behind their points. Carr stated that, They both ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The debates varied from what to believe and what not to be believed or how the world around us has an unique way of shedding light on topics in the years before us. I loved chapter 111, because it dawned on me when, Carr stated, " were hypothese designed to crystallize and organize further thinking and were subject, to verification, modification, or refutation". This to me was an awesome way of putting something so simple, which is evandance. Without if it, their would be no meaning to anything. History, science and morality is the benefits of what knowledge became and grow from. For me the reader how he puts it, gave me details on how to take in history. Applying the observation on the a timeline and finding out who, what ,why and discovered it. Another, quote that I found interesting was,"split into a series of discrete technical problems of social readjustment." This right here is basically saying, the more sociological history becomes,the better for both. Therefore, history plays a role in human behavior and where they live as well as technology. The development of the new world which now is us, came from the people that made history happen plus our existences. What I mean by that ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 34.
  • 35. Enlightenment Historiography Essay Did Enlightenment historiography neglect history? Arthur Marwick in his Fundamentals of History suggests that when studying history it is important that there is a distinction made between History and The Past, the former referring to the knowledge produced by historians about the past together with the teaching of that knowledge. Marwick states that the latter is just 'everything that actually happened, whether known, or written, about by historians or not'. Enlightenment historiography is particularly interesting because it shifted the way that historians look at and study history, specifically how society started to prioritise human rationality over faith. Previously, traditional Christian historians would account every major event or ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... This way of studying the enlightenment was criticised initially because it is hard to understand the progress of enlightenment without any social or geographical context of how the path was paved for great thinkers of the eighteenth century. Darnton suggested that perhaps new methodologies, that would position the enlightenment into different geographical and economic perspectives as well as consider how it was transmitted through media in eighteenth century France, needed to be developed and practiced. This suggests that perhaps the way that historians such as Peter Gay studied the enlightenment was far too simplistic and placed more importance on the writings of the great thinkers than on the actual progress of the enlightenment during that time period. Although this shows that some enlightenment historians ignored the social, geographical and economic context of the enlightenment, it does not necessarily mean that they ignored History. This essay agrees with Marwick in the sense that History should be defined as the bodies of knowledge produced about history and should not be confused with the past. These enlightenment historians focused specifically on History by looking at just the writings of philosophes such as Voltaire and Kant, and rather Neglected The Past by not looking at social perspectives and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 36.
  • 37. Browning Primary Sources Historians believe they need to find the truth. They make arguments, write papers, and give lecture on what they are saying is the truth. Historians want to learn what happened. This is important, because history teaches many lessons. Students of history agree or disagree with historian's arguments and what they say happened or what is the cause of some event. The best historians are the ones who write the strongest arguments. To make strong arguments, it's very important to use strong sources. Sources are either primary or secondary. The primary sources are the original ones, which date back to the events of that time period. Secondary sources are the arguments of other historians or anything that talks about primary sources. Choosing the best sources means understanding what the source is saying and using accurate information to make your own argument. When historians feel that the existing work fails to mention or inaccurately claims something that's important. to the historian, they write their own argument. The historian wants to write a better argument, which other historians and students will regard ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Therefore, he was not old enough to experience the Holocaust and World War II, like Bauer. He was still a baby. Browning's experience is good because he's not especially emotionally connected to the Holocaust. He published his most popular book, Ordinary Men, in 1992. This is also much later than the other two writers. Browning had the benefit of Dawidowicz, Bauer, and other historians work, like future historians will benefit from his. Browning is a functionalist, and he does not believe that the Holocaust was strictly Hitler's intent all along. The thesis of Browning's book is that the Holocaust was caused by many factors, and the anti–Semitism began on a smaller scale as Hitler tried to kick the Jewish people out of Germany, which eventually spiraled into deciding to commit crazy mass murder. ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 38.
  • 39. Writing : Praxis And Performance By Greg Dening Of the many wonderful fragments of wisdom in Greg Dening's article 'Writing: Praxis and Performance', which details how to produce appealing and creative historical prose, I believe one stands out above the rest. Be mysterious, he tells us. I'd be a fool not to take this on board. With that in mind, I wish to begin with a small mystery of my own. "He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he?" Listen closely, and you might just find out. In many ways, analysing this article is the most straightforward task I will undertake in my academic career. I mean, everything I could possibly need to know is explained to me, right there in the article. It is a self–perpetuating prophecy, describing in stunning and florid detail precisely how to write about it. It provides concise and understandable lists of tips, rules, and guidelines for historical writing. And it does all this in engaging, challenging, and imaginative ways. Really, as long as I actually read the thing, it should be impossible to go wrong. How could I fail? Nevertheless, presenting this article is also particularly intimidating. Can I live up to that? Can I actually follow these rules, take on board and rearticulate the wealth of advice? Much like history itself, I view this is an enticing paradox, one which I wholly intend to embrace. So, as Dening himself astutely observes, "...let me give some advice on writing, and you can see for yourself whether I take my own advice." That said, it would be ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 40.
  • 41. Historiography During The Cold War What is Historiography? The study and analysis of historical writings, the method of analyzing a historical period based on the perspectives of historians to the event. What is "critical analysis" in history writing? To critically analyze an event one must read about all aspects of a historical event in order to fully understand that historical era. This is done by examining several primary source documents, as well as the perspectives of several historians. This way we are able to break down a historical time and fully understand its success and failures. For example: Reconstruction is the most controversial point in U.S. history in regards to its successes as well as its effect on the course of the country. Historians of the 1900's like ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Using military strategies, political doctrines, and economic aid, the United States was able to prevent the smaller countries from falling to into the grasp of communism. brinkmanship: the practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome. In the Cold War, the arms race and the space race where important aspects of brinkmanship. Truman doctrine: established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces, this was a part of the containment policy of the U.S. to stop Greece and Turkey from being taken over by the Nazis. Marshall plan: an American initiative to aid Europe, the United States gave $13 billion (approximately $120 billion in current dollar value) in economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 42.
  • 43. Herodotus and Sima Qian: Great Historians Essay History writing has evolved much over time with the contributions of many people. In the modern sense, it can be traced back to ancient Greece and China, where historians Herodotus and Sima Qian began keeping records of human existence. Although they were not literally the first people to write history, together they are named the first great historians of the Western world and the East because of their individual innovations and extensive work that has long affected history writing up until this day. There is much to debate when it comes to the greatness of these ancient historians, and although some believe they were both important and successful in what their works, The Histories and The Records of a Historian, accomplished, others ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The advancements he made while the act of recording the past was just beginning to flourish were substantial enough to be considered still effective today. In his work called The Histories, Herodotus explores a copious amount of topics while keeping not a word impartial and remaining thoroughly unbiased. His main conflict was centered on the civilizations of the East and the West, a topic that has been illustrated over and over again by many of his successors. Although in his time technology was scarce, he took matters into his own hands and began to ask questions of the people at the places he would write about and unveil their histories, customs, artwork, and buildings. Herodotus marked a new way of recording and interpreting history: conducting research. He recorded what he saw, heard, and experienced as he traveled around places like the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and as far up as Babylon. He went on expeditions and encountered much of his information through in person exchange, an accomplishment surely to be considered great. Martin believes Herodotus explored an extensive amount of history and peoples and showcased a spectrum of topics like "war, politics, religion, commerce, geography, climate, ethnography, and individual human motivations" (Martin 7). In his writings called The Histories, Herodotus begins with The Story of Croesus and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 44.
  • 45. Comparing Mccullagh's Views On Bias And Perception Researchers expect historical information to be valid, balanced and lacking in bias. Whether intentionally or by mistake, bias has often found its way into historical accounts. McCullagh goes to great lengths to explain why this occurs; what type of biases are most common; and how personal and cultural bias can be overcome. McCullagh first asserts that there are four distinct ways in which bias affects historical accounts: misinterpretation of evidence, omission of important facts, the implication of facts that are known to be false, and the intentional elimination of causal events. McCullagh contends that these events are only bias when they occur intentionally, and by definition are "unjustified" if claimed to be mistakes on the part of the author. As he states: "Mistakes in biased history are motivated, not accidental." ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... McCullagh refutes the notion of inevitability by noting that standards exist that allow historians to cognitively avoid bias, and to do so in a manner that is not overly exhaustive. He declares that the "one important constraint upon historical descriptions is that they [simply] provide a fair account of the subject." Naysayers at this point would question how one determines if a historical account is complete to the point of providing enough detail to be considered a fair account. McCullagh insists that a complete account requires a "preconception of the general nature of the subject" and involves "a descriptive explanation of ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 46.
  • 47. Essay on American Indians “’Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History';, an essay written by Jane Tompkins, a professor of English at Duke University, outlines Tompkins dissatisfaction on how American Indians are portrayed throughout history. As children, we are taught that in “1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue';, and that Peter Minuet bought all of Manhattan Island from the Indians for only twenty–four dollars worth of trinkets. In high school, we were taught that in World War II, the Germans were all heartless savages, and that the best course of action to end the war was to use the atomic bomb on Japan. It is seen that “the victor writes the history books.'; In other words, the dominant ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Tompkins began her research of the misrepresentation of American Indians with Perry Miller’s book Errand into the Wilderness. In his book, Miller writes, “the massive narrative of the movement of European culture into the vacant wilderness of America.'; This passage from Miller’s book provokes a shocking response from Tompkins. Tompkins is shocked that Miller referred to America’s wilderness as “vacant.'; It is obvious that upon the arrival of European settlers to America, the settlers encountered the Indians at some point in time. Thus, America’s wilderness wasn’t “vacant.'; Miller fails to observe the presence of the Indians. From his own personal experiences with the vast wilderness in Africa, Miller correlates that experience to the experiences that the settlers must have had when they arrived in America. It is clear that Miller’s own experiences have clouded his ability to give an unbiased and totally truthful account of history. “… What is invisible to the historian in his own historical moment remains invisible when he turns his gaze to the past,'; (Tompkins, 412). The book, New England Frontier: Puritan and Indians, by Alden Vaughan, reconciled Miller’s position on the presence of Indians in American history. Vaughan’s book describes the interactions between the ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 48.
  • 49. Doing History Summary In the opening chapters of both Doing History (2013), by Michael J. Galgano, J. Chris Arndt, and Raymond M. Hyser, and The Methods and Skills of History (2015), by Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, the authors broadly discuss what history is, as well as the kinds and uses of historical knowledge. Doing History focuses closely on the definition of history and the variety of approaches to studying and using historical facts. Chapter One of The Methods and Skills of History emphasizes upon the importance of history in society, while Chapter Two is centered on the nature of history and the task of the historian. According to Doing History, the study of history as a whole is an interpretation of past events based on reliable evidence. However, there can be misuse of historical facts, such as dependence on popular memory, or, how ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Current events have a basis in historical fact and the practice of analyzing and acting upon past experiences is all considered thinking historically. Without history, human society would have no identity or base. Chapter Two begins by expressing what Doing History has already stated on the definition of history. However, Methods and Skills delves further into the nature of history by explain that a historian can shed light on an event in history, but nobody can actually show exactly how things took place during that event. All of history is naturally subject to the historian's point of view and interpretations, therefore, the absolute fullest and truest version of history is essentially unattainable. However, this fact does not negate the importance of studying and understanding history, because historical fact is grounded in reliable, factual evidence from the event. Consequently, historians must always be asking questions and looking for the best possible answers for the ever–evolving dialogue of ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 50.
  • 51. Analysis: Why Our History Textbooks Are A Lie Why our History Textbooks are a Lie Throughout our educational careers, we have been taught to trust our textbooks. They have always been a source that you can count on to get the correct answer to your question. Teachers have taught us that the textbook is always right, and that there should be no reason not to trust in it. However, all of this has been a lie. As we get older, and have a wider perspective of our society we begin to see that our textbooks have not given the entire truth.They focus on only the points and ideas of the colonizers, and leave out aspects of history that might not make them look as great as they would like to or they just do not view the idea important enough to be taught. Students should not depend on their history textbooks, for all the answers since they do not give the adequate perspective of history. One way that historians do not give an adequate perspective of history, is by telling history only through the colonizers lense. They only focus on what they are doing and how well they impact society. A prime example is from Out of Many a History of the American People ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... A strong representation of this is Christopher Columbus. In our history books he is seen as a hero, someone who everyone should look up to, and respect. On the other hand some accuse him and his crew to committing a mass genocide. In Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress the author claims "the cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide" (Columbus 7). This reveals that Columbus is not who we thought he was and also that our textbooks do not depict the entire story of history. Our textbooks choose to only depict certain perspectives of history which only make the colonizers look exceptional. They do not look at other cultures perspectives that may see the colonizers in a different ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 52.
  • 53. History Encompasses More Than Merely Events That Occurred History encompasses more than merely events that occurred in the past. History is about; understanding how people felt, how they lived and how certain events shaped the society they lived in. The truth is, today's society only knows bits and pieces of history because most of the history that's known is often misinterpreted, or misconstrued due to the lack of evidence that has survived, or the over–abundance of information that is present. Other times, history might be misinterpreted because historians try to "fill in the blanks" with information. For example, Christopher Columbus is heralded as the founder of North America; however, it has been proven that there were other explorers that discovered North America first; years before ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... By reading the diary, you are essentially transported back in time; as though you were walking in that person's shoes. Even though history is a very interesting area of study there are many different ways of interpreting it. The problem with studying history is that it's very hard to accurately say that things occurred a certain way. World War II ended yes, but who played the bigger role in its conclusion? Depending on where you are, people would answer the question differently. If you were Russian you would say the Russians played the bigger role in ending World War II, however, if you were an American, you might say otherwise. In all, history is only as accurate as the interpretation of the given evidence, and even then there might be misconceptions. The epistemological fragility of history makes certain aspects of history hard to interpret and understand and therefore, it's hard to put together a complete picture. An example of this phenomenon involves the massacre that occurred in Almo, Idaho in 1861. The massacre served as a collective identity for the people of the town because it was a reminder of the struggle that the settlers went through to ensure the survival of themselves, as well as their families. (Maybe add something here?) Oftentimes, people study history because they want to know where they came from. A collective ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 54.
  • 55. Analysis Of Howard Zinn 's ' Indians ' History Of The Us... History 2112 Critical Analysis Paper #1 Dr. Pitts James Hamby Monday–Wednesday 8:30pm Patriot's vs. People's Howard Zinn's, Peoples' History of the US and Larry Schweikart's, Patriots' History of the US are two analytical views on history that most people would consider politically conflicting. Zinn's Marxist book was widely praised by liberal activist and Schweikart's book is greatly publicized by conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. These two widely known historians turned their focus on writing two historical pieces that would fill in the "historical holes" that weren't being taught in the educational systems. It created a type of diverse learning that made for a great argument while still allowing the readers to understand all sides of the topics at hand. Zinn really dismissed the common "white mans history" and focused his approach on a multiple minority perspective. Schweikart's book is very different in the sense he takes aim at Zinn as he targets words like "great discovery" and "war on terror" which Zinn only used as scare quotes. Schweikart's book really reads like old history textbooks from the moral principals of the American founders that built this nation to the ideological view of American prosperity. No matter who shares the views of the political perspectives or condemns them because of its bias stances both historians felt responsible in writing the history of the United States. Zinn did not believe in an unbiased approach to history ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 56.
  • 57. The Contrasting Roles of Historians and Scientists Essay Historians utilize primary sources to reconstruct events that have previously occurred in order to create a clearer image of the past. In opposition, human scientists investigate varying aspects of human activity to reveal discoveries that are meant to bring significant changes to the future. This is presented in the assertion that "The historian's task is to understand the past; the human scientist, by contrast, is looking to change the future." This appears to be false considering that both the historian and the human scientist require a satisfactory comprehension of past events, as their roles necessitate a desire to change the future. The respective areas of knowledge of the historian and human scientist express this through the lens ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... The false assertion claims that historians solely work to determine an understanding of the past. The historian's role is defined with a dictation of understanding the past; however their study of the past is through today's lens. Thus, they are writing in hindsight. A knowledge issue is present with the "fallible" eyewitnesses in primary sources which cannot be entirely accepted as the truth due to flexible interpretations. History, a reconstruction of events, is viewed from a modern standpoint allowing the historian to produce secondary sources using primary sources as a basis. These sources suggest that those who control the past also control the future expressing the need for historians to look at evidence in terms of the future. Furthermore, historical interpretations are inevitably bonded with a sense of personal value as historians fail to simply regurgitate prior knowledgebut rather use it as a creative endeavor combining evidence with imagination. This leads to the derivation of a unique conclusion in retelling events of the past. Although, it can be argued that the historian's purpose is to eliminate issues such as bias and empathy. However, this proves to be impossible as they inevitably include a sense of empiricism. Trends of the past are evident in history. History is not necessarily proven to repeat itself yet a considerable amount of information suggests this. This information can be analyzed in ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
  • 58.
  • 59. Herodotus And Sima Qi The First Great Historians Essay Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China is a book that provides historical context on both ancient Greece and ancient China written by Thomas R. Martin; Additionally the book provides primary source documents written by ancient historians Herodotus and Sima Qian, who tell the history of their nations through numerous anecdotes. Although the two historians have different motives behind their works since Sima Qian writes the history of ancient China for personal gain and Herodotus writes to preserve the history and doings of ancient Greece, they both share topics such as honor in war and women in leadership positions that represent the morals and ideals of the two ancient civilizations. The contrast in the motivation behind the creation of these two works is created through the attitudes and theories in play during the time in which the author's lived in. Looking into Sima Qian's motives which he attributes to the desire to "...have paid the debt of my shame, I will have no regret if I am killed ten thousand more times!" (Sima Qian, 93). The debt being the humility he has brought his family name after being castrated for speaking out of line to the emperor. The punishment and the reaction to this punishment reflect the two major schools of thought present during Sima Qian's time. These two schools of thought were the ideas of Confucius and Legalism. The ideas of Confucius supported tradition and the respect for ancestry (McKay, 103) while ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 61. Except For Those Of Us Who Are Above It By Herb Block History classes have always been a requirement for high school students to graduate. Some of these classes include United States history, Government, and World History. Although, there is a lack of any classes dealing with local history. State history alone only receives attention in the elementary school system and about a week in Government class. All school systems should include, in the required classes to take to receive a high school diploma, a local history class, so that the students may have a knowledge of the place where they live. Although, a more underlining issue behind local history needs to be answered first. In the general world of history, "local history is too often in the hands of '... dedicated amateurs ...'" (Hicken ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... They should rather figure out their own history and help out the poor amateurs trying their best to put the puzzle together. Furthermore, local history in general needs to be cared about more. Like said before, "the top level of prestige" among historians "is occupied by those who teach African or Asian history" (Hicken 1). This "prestige" is also portrayed very well by Herb Block's political cartoon "Except for Those of Us Who Are above It." Which, displays bureaucrats sitting on top of Washington above everyone else, with a caption "Equal Justice Under Law." Which, shows that those of more important roles consider themselves better than the lower rules. All together, this shows that after people spend countless years in school and in the work force being a historian, they are studying the histories abroad and of more accomplishment, rather than their own with facts that have no meaning. Although, even major historians have hypocritically "given themselves over to the study of some phase of history which, in the long run, amounted to only a minor aspect of a larger problem" (Hicken 1). Yet, they ridicule local history and those who research it. These issues amongst historians are the major underlying issues when proposing the concept of a local history class. Now, looking at local history in a more positive light; it has an impression on the current environments people are surrounded with. What has happened in the past has shaped the places people ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 63. Public History Danielle Sherrard Introduction to Public History Ever since public history emerged on college universities in the 1980s, historians have still had difficulties defining the term. The National Council on Public History's definition of the term stirred the debate even more. According to the National Council on Public History, "public history describes the many and diverse ways in which history is put to work in the world" (NCPH 2016). This definition helps the public understand that public history focuses around real world issues in an applicable way. Public history is performed outside of the traditional research–based college campuses, whether it be in a museum, archive, National Park Service, and more. Public history should be focused around ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Public Historians use such tools as photographs, oral histories, museum exhibitions, and multimedia to address a wide variety of historical issues and to present those issues to a non–academic audience. As historians, we all do research, we all analyze and interpret our findings, and we all communicate the results. The primary difference between public and academic history is in the area of communication––in the audiences that we attempt to reach and in the products that we use to convey our scholarship to those audiences. an interactive process between the historian, the public, and the historical object. the belief that history and historical–cultural memory matter in the way people go about their day–to–day lives. Public history is performed outside of the traditional research–based college campuses, whether it be in a museum, archive, National Park Service, and more. Public history should be focused around a shared authority – history is for everyone, not only for discussion by academics and public historians should be the intermediary between history and the public. No one owns ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 65. Essay on Howard Zinn's Ideas on Motivations for War Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example, WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during war. Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example, WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during war. Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn causes many of the upper class of that region to acquire fantastic levels of wealth, many of these powerful figures have denied these claims, Zinn,in reaction to these claims uses paradigm example, WW1, as a means for discrediting the upper class who incessantly deny profits during ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 67. The State Of Discipline Essay The State of the Discipline History cannot be changed, but as time goes on different discoveries, interpretations, issues, and concerns for the discipline arise that cause historians to analyze the state of the discipline. To investigate these concerns, I read articles from Perspectives on History, particularly the October 2017 issue. During this research, I discovered that some of the ideas, topics, and debates that are occupying historians right now are: student enrollment, the preservation of history, and the rewriting of history via alternative facts. One major concern currently for historians is how to revive history in the classroom. In almost every month so far in 2017, there has been at least one article concerning low numbers ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... An important aspect of these monuments are that they are beginning to memorialize all the victims from the Holocaust, such as the Jews, handicapped, and homosexuals. Another issue concerning historians is the idea of "alternative facts" popularized by the United State's current president, Donald Trump. The author, Robert Blackey, makes his opinion about alternative facts clear: they are detrimental to history and are not "alternative," but false. An important distinction he makes is that "alternative facts are not synonymous with alternative interpretations." Historians (and students of History 200) learn how to formulate historical narratives. As discussed in the last paper, certain aspects can deviate and focus on various factors that ultimately shape the narrative. However, there are always facts and evidence supporting every claim. Alternative facts are a lie, and it believe so as a historian is to betray history, and this is why it is an important issue plaguing the nation. In order to prove a point or save face, individuals are undermining history and facts. The topics that are being presented in this article are present issues that have been influenced by the past. When individuals decide on a stance on the issue of confederate monuments, it is important that they investigate the past for the context, and this article specifically encourages individuals to do so. For background information of why Berlin is currently in ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 69. The Flaws and Shortcomings of African Historiography Essay The Flaws and Shortcomings of African Historiography History is formed through a combination of personal experiences, psychological state, personal objectives, relation with the interviewer, position in society and many other factors that cannot be scientifically monitored and accounted for. Thus, no historian has been able to filter through the many layers they need to in order to arrive at an accurate account of history. What "personal narratives" and "life histories" provide are numerous examples of the complexities and ambiguities that accompany any reconstruction of African history. Each account of history does not offer a different perspective from which one may view a particular event or time, simply because no two accounts have ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... But that is all it is, interesting! With enough disclaimers and 'considering' any claim, theory, or historical account becomes valid history. Relationships Between Interviewer and Subject: As recognition and acceptance of the subjects' ability to hold back and alter information increased, so did historians' emphasis on the quality of the relationship between interviewer and interviewee. For example, Bozzoli made a point of reducing the physical and ethnical variations between interviewer and interviewee. In order to increase the comfort level of the subject, and in turn, get more honest and personal information, Bozzoli used female interviewers with racial and ethnic ties to the subject whereas Mbilinyi had a much more direct approach. Alagoa, Bozzoli, and ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 71. The Landscape Of History : How Historians Map The Past Gaddis wrote, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, to inform audiences why a historical consciousness should matter to us today. He used knowledge from past historians to portray the method that historical writings represent what cannot replicate. Gaddis worked to describe historical consciousness using visual imagery to express metaphors because science, history, and art all depend on metaphors. The past is something we can never have and through metaphors and representation, Gaddis accurately illustrates the meaning of a historian and how history cannot relive, retrieve or rerun but can only represent it. History can be considered a metaphor and representation because it is the way people represent it. Using history as a way to sum up past events is applying the word to an action. Gaddis describes history as a metaphor and representation by showcasing a study of the past as a way to prepare for the future by expanding experiences to strike a balance and paint a metaphor. A historian is able to strike a balance once there is a recognition that there is a trade–off between literal and abstract representation. Meaning abstractions make generalizations to hold up over time which oversimplify complex realities to overcome different constraints that separate in time from their subjects. For a historian to paint a metaphor, one must consider tension between significance and insignificance, polarities of generalization and particularization, the gap between ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 73. Comparing Herodotus And De Vaca's Writing Styles A Comparison of Styles Herodotus versus de Vaca Throughout the course of the world, there have been many great civilizations that have risen and fallen from power. Many of these civilizations are remembered not only through the texts or works that they themselves produced, but through the writings of later historians. Herodotus was an example of a later historian, because he wrote about a civilization of old, de Vaca was a historian of the moment because he covered a civilization as he experienced it. The contrast in the two styles is plainly evident for the most part in the two literary pieces. Herodotus has a very distinct style compared to de Vaca and as de Vaca's works came later it can be assumed that he was partially influenced by Herodotus. The three main areas that Herodotus and de Vaca's works differ are the time period in which they wrote their pieces, how they regarded their subject matter, and who they were writing about. As before mentioned, one of the biggest differences between Herodotus and de Vaca is the time period in which they wrote their pieces. Herodotus was a later historian ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Herodotus was writing his passage mainly on the Egyptian people, but he did have references to his native people the Greeks. De Vaca mainly covered the Avavares, a tribe in modern day Texas who existed from 1527–1534 according to most historians. The Avavares were short lived as they were often conquered by more powerful tribes in their area, where the Egyptians were the ones who were often doing the conquering in the Middle East. The two subjects themselves could not be more different as the Egyptians owned slaves and the Avavares ended up as slaves. Because of this discrepancy, there can be no mistaking who is who in the two passages. Herodotus and de Vaca come from similar backgrounds, but the backgrounds of their two chosen subjects could not be any more ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 75. Oppression and Class warfare Exposed in Dr. Howard Zinn’s... Dr. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States might be better titled A Proletarian's History of the United States. In the first three chapters Zinn looks at not only the history of the conquerors, rulers, and leaders; but also the history of the enslaved, the oppressed, and the led. Like any American History book covering the time period of 1492 until the early 1760's, A People's History tells the story of the "discovery" of America, early colonization by European powers, the governing of these colonies, and the rising discontent of the colonists towards their leaders. Zinn, however, stresses the role of a number of groups and ideas that most books neglect or skim over: the plight of the Native ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... From the Bahamas, Columbus sailed to Cuba and Hispañola, the present–day home of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. One–hundred fifteen years later and 1,500 miles to the north, the colony of Jamestown was founded by a group of English settlers led by John Smith; shortly after that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by a group of Puritans known to us today as the Pilgrims. Because of uneasy and hostile relations with the nearby Pequot Indians, the Pequot War soon started between the colonists and the natives. Needless to say, the colonists won, but it was at the expense of several dozen of their own and thousands of Pequots. But despite Indian conflict, exposure, starvation, famine, disease, and other hardships, the English kept coming to America. In 1619 they were settled enough that they started bringing African slaves into the middle colonies. Before resorting to Africans, the colonists had tried to subdue the Indians, but that idea failed before it was created. Zinn writes: "They couldn't force the Indians to work for them, as Columbus had done. They were outnumbered, and while, with superior firearms, they could massacre the Indians, they would face massacre in return. They could not capture them and keep them enslaved; the Indians were tough, resourceful, defiant, and at home in these woods, as the transplanted Englishmen were not. "White servants had ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...
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  • 77. Historical Truth Analysis The line between truth and obstruction is paper–thin. One minor detail could throw off even the most objective of thoughts. It is good that when accounting for events within the narrative of history that there are multiple witnesses that have or felt the effects of what had particularly happened. History is the objective struggle for solid truth among older and newer perspectives, and with the joint effort of historians with various backgrounds in politics, economics, biology, and other social sciences history itself has been formed into an infallible myth. Truth is term that is universally and loosely defined. Webster's New World College Dictionary describes truth as that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. Counterpointed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ... Historians can be every day people recording day–to–day events, politicians making decisions that will affect masses, or biologists recording statistics for animal populations. With these various backgrounds comes overlapping of perspectives between them. The collective perspectives in the times of events, strolling hand in hand with the way these events were recorded, shape the way modern historians view it. Henry Thomas Buckle stated in regards to collective history that, "The singular spectacle of one historian being ignorant of political economy: another physical science, some by one man, and some by another, have been isolated rather than united." This statement was made in the nineteenth century, and since then communications have developed and blended all of the various backgrounds quite conveniently. The researcher now has unlimited access to primary and secondary sources. Thus, making research for in the day historians much easier and less painstaking when putting together various ... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...