This document provides an overview of the key concepts in the study of history. It defines history as the critical examination of past events and developments using evidence-based inquiry. It outlines the main subjects, time periods, and fields covered in history, as well as how history has evolved as an academic discipline over time. The document also discusses some misconceptions about history and emphasizes history's importance in helping to understand the present and shape the future.

1. HIST 1000
INTRODUCTION TO
HISTORY & CIVILIZATION

2.  What is history?
 Subject matter and Time Frame
 Historical Periodizations
 Fields of History
 Pseudo-History
 History of History
 The Importance of History
 History and other Sciences
 Misconceptions of History

3. What is history?
 From Greek word ‘historia’ (inquiry) – a
learning by inquiry.
 Why there is a need to be inquisitive?
 To search for the truth – history involves a
close examination of a matter in search for
true information.
 Critical/analytical thinking and evidence.
 History is not storytelling, bed-time stories.

4.  Historiography – the study of the way of
writing history.
 The theory of how history should be written,
and of historical records.

5. Technical meaning
 As a field of study, history refers to
1. the study of what actually happened in the
past (the truth).
WHEN, WHERE, WHO, WHAT
1. interpretation of what happened in the past.
HOW, WHY

6. Subject Matter
 Covers all aspects of human life or human
activities.
 From A – Z.
 E.g: politics, economy, social systems,
foreign policy, religion, individuals.

7. Time Frame
 Time frame in studying history – from the
earliest times to recent times.
 E.g: Pre-history, ancient/classical history,
modern history.

8. Historical Periodizations
 When exactly a period starts and ends –
highly controversial.
 The commonly used historical periodizations
is primarily applied to Western history.
1. Ancient/Classical Period
(500BC –500 CE)
2. Medieval Period/Dark Ages/Middle
Ages (500 CE – 1500 CE)
3. Modern Period (1500 CE – present)

9.  BC or BCE – before Christ/Common era.
 CE or AD – after Christ (the birth of Christ/Isa)
or Anno Domini, a Latin word which means ‘In
the Year of the Lord’
 Islamic history uses different periodizations.
 There was no medieval period in Islamic
history.
 E.g: Pre-Islamic period, Umayyad Caliphate,
Abbasid Caliphate, Ottoman Period.

10. Fields of History
 Thematic, period, geographical perspectives.
 Thematic - e.g: political history, social history,
economic history, etc.
 Period/chronology – e.g: ancient history,
modern history, etc.
 Geographical – e.g: European history,
Malaysian history, etc.

11. Major Fields of History
 Political History
 Diplomatic History
 Economic History
 Social History
 Intellectual History

12.  Political History: governments, kingdoms,
political institutions, political practices, public
policies, politicians and their policies.
 Diplomatic History: relations between and
among states, foreign policies, conflicts
between states.
 Economic History: economic theories,
economic development of states or of
companies, banking, trade, industries.

13.  Social History: demography, social class
and structure, social organization and
behavior, living standard (urban and rural
areas).
 Intellectual History: thoughts and ideas of
prominent intellectual figures, philosophical
and scientific ideas.
 Minor fields of history e.g: cultural history (art,
architecture, music, literature).

14. Pseudo-History
 Information about the past that appears to be
historic, but is outside the mainstream of
history.
 Blends together facts and myths or legends.
 Showed lacked of criticism and reliability.
 E.g: Stories of Princess Gunung Ledang, of
Hang Tuah, Mahsuri, Trojan War.
 The past is not really simple, especially the
distant past.
 The past should not be taken for granted –
tend to be influenced by one’s perceptions,
worldviews, or interests.

15. History of History
 Was developed as a discipline during ancient
Greek civilization in Greece.
 Was a minor discipline.
 Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides.
 Muhammad Shihab az-Zuhri, Al-Tabari, Ibn
Khaldun.
 Leopold Von Ranke.

16. Homer
 A famous Greek poet.
 Wrote famous Greek epics/stories, Illiad and
Odyssey.
 Illiad is not really historical work because of
the emphasis on gods’ intervention during
Trojan War (13th
and 12th
cent. BC).
 Controversies whether Homer really existed,
and whether he was one person.
 To many people the Trojan war was a Greek
myth or legend.

17. Homer

18. Herodotus
 A Greek scholar - 5th
cent. BC.
 Known as the ‘father of history’ and ‘world’s
first historian’.
 His interpretations of recorded events of
ancient Greece are acceptable to the
standard of modern history.
 Moved away from Greek myths (gods’ or
divine intervention).
 His works (e.g. about Peloponnesian War)
stressed on human motivations for their
actions.

19. Herodotus

20. Thucydides
 A Greek scholar who wrote on the
Peloponnesian war (Athens versus Sparta).
 Carefully recorded the war events and
analyzed different reasons behind human
actions.
 Less interpretative than Herodotus yet more
realistic and reliable.
 As an eyewitness of the event, interviews of
other participants of the events, access to
related documents – first hand evidences

21. Thucydides

22. Muhammad Shihab az-
Zuhri
 A great Muslim muhaddith, faqih and historian
– 8th
cent. AD.
 Wrote about the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.–
one of the earliest historical document on the
prophet.
 Though none of his works survived in their
original forms, they formed the basis of the
works of Ibn Ishaq (8th
cent. AD)

23. Al-Tabari
 A muhaddith, mufassir and historian – 9th
cent.
AD.
 30 volumes work.

24. Ibn Khaldun
 A historian and historiographer – 14th
cent.
AD.
 Known as the ‘father of historiography’.
 Major work ‘Muqaddimah’ (1377), the preface
of his work on world history ‘Kitab al-Ibar’.
 In Muqaddimah, he strongly criticized the
mistakes regularly committed by historians
and mentioned the difficulties faced by
historians in writing historical works.
 Highlighted on the methods of historical
writing.

25. Ibn Khaldun

26. Leopold von Ranke
 A famous German historian – 19th
cent AD.
 Known as the ‘founder of scientific history’.
 Emphasized on the importance of primary
sources.
 History should be studied scientifically and
objectively.
 The task of historians is to gather all the
evidences and let the reader make his/her
own conclusion.

27. Leopold von Ranke

28. The Importance of
History
 To know about past events – what actually
happened.
 To know about own identity, own culture, own
customs.
 Provides a fuller picture of matters under
study since history also touches on various
issues, social, political, cultural, etc.

29. The Importance of
History
 Helps to shape the future by providing the
basis for informed judgements – provides
options, avenues in making decisions so as
not to repeat past mistakes.
 Moral lessons.

30. History and other
Sciences
 Other sciences study certain aspects of
human society to understand the
contemporary world.
 History studies all aspects; politics, social,
economy, foreign policy, ideas, etc.
 Interconnection between history and other
sciences – for everything there is history.

31. History and other
Sciences
 E.g: accountants – deal with past financial
records to finds ways and means to prevent
loss.
 Lawyers – refer to past legal records and
cases to draw judgements.
 Sociologists/psychologists – refer to past
records/patient records/case studies to draw
conclusions.

32.  Political scientists – refer to past treaties,
political events and developments, political
issues to predict the future political scenario.
 No other discipline is so closely affiliated with
so many other fields of knowledge.
 Historians work closely with specialists in
virtually all fields to explain the past and its
relationship to the present.
History and other
Sciences

33. Misconceptions of History
 History deals with dead people, ancient
kingdoms and societies.
- history also deals with contemporary events
and living people.
 History is bedtime stories.
- history is neither fictions nor imaginations.
History involves critical thinking and
evidences.

34.  History is just memorization of names and
dates.
- history provides better understanding of
past events by looking at various issues
rather than just names and dates.
 History repeats itself.
- history does not repeat itself. Yet, patterns
of history may be repeated.
Misconceptions of History

35. Misconceptions of History
 History is a study of the non-human past.
E.g: dendrochronology – the study of annual
growth of tree rings.
 History is about pre-literate societies.
-little to say about hunting, nomads or
pastoral people except for the sake of
observation from afar - lack of records/written
documents.
E.g: cowboys of wild West.

36. Misconceptions of History
Unless the pre-literate people conquered a
civilization of cities and established great
kingdoms. E.g: Huns and Tartars.