History is essentially the study of change. Core to the analysis and understanding of history is the various perspectives that determine or reveal this “change”. There are many perspectives regarding historical inquiry derived from primary sources, comprised of firsthand texts, discourses, artifacts, and saga spanning from formal government policy to informal eyewitness accounts of everyday people; as well as secondary sources, referring primarily to academic inquiry from traditionalist views to revisionist interpretations and then re- analyzed as post-revisionist viewpoints. Thus, “history is a dynamic, contested, evidence-based discipline that involves an exciting engagement with the past. It is an intellectual discipline, focused around key historical concepts such as change, causation and significance”… and an interpretive discipline providing “for engagement with multiple perspectives and a plurality of opinions. Studying history develops an understanding of the past, which leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of humans and of the world today” (IB History Guide 2017, p. 6). History is complex and critical analysis is essential to developing an understanding that moves closer to the ‘true’ historical happening.
”Students should be aware of how history is used or sometimes abused to retell and promote a grand narrative of history, a narrowly focused national mythology that ignores other viewpoints or perspectives, or to elevate a single perspective to a position of predominance. Thus, students are encouraged to challenge and critique multiple perspectives of the past, and to compare them and corroborate them with historical evidence. Students should recognize that for every event recorded in the past, there may be many contrasting or differing perspectives. Using primary-source accounts and historians’ interpretations, students may also investigate and compare how people, including specific groups such as minorities or women, may have experienced events differently in the past. In this way there are particularly strong links between exploring multiple perspectives and the development of international-mindedness” (IB History Guide 2017, p. 95).
A. PRIMARY SOURCE:
A primary source is historical evidence created during the time under study.
This evidence may take the form of texts such as documents, editorials, journal articles, financial statements, diary entries, song lyrics, or novels; visuals such as pictures, cartoons, photographs, videos, or graphics; interviews whether formal or informal; and artifacts such as household items, cars, statues, clothing, toys, tools or leisure items. Therefore, history may also incorporate the evidence from and study of other disciplines such as ethnography, anthropology, sociology, or archeology.
B. SECONDARY SOURCE:
A secondary source is created after and usually in reflection of the time under study.
This evidence is often from an academic viewpoint via historical investigation of primary sources and analysis of subsequent historical inquiry. However, this could also be a gray area whereby a contemporary interpretation of a primary source during the time under study could also be considered a secondary source due to the “second-hand” nature of the
information.
”History Perpetually Requires to be corrected by more history (Butterfield p.131)“
Webster’s defines history as a chronological record of significant events; the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race; or the branch of knowledge dealing with past events. When we read of history in school textbooks we often take it as if it were the final say on any event. Meaning that however the text describes the event as occurring, was how it happened and who are we to say otherwise? Thus, being the general assumption that history is fixed and unable to be altered with the general conclusion that an event that occurred nearly 500 years ago cannot be changed. However, a better understanding of such events has occurred leading some people to become skeptical. History also carries a stereotype that it is simply a study of past events and people, and is often very dry and boring. However, in many cases this is certainly far from the truth.
History is not something that should be simply accepted with a “well I guess that’s just the way it happened” type of attitude. It needs to be under constant scrutiny; always being analyzed and questioned. This is due to details always being omitted, which is often the case in textbooks, where the historical record is abridged simply giving the big picture as it relates to the discussion at hand. This was often done, by, whom Butterfield in his book, The Whig Interpretation of History calls, “Whig Historians”. These historians were generally Protestant, progressive and Whig. They studied the past with reference to the present leaving the reader unaware of circumstances behind the scenes.
Essentially, history becomes whatever the viewer sees, which often comes with a bias view. Because of this, it is important to also obtain other views from other witnesses who recorded the same event. This way a more complete view is achievable. Besides, in order to have a solid understanding and to be able to “explain how the past came to be turned into the present… the only explanation is to unfold the whole story and reveal the complexity by telling it in detail” (Butterfield, p. 22. It is important to view history from many perspectives as well as be able to transfer from the general to the particular.
The study of history, or history in itself, is not done to just achieve an understanding about an age past by writing pages of notes. Instead, history provides us with a better insight and understanding as to who we are, and how we fit into the giant scheme of things. History is primarily “concerned with processes of life rather than with the meaning or purpose or goal of life’, as well as examining “all the mediations by which the past was turned into our present” (Butterfield, p. 67, 47). In a sense history is the key to the past, which unlocks an infinite wealth of resources, which we are able to tap into and use to try and figure out how we got to where we are today, as well as use to reconstruct an age gone by, where things were far different and unfamiliar then they are now.
History enables us to explore and investigate what happened and what were the circumstances that attributed to the particular outcome. In itself, history cannot be truly studied on a large scale and still be effective, one must delve into the layers to get a detailed analysis. Historical events, people, or even interpretations do not stand on their own; they are all tied together. Thus, historical study and analysis is not static; rather, history is the study of change.