AOK: HISTORY!

 Quotation/Question Reflection  Introduction to History as a AOK  End Goal – To what extent can you trust the knowledge that you gain in history? AGENDA

 “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” – Napolean Bonaparte  What does this quote mean?  Do you agree or disagree? QUOTE 1

 Are you more inclined to trust an autobiography, or a biography about the same person written by a historian? QUESTION

 Evidence  Significance  Explanation WHAT IS HISTORY?

 Too Little?  More from the past  We could make the wrong judgments and conclusions  Taken out of context?  Too much?  More recent history  You could be overwhelmed with all there is to write about the 200s EVIDENCE?

 JFK Assassination vs. what I ate for breakfast  Is significance in the eye of the beholder?  No, there is criteria.  How many people are affected?  To what extent? SIGNIFICANCE

 Explain and understand  What happened? (more on this later…) EXPLANATION

 History gives us a sense of identity  History is a defense against propaganda  History enriches our understanding of human nature WHY STUDY HISTORY?

 How important do you think it is for our political leaders to have a good knowledge of history? SENSE OF IDENTITY

 Do you think that some countries are more obsessed with their history than others?  What are the dangers in ignoring the past? What are the dangers in being obsessed with the past? SENSE OF IDENTITY

 Spin the historical record?  Re-elected officials present their best side?  Puncture myths? PROPAGANDA DEFENSE?

 Shows us what human beings have thought and done in a wide variety of circumstances  “History Shows” Be careful! It can become a self-realizing expectation ENRICH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN NATURE

 SOURCES!!! (Primary and Secondary)  Fallible eye witnesses?  Social bias?  Deliberate manipulation? HOW CAN THE PAST BE KNOWN?

 Goal:  Think about how hindsight influences history.  Think about how perspective influences history. AOK: HISTORY CONTINUED

 Time capsule to be opened in 5,000 years. What would you put in it to give an objective picture of our current life? ?

Advantages  Historian KNOWS how things turned out…the people who experienced it did not  Division into periods is formed by hindsight Disadvantages  Hindsight bias? (if I were in that situation, I never would have done that!)  “doomed from the start” WRITING HINDSIGHT

 “Unlike dates, periods are not facts. They are retrospective conceptions that we form about past events, useful to focus discussion, but very often leading historical thought astray.” G.M. Trevelyan  How can dividing history into periods be useful and how can it be misleading? ?

 What description do you think future historians will use to sum up the age in which we are living? ?

 Do you think you should study current events in history since they are relevant to your experience? Do you think they should be excluded on the grounds that they are too close for you too see them objectively? ?

 Topic Choice Bias  Confirmation Bias  National Bias BIAS

 Do you think it will ever be possible to write a history of the world that can be agreed on by all countries? ?

 Pluralistic approach?  Cubist History? (Think Picasso) OVERCOME BIAS?

 Range of Potential Causes of Historical Events…  Geographical Conditions  Social and Economic Conditions  Individual Motives  Chance of Occurrences THEORIES OF HISTORY?

If you could travel back in time and interview one character from history, who would it be and why? What are 5 questions you would ask them? ?