1. History

2. What characterises the methodologies of Historians?
TaK - History
What characterises the methodologies of Historians?

3. What is history? Is it enough to define it as “the study of the past”?
TaK - History
What is history?
Is it enough to define it as “the study of the past”?
Concerned with:
Evidence (the present traces of the past)
Significance (concerned with significant events)
Explanation & Understanding (not only describing the past, but also explaining it)

4. Who do you think is best qualified to write a history of RCNUWC:
TaK - History
Write down the two most significant events that have happened at the College since you arrived in the summer of 2010.
Who do you think is best qualified to write a history of RCNUWC:
a graduate?
a teacher?
a member of the board?
a local journalist?
Why?

5. “Historians are dangerous people.
TaK - History
“Historians are dangerous people.
They are capable of upsetting everything” Khruschev
“He who controls the present, controls the past.
He who controls the past, controls the future.” Orwell
“If you do not like the past, change it.” Burton

6. TaK - History
In Russia…

7. TaK - History
… and in China

8. TaK - History

9. Can we talk about historical truth?
TaK - History
Can we talk about historical truth?

10. Why should you care about the past?
TaK - History
Why should you care about the past?
What dangers are there in being obsessed with the past?
What dangers are there in ignoring the past?

11. “Those who don’t study the past are condemned to repeat it” Santayana
TaK - History
“Those who don’t study the past are condemned to repeat it” Santayana
“What experience and history teach is this - that people and governments have never learned anything from history” Hegel

12. To what extent do you think that people keep making the same mistakes?
TaK - History
To what extent do you think that people keep making the same mistakes?
Why?

13. Different histories Over-reliance on the written word?
TaK - History
Different histories
Over-reliance on the written word?
In parts of West Africa, history is told through song by a griot, a respected wandering musician
Among many Australian Aborigines, the land itself is history. Geographical features reflect the creation stories of the ‘dreamtime’

14. Micro histories. Our own. “For the want of a nail…….”
TaK - History
What is history?
Micro histories. Our own.
“For the want of a nail…….”

15. How can the past be known?
TaK - History
How can the past be known?
Primary Sources
(materials produced at the time of an event by people who were there)
Fallible eye-witness
Social bias
Deliberate manipulation
Secondary sources (second-hand accounts)

16. TaK - History
Primary sources

17. Writing history History is the selection of a selection
TaK - History
Writing history
History is the selection of a selection
Advantages of hindsight
Disadvantages of hindsight

18. Perspectives in history
TaK - History
Perspectives in history
Study the historian before you study his facts
Reading an 18th Century account of the 13th Century will possibly tell you as much about the 18th as it will about the 13th Century
Propaganda and persuasion

19. Some Problems of Bias Topic choice bias Confirmation bias
TaK - History
Some Problems of Bias
Topic choice bias
Confirmation bias
National bias
…others?

20. Theories of history The ‘Great Person’ theory Economic Determinism
TaK - History
Theories of history
The ‘Great Person’ theory
Economic Determinism
No meaning, only chance!
“Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter,
the whole history of the world
would have been different”
Blaise Pascal

21. History gives us a sense of identity
TaK - History
Why study history?
History gives us a sense of identity
History is a defence against propaganda
History enriches our understanding of human nature

22. Some key points: TaK - History
History seeks to study and explain the significant events of the past on the basis of currently existing evidence
The study of History can be justified on the grounds that it contributes to our sense of identity, is a defence against propaganda, and enriches our understanding of human nature
History is based on primary sources, but since they are selective they cannot always be taken at face value
In seeking to explain the past the historian has the benefit of hindsight which can sometimes result in hindsight bias
We can perhaps get closer to the truth by exploring the past from a variety of perspectives
Historical events rarely have a single cause but are usually the result of a combination of factors

23. TaK - History History Reason Maths Perception Natural Sciences Ethics
What fallacies arise in studying history?
Maths
What role do statistics play in history?
Perception
How reliable is eye-witness testimony as a primary source?
Ethics
Should historians make moral judgments about the past?
Natural Sciences
Can the scientific method be applied to history?
History
Fallacies (examples):
Arts
How is history similar to fiction? How is it different?
Human Sciences
How does history differ from other social sciences?
Language
Can historical events be described in neutral language?

25. TaK
The Presentation
Real-life situation
Contemporary problem

26. 1 4 2 3 The structure and vocabulary of a ToK Presentation
TaK
The structure and vocabulary of a ToK Presentation 1
Real-life situation.
Identify some central conflict revolving around a knowledge issue
Tentative resolution of the central conflict in the real-life situation 4
Vocabulary of
real-life situation
Abstraction
Implications
ToK vocabulary 2 3
Underlying knowledge issues
Branching Arguments
Evaluation of
Knowledge Issues
from Ric Sims

27. Other Real life Situations
ToK Presentation Planner
Other Real life Situations
Start Here
Real life Situation
Vocabulary of
Real Life
Situation
Implications
Implications
Implications
Extract KI from RLS
ToK Vocabulary
Application
Evaluation of
Knowledge Issues
Underlying
Knowledge Issue
Arguments

28. TaK
A topic
A few weeks ago you saw a video about birth control in which, among other things, a foetus was shown to feel acute pain.
You decide that the real-life situation for your ToK presentation will be Abortion.
You decide first to answer for your class some basic questions concerning types of abortion, the variety of ways it is possible to induce it and a description of what you have learnt is called, “post-abortion syndrome”; then to present some comparative facts about abortion laws in different countries.
Since your presentation partner is strenuously opposed to abortion, while you think that abortion should be a choice that belongs to each woman, the class is guaranteed to hear both sides of the argument.
Everyone in the class will want to participate in the discussion your presentation is certain to provoke.

29. Real-life situation/contemporary problem: (Focus: History) Scenario:
TaK
Real-life situation/contemporary problem:
(Focus: History)
Scenario:
Demonstration in China against a new history textbook in Japan
Knowledge Issues:
“How is it decided what history is taught in schools?”
“How can we safeguard against bias?”
“Can we talk about historical truth?”
….others?

30. Strategies for finding topics
TaK
Strategies for finding topics
Think about any cause, local or global, that you support
Think about your favourite IB subject. Consider topics within it that interest you most
Think about items from the news that have caught your attention
Think about experiences you have had
Whatever your topic, you have to be able to formulate at least one good question about knowledge from it.

31. Real-life situation/contemporary problem: (Focus:……………..)
TaK
Real-life situation/contemporary problem: (Focus:……………..)
Scenario: …………………………………..
State your knowledge issue clearly
Show how it arises from your selected real-life situation
Develop it
Demonstrate how it could be applied back to your real-life situation and others

32. A Identification of knowledge issue
• Did the presentation identify a relevant knowledge issue involved, implicit or embedded in a real-life situation?
Achievement level Descriptor
0 Level 1 was not achieved.
The presentation referred to a knowledge issue but it was irrelevant to the real-life situation under consideration.
The presentation identified a knowledge issue that was in some ways relevant to the real-life situation under consideration.
5 The presentation identified a knowledge issue that was clearly relevant to the real-life situation under consideration.

33. B Treatment of knowledge issues
• Did the presentation show a good understanding of knowledge issues, in the context of the real-life situation?
Achievement level Descriptor
0 Level 1 was not achieved.
The presentation showed some understanding of knowledge issues.
The presentation showed an adequate understanding of knowledge issues.
5 The presentation showed a good understanding of knowledge issues.

34. C Knower's perspective
• Did the presentation, particularly in the use of arguments and examples, show an individual approach and demonstrate the significance of the topic?
Achievement level Descriptor
0 Level 1 was not achieved.
The presentation, in its use of arguments and examples or otherwise, showed limited personal involvement and did not demonstrate the significance of the topic.
The presentation, in its use of arguments and examples or otherwise, showed some personal involvement and adequately demonstrated the significance of the topic.
5 The presentation, in its distinctively personal use of arguments and examples or otherwise, showed clear personal involvement and fully demonstrated the significance of the topic.

35. D Connections Achievement level Descriptor
• Did the presentation give a balanced account of how the topic could be approached from different perspectives?
• Did the presentation show how the positions taken on the knowledge issues would have implications in related areas?
• In awarding the higher achievement levels, the emphasis should be more on the quality of the consideration of connections than on the quantity of connections mentioned.
Achievement level Descriptor
0 Level 1 was not achieved.
The presentation explored at least two different perspectives to some extent.
The presentation gave a satisfactory account of how the question could be approached from different perspectives, and began to explore their similarities and differences.
5 The presentation gave a clear account of how the question could be approached from different perspectives and considered their implications in related areas.