Intriguing and Inspiring: What is History?

Relevance of the Theme

Understanding what history is serves as the basis for studying History as a discipline. It helps us comprehend how societies have developed over time, how our ways of thinking and acting have changed, and how past experiences shape us today. History is a powerful learning tool, allowing us to understand our origins, identities, and even the challenges we currently face.

Contextualization

The appreciation for the study of History begins early in the school curriculum, in the 6th grade of Elementary School, in order to establish a solid foundation for exploring the events, processes, and ideas that shape current society.

"What is history?" is the fundamental starting point to give meaning to all aspects of our world. This initial dive into the vast ocean of History will shape students' perspectives on the past, present, and future, and provide the necessary tools to critically analyze historical narratives.

The concept of history is the gateway to the complex and fascinating questions related to the study of the Humanities. Opening this door will allow students to explore and understand the multiplicity of perspectives and experiences that have shaped, and continue to shape, our world.

Theoretical Development

Components

• Historical Facts: These are the events, actions, and processes that occurred in the past. They are facts that we can study and investigate to understand the history of a people or a nation. They are something that "happened".

• Historiographical Interpretations: These are the different ways of interpreting historical facts. Each academic, historian, or scholar analyzes and interprets facts in a different way, according to the lenses of their time, worldview, and ideologies. These multiple and sometimes conflicting views give breadth and richness to the study of history.

• Historical Sources: These are the materials, records, and writings that tell or refer to historical facts. Sources are what historians use to reconstruct the past. They can be objects, documents, films, photographs, oral accounts, among others.

• Historical Contexts: These are the circumstances, conditions, and environment surrounding a historical fact. Each fact is embedded in a context in order to be fully understood. The context is the "background" that shapes the development of events.

Key Terms

• History: Derived from the Greek term "historie" which means "knowledge acquired through investigation". It is the study that analyzes, interprets, and narrates the facts and processes that occurred in human history.

• Historiography: It is the term used to describe the set of interpretations that historians make of past facts. It is how history is written and organized.

• Primary Source: It is the material that was produced or present at the time of the studied facts. For example, a letter written by a historical figure is a primary source.

• Secondary Source: It is the material that was produced after the studied facts, which uses primary sources and aims to interpret or analyze these sources. A book analyzing a battle is a secondary source.

Examples and Cases

• The Fall of the Roman Empire: This is a historical fact that many scholars consider a milestone in Western history. The fall of the Roman Empire is interpreted in many ways, whether as an economic collapse, barbarian invasion, moral decay, or a combination of various factors. The sources used by historians include contemporaries' accounts, legal documents, coins, maps, among others.

• The Discovery of America: This is another historical fact that illustrates well the complexity of historical interpretations. The traditional view of the event is that of the "discovery" by Christopher Columbus. However, this narrative is criticized by many today, who prefer to call this event an "encounter" or "invasion". The sources range from Columbus' accounts to manuscripts of indigenous populations already living on the continent.

• The Industrial Revolution: An event that revolutionized the world. Interpretations about it vary. Some see it as a moment of great progress and innovation, while others view it as a time of exploitation and inequality. Sources include accounts from workers, economic data, and statistics.