engine of souls | forum 2

TOOLS:

Q1:
     How is history made?
A1:
     History is made by time passing.  It's made through every day events made by people.  However, we generally study drastic events that impact large groups of people.
     History is recognized by how it is studied and by the people who study it.  For example, when Mr. E was giving us our assignment on Martha Ballard he mentioned her diary was shoved away in an attic.  If historians hadn't discovered her diary, as far as we would know, everything we learned by it woudln't have existed.  Another prime example is the diary of Anne Frank.  Without reading her diary, we wouldn't have known her struggle during the Holocaust.  What I'm trying to say is: without people studying history, it wouldn't exist because we wouldn't know about it.

Q2:
     How many ways are there to create or study the past?
A2:
     More than we know, but some of the ways we came up with are as follows:

• Primary Sources (including: documents, films, photos, etc.)
• Secondary Sources (including: books, reports, etc.)
• Decendents
• Personal References (ex. Holocaust surviors, witnesses, etc.)
• Historical Monuments
• Carbondating
• Tree Rings
• Fossils

Questions, comments, concerns?

Laura! wrote:

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The "TOOLS" post was by me.  Ah, I'm bad with remembering my name on these things

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Thanks, Laura.  Can you let me know the names of the people in your group please? 

Thank you Laura for posting our topic..!!!

Hey I know Pam is going to post our group's answer on here because she has the notebook, but I just wanted to add something I thought of today.

[Function] Why do we study history? How is history used in America & the world today?

    I believe that we study history because all people, at some point in their lives, wonder who their ancestors were and what they were like. Also, people strive to improve themselves, so looking at history prevents you from making mistakes that others have already made. Learning about history is essentially learning about yourself since events that have happened before you have directly or indirectly affected the ethics and customs you were taught, as well as the society you live in. It is in human nature for people to be curious, especially about themselves. Therefore, we study history.

     All countries in the world use history for more than just school classrooms today. Government leaders learn from history and keep it in mind when making important decisions for their nations. For example, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy backed up his decision to get involved in Cuba with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. He went back in history to uncover a document that stated the United States would not tolerate any foreign intervention in the Western Hemisphere, which in this case, meant Cuba. This historical document proved to be quite useful.
    History is also used to learn about other cultures besides your own. This is very important in todays society because everyone is connected by the internet, which makes the world seem much smaller. More and more companies are moving to countries such as China and India, so learning of their history and culture is essential. As you can see, history is used all over the world today for different reasons.

Ryan S. wrote:

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I completely agree with your answer on how history is made. And ive never thought about how many ways there are to study history and there really are a lot.

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Hey, Ryan... here's a sample of some of the different methods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography#Approaches_to_history

Jessica wrote:

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Hey I know Pam is going to post our group's answer on here because she has the notebook, but I just wanted to add something I thought of today.

[Function] Why do we study history? How is history used in America & the world today?

    I believe that we study history because all people, at some point in their lives, wonder who their ancestors were and what they were like. Also, people strive to improve themselves, so looking at history prevents you from making mistakes that others have already made. Learning about history is essentially learning about yourself since events that have happened before you have directly or indirectly affected the ethics and customs you were taught, as well as the society you live in. It is in human nature for people to be curious, especially about themselves. Therefore, we study history.

     All countries in the world use history for more than just school classrooms today. Government leaders learn from history and keep it in mind when making important decisions for their nations. For example, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy backed up his decision to get involved in Cuba with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. He went back in history to uncover a document that stated the United States would not tolerate any foreign intervention in the Western Hemisphere, which in this case, meant Cuba. This historical document proved to be quite useful.
    History is also used to learn about other cultures besides your own. This is very important in todays society because everyone is connected by the internet, which makes the world seem much smaller. More and more companies are moving to countries such as China and India, so learning of their history and culture is essential. As you can see, history is used all over the world today for different reasons.

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Well said, Jessica.  In government circles, historians are often called 'analysts'.  There are also a lot of other ways people use their historical knowledge:  http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/careers/index.htm

 

ETHICS:
Group: James, Leslie, Ryan, Brandon?, and a girl whose name I don't know and who was only there the first of the two days we worked on this so I'm not even sure if she's still in the class.

Question: Should history be viewed through a moral or ethical lens?
Yes. Not really because it should be, but because it has to be. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong, even if it varies from person to person, it is still there. When we read or hear about an event, we unconsciously make a decision as to who was right and wrong, even if we are trying to look at an event objectively, it becomes subjective due to human nature and memory.

Posted for group; Function
Zach
Jessica
Pam
Cody
Turan

Here is our Hisoriography work, sry to post so late.

Function-Why do we study History? How is history used in America & the world today? Why is it importent?

Why do we study History?;
-So we don't repeat it
-We learn from it and build onto it
-Because it is interesting to learn about other people
-To learn from others mistakes, learn more about other cultures/ our ancestors
-To learn about other cultures, ex. the pyramids
-Cultural Diversity

How is History used in America and the world today?
-In classrooms to learn
-Draw conclusions on things happening now
-Helps to form opinions on different countries
-Explains why some countries act as they do (hating/liking)

Written by Turan when he joined later- When we look to the past, we see why the desicions we make now are important. One day our present will be history and it will be just as importent as the Civil War ect.

______________________________________________________________

Also to add on, I think another reason we study history is to find out things.
To discover as some would put it. We want to Discover more about ourselves, others, and maybe even things beyond our imagination, like aliens or extraterrestrials. And, to stretch it a bit, to answer some deep questions of our own by comparing ourselves and others with the way things used to be so we can Discover ourselves through it.

Sry, last post by me, Pam.
Forgot again

mre wrote:
Thanks, Laura.  Can you let me know the names of the people in your group please? 

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1. myself
2. aaron
3. rebecca
4. zach
5. one other boy, i can't remember his name
   

I doubt things have ever directly and fully been perfectly been repeated, but people can certainly make the same mistakes twice more easily if they don't remember the first time they happened or didn't know why they happened in the first place.

okay well i never got the name of the people in my group ; so yeah hopefully they'll see this and let me know. (:

[Inference] How do we make judgments on the past from partial evidence?

there are many ways to make judgements on the past . one way is to gather as much evidence as you can and then use your own logical opinion based on the evidence you already have. another way is to research the history of the surrounding events and consider the possiblilities of why , when or how it happend . you can also research the background of the people and places involved in the event . and the last way we thought of was to collaborate your ideas with other peoples judgement.

 

James wrote:

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ETHICS:
Group: James, Leslie, Ryan, Brandon?, and a girl whose name I don't know and who was only there the first of the two days we worked on this so I'm not even sure if she's still in the class.

Question: Should history be viewed through a moral or ethical lens?
Yes. Not really because it should be, but because it has to be. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong, even if it varies from person to person, it is still there. When we read or hear about an event, we unconsciously make a decision as to who was right and wrong, even if we are trying to look at an event objectively, it becomes subjective due to human nature and memory.

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Howard Zinn, a historian at Botson University, also believes this.  He wrote about it extensively (with examples from his own history) in his book, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, and in his essay on Columbus. 

But if we have to examine history this way, who determines what is right and what isn't?  Individuals?  Victors?

Laura wrote:

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mre wrote:
Thanks, Laura.  Can you let me know the names of the people in your group please? 

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1. myself
2. aaron
3. rebecca
4. zach
5. one other boy, i can't remember his name

 

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           That "other boy" is Branden Shorey, who usually goes by Shorey.

 

Pamela wrote:

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Posted for group; Function
Zach
Jessica
Pam
Cody
Turan

Here is our Hisoriography work, sry to post so late.

Function-Why do we study History? How is history used in America & the world today? Why is it importent?

Why do we study History?;
-So we don't repeat it
-We learn from it and build onto it
-Because it is interesting to learn about other people
-To learn from others mistakes, learn more about other cultures/ our ancestors
-To learn about other cultures, ex. the pyramids
-Cultural Diversity

How is History used in America and the world today?
-In classrooms to learn
-Draw conclusions on things happening now
-Helps to form opinions on different countries
-Explains why some countries act as they do (hating/liking)

Written by Turan when he joined later- When we look to the past, we see why the desicions we make now are important. One day our present will be history and it will be just as importent as the Civil War ect.

______________________________________________________________

Also to add on, I think another reason we study history is to find out things.
To discover as some would put it. We want to Discover more about ourselves, others, and maybe even things beyond our imagination, like aliens or extraterrestrials. And, to stretch it a bit, to answer some deep questions of our own by comparing ourselves and others with the way things used to be so we can Discover ourselves through it.

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       Thanks for posting our group answer. It's "Taran" btw. I have an old, foreign name.

 

James wrote:

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ETHICS:
Group: James, Leslie, Ryan, Brandon?, and a girl whose name I don't know and who was only there the first of the two days we worked on this so I'm not even sure if she's still in the class.

Question: Should history be viewed through a moral or ethical lens?
Yes. Not really because it should be, but because it has to be. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong, even if it varies from person to person, it is still there. When we read or hear about an event, we unconsciously make a decision as to who was right and wrong, even if we are trying to look at an event objectively, it becomes subjective due to human nature and memory.

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In addition, I think if people hadn't viewed history through a moral or ethical lens, then society wouldn't have been able to reach the point we are at. There would never have been a moral or ethical standard set, and it would create a disbalance in law and order,causing chaos. Also, the development of equal rights would have never been set forth, and prominent members of history, who may have never been allowed an education, would have never been able to be pioneers in fields such as math and science to bring us to the modern point in technology we have reached.

Rachel wrote:

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okay well i never got the name of the people in my group ; so yeah hopefully they'll see this and let me know. (:

[Inference] How do we make judgments on the past from partial evidence?

there are many ways to make judgements on the past . one way is to gather as much evidence as you can and then use your own logical opinion based on the evidence you already have. another way is to research the history of the surrounding events and consider the possiblilities of why , when or how it happend . you can also research the background of the people and places involved in the event . and the last way we thought of was to collaborate your ideas with other peoples judgement.

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 i was in this group too.

G. Larsen wrote:

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On the ethics issue, I think we need to look at history through multiple ethical lenses. The ideals and ethics of the people who were part of the events as well as the modern people who are looking at them are equally important.  As much as we need to develop our modern world by avoiding past mistakes, injustices, and failures, we need to remember that the ethics and values of any society change dramatically over time.  By no means do we have to abide by outdated ethics, but we do need to try to look at past events both ways, and in times where there was a conflict of ideals, all possible ways.  We would be denying ourselves the full, albeit occasionally ugly picture if we didn't. After all, some day, someone may look back at our time in 150 years and think we were barbaric for one thing or another we consider completely acceptable or even admirable now.

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        Truthfully, there are people in OUR time who think that other human beings today are barbaric.

 

Causation:

Not sure of all of the people in our group, nor did I have my group's notes, so hopefully people might see this and identify themselves.

How do we study the why events and issues occurred in history?

Well of course the easiest way to attack this question is to see if there are any blatant statements saying: "I did this because..." This, unfortunately, is hardly ever the case. Also there is no way to tell if that person was lying about their reasons. We can look at accounts of witnesses to the event, or series of events, and collect their hypotheses on the subject. This could give us a possible lists of reasons as to why an individual, or group, reacted in a certain way.

Another thing we can look at is the person's genes. Often a person's genetics give them a pre-disposition to act, or react, in a certain way. By studying the genetic makeup of the people involved in the situation, we could see if they are more likely to react violently or not. This could help us determine events in history.

Yet another thing we can do to give us possible explanations to why things occurred in history is the climate at the time. Heat can cause people to react differently, as can extreme cold. Environment changes can also have other effects as well. For example, extreme heat could have caused droughts leading to poor harvests, which led to hardships of the peasants, followed by high taxes and a lack of representation of the people; all causes of the French Revolution.

I encourage anyone with more to discuss on the topic to post, and I would be happy to hear from anyone with more ideas.

Over the course of time, the victors, especially those who conquer the losers, tend to write history in their favor, making them right. However, in my opinion, it is the individual whose sense of right and wrong must come into play, for those in power can abuse their power far too easily for only their ethical opinion to matter in the long run.

Anonymous wrote:

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James wrote:

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Over the course of time, the victors, especially those who conquer the losers, tend to write history in their favor, making them right. However, in my opinion, it is the individual whose sense of right and wrong must come into play, for those in power can abuse their power far too easily for only their ethical opinion to matter in the long run.

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       I agree, but for the sake of argument, i ask this: Don't individual opinions and values differ so much depending on the person, that they can cause history to spin and become a tangled web of uncertainty?

 

 

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      Grr, this was me, Taran.

 

Robert K. wrote:

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Causation:

Not sure of all of the people in our group, nor did I have my group's notes, so hopefully people might see this and identify themselves.

How do we study the why events and issues occurred in history?

Well of course the easiest way to attack this question is to see if there are any blatant statements saying: "I did this because..." This, unfortunately, is hardly ever the case. Also there is no way to tell if that person was lying about their reasons. We can look at accounts of witnesses to the event, or series of events, and collect their hypotheses on the subject. This could give us a possible lists of reasons as to why an individual, or group, reacted in a certain way.

Another thing we can look at is the person's genes. Often a person's genetics give them a pre-disposition to act, or react, in a certain way. By studying the genetic makeup of the people involved in the situation, we could see if they are more likely to react violently or not. This could help us determine events in history.

Yet another thing we can do to give us possible explanations to why things occurred in history is the climate at the time. Heat can cause people to react differently, as can extreme cold. Environment changes can also have other effects as well. For example, extreme heat could have caused droughts leading to poor harvests, which led to hardships of the peasants, followed by high taxes and a lack of representation of the people; all causes of the French Revolution.

I encourage anyone with more to discuss on the topic to post, and I would be happy to hear from anyone with more ideas.

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Thanks for posting for our group, Robert, you put it very well. I'll post what I wrote before:

We study 'why' events and issues occurred by looking at all sides of the event. You definitely have to study the relationship between people of the time. By studying DNA and artifacts you father useful information such as people's beliefs, personalities, abilities, and available resources. By looking at the rings of a tree, for example, you can discover a great deal about the climate at the time, which has a significant influence on history.

Anonymous wrote:

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TaranlikeAcid wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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James wrote:

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Over the course of time, the victors, especially those who conquer the losers, tend to write history in their favor, making them right. However, in my opinion, it is the individual whose sense of right and wrong must come into play, for those in power can abuse their power far too easily for only their ethical opinion to matter in the long run.

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       I agree, but for the sake of argument, i ask this: Don't individual opinions and values differ so much depending on the person, that they can cause history to spin and become a tangled web of uncertainty?

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      Grr, this was me, Taran.

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 James I agree with you completely; I know I've read something like that before. You word things very nicely, by the way lol

oh dang, that was me right up there ^

Grades posted 9-12-08