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Definitions of history a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes an account of a patient's medical background an established record a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
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What is history…and why is this man making me study it?
Defining history
Individually, take a minute to come up with your own definition of history.
Share your definitions with your group members and try to create a “consensus” definition in your group.
Definitions of history
a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes
an account of a patient's medical background an established record a branch of knowledge that records and
explains past events
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
When do you hear the word “history”? Medical history Internet history Case history Recorded history
Your task:
Analyze one of the following quotations in your group. Questions to address:
What do you think the author/speaker means? How might this fit into a broader definition of history? Who do you think wrote/said this?
Group #1
“We are not makers of history; we are made by history.”
Group #2
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”
Group #3
“The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.”
Group #4
“Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn
anything from history.”
Group #5
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.”
Group #6
“…there is properly no history, only biography.
Your task:
Analyze one of the following quotations in your group. Questions to address:
What do you think the author/speaker means? How might this fit in to a broader definition of history? Who do you think wrote/said this?
History is…
“We are not makers of history; we are made by history.”
History is…
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”
History is…
“The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.”
History is…
“Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn
anything from history.”
History is…
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.”
History is…
“…there is properly no history, only biography.
Gerda Lerner
What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are “the lessons of history”?
Gerda Lerner
The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past.
Gerda Lerner
We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were.
Gerda Lerner
The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.
(Re-)defining History
Write a new definition of history. Explain why you chose to make specific
changes to your original definition.
