C1 - What Is History

HIST 1000

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY & CIVILIZATION

What is history? Subject matter and Time Frame Historical Periodizations Fields of History Pseudo-History History of History The Importance of History History and other Sciences Misconceptions of History

What is history? From Greek word ‘historia’ (inquiry) – a

learning by inquiry. Why there is a need to be inquisitive? To search for the truth – history involves

a close examination of a matter in search for true information.

Critical/analytical thinking and evidence.

History is not storytelling, bed-time stories.

Historiography – the study of the way of writing history.

The theory of how history should be written, and of historical records.

Technical meaning As a field of study, history refers to

1. the study of what actually happened in the past (the truth).WHEN, WHERE, WHO, WHAT

1. interpretation of what happened in the past.HOW, WHY

Subject Matter Covers all aspects of human life or

human activities. From A – Z. E.g: politics, economy, social systems,

foreign policy, religion, individuals.

Time Frame Time frame in studying history – from

the earliest times to recent times. E.g: Pre-history, ancient/classical

history, modern history.

Historical Periodizations

When exactly a period starts and ends – highly controversial.

The commonly used historical periodizations is primarily applied to Western history.

1. Ancient/Classical Period (500BC –500 CE)2. Medieval Period/Dark Ages/Middle Ages (500 CE – 1500 CE)3. Modern Period (1500 CE – present)

BC or BCE – before Christ/Common era. CE or AD – after Christ (the birth of

Christ/Isa) or Anno Domini, a Latin word which means ‘In the Year of the Lord’

Islamic history uses different periodizations.

There was no medieval period in Islamic history.

E.g: Pre-Islamic period, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Ottoman Period.

Fields of History Thematic, period, geographical

perspectives. Thematic - e.g: political history, social

history, economic history, etc. Period/chronology – e.g: ancient history,

modern history, etc. Geographical – e.g: European history,

Malaysian history, etc.

Major Fields of History Political History Diplomatic History Economic History Social History Intellectual History

Political History: governments, kingdoms, political institutions, political practices, public policies, politicians and their policies.

Diplomatic History: relations between and among states, foreign policies, conflicts between states.

Economic History: economic theories, economic development of states or of companies, banking, trade, industries.

Social History: demography, social class and structure, social organization and behavior, living standard (urban and rural areas).

Intellectual History: thoughts and ideas of prominent intellectual figures, philosophical and scientific ideas.

Minor fields of history e.g: cultural history (art, architecture, music, literature).

Pseudo-History Information about the past that appears to be

historic, but is outside the mainstream of history.

Blends together facts and myths or legends. Showed lacked of criticism and reliability. E.g: Stories of Princess Gunung Ledang, of

Hang Tuah, Mahsuri, Trojan War. The past is not really simple, especially the

distant past. The past should not be taken for granted –

tend to be influenced by one’s perceptions, worldviews, or interests.

History of History Was developed as a discipline during

ancient Greek civilization in Greece. Was a minor discipline. Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides. Muhammad Shihab az-Zuhri, Al-Tabari,

Ibn Khaldun. Leopold Von Ranke.

Homer A famous Greek poet. Wrote famous Greek epics/stories, Illiad

and Odyssey. Illiad is not really historical work because

of the emphasis on gods’ intervention during Trojan War (13th and 12th cent. BC).

Controversies whether Homer really existed, and whether he was one person.

To many people the Trojan war was a Greek myth or legend.

Homer

Herodotus A Greek scholar - 5th cent. BC. Known as the ‘father of history’ and

‘world’s first historian’. His interpretations of recorded events of

ancient Greece are acceptable to the standard of modern history.

Moved away from Greek myths (gods’ or divine intervention).

His works (e.g. about Peloponnesian War) stressed on human motivations for their actions.

Herodotus

Thucydides A Greek scholar who wrote on the

Peloponnesian war (Athens versus Sparta). Carefully recorded the war events and

analyzed different reasons behind human actions.

Less interpretative than Herodotus yet more realistic and reliable.

As an eyewitness of the event, interviews of other participants of the events, access to related documents – first hand evidences

Thucydides

Muhammad Shihab az-Zuhri

A great Muslim muhaddith, faqih and historian – 8th cent. AD.

Wrote about the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.– one of the earliest historical document on the prophet.

Though none of his works survived in their original forms, they formed the basis of the works of Ibn Ishaq (8th cent. AD)

Al-Tabari A muhaddith, mufassir and historian –

9th cent. AD. 30 volumes work.

Ibn Khaldun A historian and historiographer – 14th cent.

AD. Known as the ‘father of historiography’. Major work ‘Muqaddimah’ (1377), the preface

of his work on world history ‘Kitab al-Ibar’. In Muqaddimah, he strongly criticized the

mistakes regularly committed by historians and mentioned the difficulties faced by historians in writing historical works.

Highlighted on the methods of historical writing.

Ibn Khaldun

Leopold von Ranke A famous German historian – 19th cent AD. Known as the ‘founder of scientific history’. Emphasized on the importance of primary

sources. History should be studied scientifically and

objectively. The task of historians is to gather all the

evidences and let the reader make his/her own conclusion.

Leopold von Ranke

The Importance of History

To know about past events – what actually happened.

To know about own identity, own culture, own customs.

Provides a fuller picture of matters under study since history also touches on various issues, social, political, cultural, etc.

The Importance of History

Helps to shape the future by providing the basis for informed judgements – provides options, avenues in making decisions so as not to repeat past mistakes.

Moral lessons.

History and other Sciences

Other sciences study certain aspects of human society to understand the contemporary world.

History studies all aspects; politics, social, economy, foreign policy, ideas, etc.

Interconnection between history and other sciences – for everything there is history.

History and other Sciences

E.g: accountants – deal with past financial records to finds ways and means to prevent loss.

Lawyers – refer to past legal records and cases to draw judgements.

Sociologists/psychologists – refer to past records/patient records/case studies to draw conclusions.

Political scientists – refer to past treaties, political events and developments, political issues to predict the future political scenario.

No other discipline is so closely affiliated with so many other fields of knowledge.

Historians work closely with specialists in virtually all fields to explain the past and its relationship to the present.

History and other Sciences

Misconceptions of History

History deals with dead people, ancient kingdoms and societies.

- history also deals with contemporary events and living people.

History is bedtime stories. - history is neither fictions nor

imaginations. History involves critical thinking and evidences.

History is just memorization of names and dates.- history provides better understanding of past events by looking at various issues rather than just names and dates.

History repeats itself.- history does not repeat itself. Yet, patterns of history may be repeated.

Misconceptions of History

Misconceptions of History History is a study of the non-human

past. E.g: dendrochronology – the study of annual growth of tree rings.

History is about pre-literate societies.-little to say about hunting, nomads or pastoral people except for the sake of observation from afar - lack of records/written documents. E.g: cowboys of wild West.

Misconceptions of History

Unless the pre-literate people conquered a civilization of cities and established great kingdoms. E.g: Huns and Tartars.