Through History’s Lens

Putting It Together

Studying history is an exercise in related acts. Knowing facts and dates is important, but the most comprehensive study of history comes when the student is able to view it as a continuum, a web of interconnected events that look different at every angle.

Putting chronological information into a time line helps visualize events. The era of the Crusades was a complex period of religious, political, and military conflicts. Organizing such a time period into a format that allows for more interaction allows students at any level to take a look at an isolated time period in a new way.

• Who created this material? (academic historian, field historian, government, student)
• What was happening in the world when this material was created? (war, economic decline, economic growth)
• What might cause the personal bias of an author? (religion, cultural background, prior biased education, employment)

Interpreting even a simple graph in the context of history, geography, civics, or economics requires that we look at the bias of its creator. A company wishing to ease the fears of its investors might provide graphs showing long-term profit, leaving out an early period of decline. In the same way, a timeline or graph of a historical event can be presented and read in different ways.

The study of history is inexorably linked to the present, and when studying and reading the information written by previous historians, you must realize that elements of personal bias and philosophical assumptions will always come into play. These biases and assumptions have been a factor in every history book you have ever read, and they came into play within this text. Reading history in the context of history becomes quickly complex; that’s why it’s important to know your sources. It’s important to be able to identify sources as primary or secondary sources.

While primary sources lack the bias of interpretation, secondary sources are essential. Interpreting secondary sources requires an analytical mind, a nose for bias, and a good glossary. It is essential to know history, geography, civics, and economics terms.

Studying causes and effects of major world events helps students understand history as a continuum. Another way to put the concept of continuous history into practice is to compare historical events, of any time, to current events around the world. Realizing the timeless similarities in wartime nations, for example, helps all students understand the importance of what they study.

Tying it all together requires reaching beyond cultural and economic borders. The end of World War II, for example, changed the world in ways that stretched beyond American economic prosperity.

• Globalization — A connected world. Cultures and nations and the events within them grow less isolated as time progresses.
• “History Repeats Itself”— A key concept that applies to a number of situations. Gives students the chance to explore a phrase they may already know.
• Rulers and Underdogs — Two groups that can be applied to any culture. Particularly useful for revolutions, world wars, ancient civilizations, and explaining how shifts of power are a driving force through history.

Review

• Make history more manageable by employing visual devices, such as timelines, graphs, maps, and charts.
• Know how to use and interpret primary and secondary sources.
• Look for multiple causes and effects surrounding historical events.
• Make connections between past and current events—help students relate the events of their lives to events in the past.
• Use overarching ideas and key principles to tie major events together—for example, intense nationalism as a major cause for political and military conflict.