CSS Forums - History an overview

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman][B]History[/B] is systematically collected [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information"][COLOR=windowtext]information[/COLOR][/URL] about the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past"][COLOR=windowtext]past[/COLOR][/URL]. When used as the name of a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_study"][COLOR=windowtext]field of study[/COLOR][/URL], [I]history[/I] refers to the study and interpretation of the record of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human"][COLOR=windowtext]humans[/COLOR][/URL], [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_history"][COLOR=windowtext]families[/COLOR][/URL], and [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society"][COLOR=windowtext]societies[/COLOR][/URL] as preserved primarily through written sources. History is thus usually distinguished from [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory"][COLOR=windowtext]prehistory[/COLOR][/URL] by the widespread adoption of writing in the area under study. [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge"][COLOR=windowtext]Knowledge[/COLOR][/URL] of history is often said to encompass both knowledge of past events and [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_thinking"][COLOR=windowtext]historical thinking[/COLOR][/URL] skills.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Traditionally, the study of history has been considered a part of the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanities"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]humanities[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]. However, in modern [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academia"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]academia[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], history is increasingly classified as a [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]social science[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], especially when [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]chronology[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] is the focus.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Classifications[/FONT][/B]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Because history is such a broad subject, organization is crucial. While several writers, such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.G._Wells"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]H.G. Wells[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Durant"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Will[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Durant"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Ariel Durant[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman], have written universal histories, most historians specialize.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]There are several different ways of classifying historical information:[/FONT][/SIZE][LIST][*][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Chronological (by date) [/FONT][/SIZE][*][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Geographical (by region) [/FONT][/SIZE][*][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]National (by nation) [/FONT][/SIZE][*][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Ethnic (by ethnic group) [/FONT][/SIZE][*][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Topical (by subject or topic) [/FONT][/SIZE][/LIST][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Some people have criticized historical study, saying that it tends to be too narrowly focused on political events, armed conflicts, and famous people and that deeper and more significant changes in terms of ideas, technology, family life and culture warrant more attention. Recent developments in the practice of history have sought to address this.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Historical records[/FONT][/B]

[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Historians[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] obtain information about the past from various kinds of sources, including written or printed records, coins or other artifacts, buildings and monuments, and interviews ([/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_history"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]oral history[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]). For modern history, primary sources may include photographs, motion pictures, and audio and video recordings. Different approaches may be more common in the study of some periods than in others, and perspectives of history ([/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]historiography[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]) vary widely.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Historical records have been maintained for a variety of reasons, including [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]administrative[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] (such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]censuses[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]tax[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] records, [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]commercial[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] records), [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]political[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] (glorification or criticism of leaders and notable figures), [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]religious[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]artistic[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]sporting[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] (notably the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Olympics[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]), [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]genealogical[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], personal ([/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]letters[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]), and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]entertainment[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]History and prehistory[/FONT][/B]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Traditionally, the study of history was limited to the written and spoken word. However, the rise of academic professionalism and the creation of new scientific fields in the 19th and 20th centuries brought a flood of new information that challenged this notion. Archaeology, anthropology and other social sciences were providing new information and even theories about human history. Some traditional historians questioned whether these new studies were really history, since they were not limited to the written word. A new term, [I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory"][COLOR=windowtext]prehistory[/COLOR][/URL][/I], was coined, to encompass the results of these new fields where they yielded information about times before the existence of written records.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]In the 20th century, the division between history and prehistory became problematic. Criticism arose because of history's implicit exclusion of certain civilizations, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa and pre-Columbian America. Additionally, prehistorians such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vere_Gordon_Childe"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Vere Gordon Childe[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and historical archaeologists like [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Deetz"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]James Deetz[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] began using archaeology to explain important events in areas that were traditionally in the field of history. Historians began looking beyond traditional political history narratives with new approaches such as economic, social and cultural history, all of which relied on various sources of evidence. In recent decades, strict barriers between history and prehistory have thus largely disappeared.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]There are differing views for the definition of when history begins. For many, history has become a general term meaning the study of everything that is known about the human past (but even this barrier is being challenged by new fields such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_History"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Big History[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]). Sources that can give light on this past, such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_history"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]oral history[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], linguistics, and genetics, have all become accepted by mainstream historians. Nevertheless, archaeologists distinguish between history and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]prehistory[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] based on the appearance of written documents within the region in question. This distinction remains critical for archaeologists because the availability of a written record generates very different interpretive problems and potentials.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Etymology[/FONT][/B]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]The term [I]history[/I] entered the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]English language[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] in [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1390"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]1390[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] with the meaning of "relation of incidents, story" via the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_French"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Old French[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [I]historie[/I], from the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Latin[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [I][URL="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/historia#Latin"][COLOR=windowtext]historia[/COLOR][/URL][/I] "narrative, account." This itself was derived from the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Ancient Greek[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=3][FONT=Tahoma]ἱ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στορία[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman], [I]historía[/I], meaning "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative," from the [/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman]verb[/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]ἱ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στορε[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]ῖ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]ν, [I]historeîn[/I], "to inquire."[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]This, in turn, was derived from [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]ἵ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στωρ, [I]hístōr[/I] ("wise man," "witness," or "judge"). Early attestations of [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]ἵ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στωρ are from the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeric_Hymns"][COLOR=windowtext]Homeric Hymns[/COLOR][/URL], [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus"][COLOR=windowtext]Heraclitus[/COLOR][/URL], the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens"][COLOR=windowtext]Athenian[/COLOR][/URL] [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephebe"][COLOR=windowtext]ephebes[/COLOR][/URL]' oath, and from [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeotia"][COLOR=windowtext]Boiotic[/COLOR][/URL] inscriptions (in a legal sense, either "judge" or "witness," or similar). The spirant is problematic, and not present in cognate Greek [I]eídomai[/I] ("to appear").[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Tahoma]ἵ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στωρ is ultimately from the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language"][COLOR=windowtext]Proto-Indo-European[/COLOR][/URL] [I]*wid-tor-[/I], from the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28linguistics%29"][COLOR=windowtext]root[/COLOR][/URL] [I]*weid-[/I] ("to know, to see"), also present in the English word [I]wit[/I], the Latin words [I]vision[/I] and [I]video[/I], the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language"][COLOR=windowtext]Sanskrit[/COLOR][/URL] word [I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veda"][COLOR=windowtext]veda[/COLOR][/URL][/I], and the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_language"][COLOR=windowtext]Slavic[/COLOR][/URL] word [I]videti[/I] and [I]vedati[/I], as well as others. (The asterisk before a word indicates that it is a hypothetical construction, not an attested form.) '[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]ἱ[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]στορία, [I]historía[/I], is an [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionic_Greek"][COLOR=windowtext]Ionic[/COLOR][/URL] derivation of the word, which with Ionic science and philosophy were spread first in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece"][COLOR=windowtext]Classical Greece[/COLOR][/URL] and ultimately over all of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenism"][COLOR=windowtext]Hellenism[/COLOR][/URL].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]In [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Middle English[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], the meaning was "story" in general. The restriction to the meaning "record of past events" in the sense of [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Herodotus[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] arises in the late [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_century"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]15th century[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]. In German, French, and indeed, most languages of the world other than English, this distinction was never made, and the same word is used to mean both "history" and "story". A sense of "systematic account" without a reference to time in particular was current in the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]16th century[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], but is now obsolete. The adjective [I]historical[/I] is attested from [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1561"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]1561[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], and [I]historic[/I] from [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1669"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]1669[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]. [I]Historian[/I] in the sense of a "researcher of history" in a higher sense than that of an [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annals"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]annalist[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] or [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicle"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]chronicler[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], who merely record events as they occur, is attested from [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1531"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]1531[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Historiography[/FONT][/B]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Historiography has a number of related meanings. It can refer to the history of historical study, its [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_method"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]methodology[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and practices ([B]the history of history[/B]). It can also refer to a specific a body of historical writing (for example, "medieval historiography during the 1960s" means "medieval history written during the 1960s"). Historiography can also be taken to mean [B]historical theory[/B] or the study of historical writing and memory. As a [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-level"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]meta-level[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] analysis of descriptions of the past, this third conception can relate to the first two in that the analysis usually focuses on the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]narratives[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretation"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]interpretations[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldview"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]worldview[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], use of [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]evidence[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], or method of presentation of other [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]historians[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][/B]

[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Historical methods[/FONT][/B]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]The [B]historical method[/B] comprises the techniques and guidelines by which [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]historians[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] use [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_source"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]primary sources[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and other evidence to research and then to write [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]history[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Khaldun"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Ibn Khaldun[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] laid down the principles for the historical method in his book [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muqaddimah"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Muqaddimah[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]. Other historians of note who have advanced the historical methods of study include [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_von_Ranke"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Leopold von Ranke[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Bernstein_Namier"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Lewis Bernstein Namier[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Rudolph_Elton"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Geoffrey Rudolph Elton[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.M._Trevelyan"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]G.M. Trevelyan[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.J.P._Taylor"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]A.J.P. Taylor[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]. In the 20th century, historians focused less on epic nationalistic narratives, which often tended to glorify the nation or individuals, to more realistic chronologies. French historians introduced quantitative history, using broad data to track the lives of typical individuals, and were prominent in the establishment of [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_history"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]cultural history[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] (cf. [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_des_mentalit%C3%A9s"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]histoire des mentalités[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]). American historians, motivated by the civil rights era, focused on formerly overlooked ethnic, racial, and socio-economic groups. In recent years, [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]postmodernists[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] have challenged the validity and need for the study of history on the basis that all history is based on the personal interpretation of sources. In his book [I]In Defence of History[/I], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Evans"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Richard J. Evans[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], a professor of modern history at [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Cambridge University[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman], defended the worth of history.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[B][FONT=Times New Roman]Value[/FONT][/B]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Historians often claim that the study of history teaches valuable lessons with regard to past successes and failures of leaders, military strategy and tactics, economic systems, forms of government, and other recurring themes in the human story. From history we may learn factors that result in the rise and fall of [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation-state"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]nation-states[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] or [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]civilizations[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], the strengths and weaknesses of various political, economic, and social systems, and the effects of factors such as [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]trade[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] and [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]technology[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]One of the most famous quotations about history and the value of studying history, by [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_people"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Spanish[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]philosopher[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]George Santayana[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], reads: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_People"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]German[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Philosophy"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Philosopher[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] remarked in his [I]Philosophy of History[/I] that "What history and experience teach us is this: that people and government never have learned anything from history or acted on principles deduced from it." This was famously [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphrase"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]paraphrased[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] by the [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]British[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]statesman[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3], [/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill"][COLOR=windowtext][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Winston Churchill[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman], who said "The one thing we have learned from history is that we don't learn from history."[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]An alternative view is that the forces of history are too great to be changed by human deliberation, or that, even if people do change the course of history, the movers and shakers of this world are usually too self-involved to stop to look at the big picture.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Yet another view is that history does not repeat itself because of the uniqueness of any given historical event. In this view, the specific combination of factors at any moment in time can never be repeated, and so knowledge about events in the past can not be directly and beneficially applied to the present.[/FONT][/SIZE]