The study of History is not just about knowing names, dates and places. It is a way of understanding how we have arrived at where we are today and what it takes to change course. We live in a world where every human act, word and gesture has a history behind it. Our languages, religions, and technologies are all rooted in the past. Even our own physical bodies have a history that reaches back millions of years. We are part of a long, unending story that frames the present and the future.
In an attempt to make sense of this story, humans have developed a variety of historical perspectives. These include a belief in linear time (that is, events occur in a straight line) and a progression of human development. Others believe in cyclical or providential history, in which God or some other force guides events toward a desired outcome. The discipline of History as we know it now has emerged through the application of scholarly practices to the research of primary sources, such as documents, letters, diaries and artifacts. Historians are trained to use these sources, analyze their content, and then write about them in a manner that other scholars can understand and agree with.
Historians must also be adept at evaluating the value of a particular source and determining its relevance to the topic they are investigating. They must also consider how the source was created and by whom, and how it may be influenced by the social environment in which it was produced. Finally, they must be able to discern when a source is biased or incomplete.
While some people still think of History as a discipline that is about revealing objective truths, post-modernists have exposed the problems with this view. The truth is that we can never know the absolute truth about what happened in the past. It is impossible to escape the influence of one’s own biases, prejudices and self-righteousness.
For this reason, students should not be afraid to look at their own history and find what is significant to them. A good exercise is to list five events in their lives that have shaped them and think about what makes each event significant for them. This can help students better appreciate that historical significance is not just about a big, major event, but rather something that has a personal impact on the individual and the broader community. This activity aligns with the video clip of Christine Counsell and the definition of historical significance described above. This is the type of activity that should be encouraged in all classes, not just those in the humanities.