Here are some other definitions of the nature of history:

 History is interpretative; it invites students to debate multiple perspectives, offer their

opinions and educated interpretations, and challenge existing beliefs.

 History is revisionist in scope; it is an on-going conversation and a constant process

of re-examining the past and deconstructing myths based upon new discoveries,
What is history? How is it different from other disciplines or forms of writing? How is
evidence, and perspectives.
it the same? Take a look at the following definitions of history. Which ones do you agree with?
Underline the best definition of history.
 History is constant process of questioning; it requires questioning the texts,
examining them with a critical eye, and asking new questions.
History is. . .

 History is integrative of many disciplines; it especially incorporates geography,

o A recitation of unrelated facts that do not contribute to a larger story.
literature, art, sociology, economics, and political science.
o An agreed upon set of facts or a forever-fixed story that is never subjected to
 History is inclusive; it ensures that the experiences of all classes, regions, and ethno-
changes and updates.
racial groups, as well as both genders, are included.
o A simple acceptance of what is written about a historical topic, event, or person.
 History is controversial; it presents all the facts, warts and all, and examines both the
negative and positive actions of people, encourages us to think about social justice
o A simple historical chronology of famous dates, incidents, and people.
and social change, and promotes real Understanding of historical issues and events.
o A strict reliance solely on the past with no examination of how the past has
 History incorporates historiography; it includes many different interpretations of
influenced the present or how it may influence the future.
historical events written by many different historians
o About one absolute truth, one particular perspective, or one set of facts and figures.
 History is relevant; it uses past experiences to explain what is important in our lives
today.
o A chronological storytelling in its finest form; it sequentially weaves together many
related historical and contemporary events and ideas that are linked to a larger story.
 History is all that has happened to men; all of man's experiences, all of man's actions,
political strivings, economic organizations, social groupings; all of man's ideas, good
Go for the last one: History is a chronological storytelling in its finest form; it sequentially
and bad, logical and illogical. In short, it is everything in man's past. (Shaffer, 1960)
weaves together many related historical and contemporary events and ideas that are linked
to a larger story.

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not very appealing aspect of the discipline. History should be studied because it is essential
to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty. There are many ways to discuss
the real functions of the subject—as there are many different historical talents and many
By Peter N. Stearns different paths to historical meaning. All definitions of history's utility, however, rely on two
fundamental facts.
People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History, however,
is the study of the past. Given all the demands that press in from living in the present and
anticipating what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? Given all the desirable and
available branches of knowledge, why insist—as most American educational programs do— In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and
on a good bit of history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they societies behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult, though a
are required to? number of disciplines make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current data would
needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace—unless
Any subject of study needs justification: its advocates must explain why it is worth we use historical materials? How can we understand genius, the influence of technological
attention. Most widely accepted subjects— and history is certainly one of them—attract some innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we don't use what we know
people who simply like the information and modes of thought involved. But audiences less about experiences in the past? Some social attempt to formulate laws or theories about
spontaneously draw to the subject and become more doubtful about why to bother need to human behavior. But even these recourse depend on historical information, except for in
know what the purpose is. limited, often artificial cases in which experiments can be devised to determine how people
act. Major aspects of a society's operation, like mass elections, missionary activities, or
Historians do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest military alliances, cannot be set up as precise experiments. Consequently, history must serve,
criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve useful purposes, the however imperfectly, as our laboratory, and data from the past must serve as our most vital
functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our complex species behaves as it does
History is in fact very useful, but the products of historical study are less tangible, sometimes in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers
less immediate, than those that stem from some other disciplines. the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies
function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their
In the past history has been justified for reasons we would no longer accept. For own lives. History Helps Us Understand Change and How the Society We Live in Came to Be
instance, one of the reasons history holds its place in current education is because earlier The second reason history is inescapable as a subject of serious study follows closely on the
leaders believed that a knowledge of certain historical facts helped distinguish the educated first. The past causes the present, and so the future. Any time we try to know why something
from the uneducated; the person who could reel off the date of the Norman conquest of happened — whether a shift in political party dominance in the American Congress, a major
England (1066) or the name of the person who came up with the theory of evolution at about change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the Balkans or the Middle East—we have to
the same time that Darwin did (Wallace) was deemed superior—a better candidate for law look for factors that took shape earlier. Sometimes fairly recent history will suffice to explain
school or even a business promotion. Knowledge of historical facts has been used as a a major development, but often we need to look further back to identify the causes of change.
screening device in many societies, from China to the United States, and the habit is still with Only through studying history can we grasp how things change; only through history can we
us to some extent. Unfortunately, this use can encourage mindless memorization—a real but

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begin to comprehend the factors that cause change; and only through history can we
understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change.
History also helps provide identity, and this is unquestionably one of the reasons all modern
nations encourage its teaching in some form. Historical data include evidence about how
families, groups, institutions and whole countries were formed and about how they have
evolved while retaining cohesion. For many Americans, studying the history of one's own
These two fundamental reasons for studying history underlie more specific and quite
family is the most obvious use of history, for it provides facts about genealogy and (at a
diverse uses of history in our own lives. History well told is beautiful. Many of the historians
slightly more complex level) a basis for understanding how the family has interacted with
who most appeal to the general reading public know the importance of dramatic and skillful
larger historical change. Family identity is established and confirmed. Many institutions,
writing—as well as of accuracy. Biography and military history appeal in part because of the
businesses, communities, and social units, such as ethnic groups in the United States, use
tales they contain. History as art and entertainment serves a real purpose, on aesthetic
history for similar identity purposes. Merely defining the group in the present pales against
grounds but also on the level of human understanding. Stories well done are stories that
the possibility of forming an identity based on a rich past. And of course nations use identity
reveal how people and societies have actually functioned, and they prompt thoughts about
history as well — and sometimes abuse it. Histories that tell the national story, emphasizing
the human experience in other times and places. The same aesthetic and humanistic goals
distinctive features of the national experience, are meant to drive home an understanding of
inspire people to immerse themselves in efforts to reconstruct quite remote pasts, far
national values and a commitment to national loyalty.
removed from immediate, present day utility. Exploring what historians sometimes call the
"pastness of the past''—the ways people in distant ages constructed their lives—involves a
sense of beauty and excitement, and ultimately another perspective on human life and
society.
A study of history is essential for good citizenship. This is the most common
justification for the place of history in school curricula. Sometimes advocates of citizenship
history hope merely to promote national identity and loyalty through a history spiced by vivid
stories and lessons in individual success and morality. But the importance of history for
History also provides a terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of
citizenship goes beyond this narrow goal and can even challenge it at some points.
individuals and situations in the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral
sense, to hone it against some of the real complexities individuals have faced in difficult
History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns, in one sense, to the
settings. People who have weathered adversity not just in some work of fiction, but in real,
essential uses of the study of the past. In addition, it provides data about the emergence of
historical circumstances can provide inspiration. "History teaching by example/' is one
national institutions, problems, and values—it's the only significant storehouse of such data
phrase that describes this use of a study of the past—a study not only of certifiable heroes,
available. It offers evidence also about how nations have interacted with other societies,
the great men and women of history who successfully worked through moral dilemmas, but
providing international and comparative perspectives essential for responsible citizenship.
also of more ordinary people who provide lessons in courage, diligence, or constructive
Furthermore, studying history helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective
protest.
changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging or may emerge and what causes are
involved. More important, studying history encourages habits of mind that are vital for

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responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a Experience in Assessing Past Examples of Change. Experience in assessing past
petitioner, or a simple observer. examples of change is vital to understanding change in society today—it's an
essential skill in what we are regularly told is our “ever-changing world.” Analysis of
change means developing some capacity for determining the magnitude and
significance of change, for some changes are more fundamental than others.
Comparing particular changes to relevant examples from the past helps students of
What does a well-trained student of history, schooled to work on past materials and
history develop capacity. The ability to identify the continuities that always
on case studies in social change, learn how to do? The list is manageable, but it contains
accompany even dramatic changes also comes from studying history, as does the
several overlapping categories.
skill to determine probable causes of change. Learning history helps one figure out,
for example, if main factor—such as a technological innovation or some deliberate
The Ability to Assess Evidence. The study of history builds experience in dealing with
new policy— accounts for a change or whether, as is more commonly the case, a
and assessing various kinds of evidence—the sorts of evidence historians use in
number of factors combine to generate the actual change that occurs.
shaping the most accurate pictures of the past that they can. Learning how to
interpret the statements of past political leaders one kind of evidence—helps form
Historical study, in sum, is crucial to the promotion of that elusive creature, the well-
the capacity to distinguish the objective and the self-serving statement among
informed citizen. It provides basic factual information about the background of our
present-day political leaders. Learning how to combine different public statements,
political institutions and about the values and problems that affect our social well-
private records, numerical data, visual materials–develop the ability to make
being. It also contributes to our capacity to use evidence, assess interpretations, and
coherent arguments based on a variety of data. This skill can applied to information
analyze change and continuities. No one can ever quite deal with the present as
encountered in everyday life.
historian deals with the past—we lack the perspective for this feat; but we can move
in this direction by applying historical habits of mind, and we will function as citizens
The Ability to Assess Conflicting Interpretations. Learning history means gaining
in the process.
some skill in sorting through diverse, often conflicting interpretations. Understanding
how societies work–the central goal of historical study—is inherently imprecise, and
the same certainly holds true for understanding what is going on in the present day.
Learning how to identify and evaluate conflicting interpretations is an essential
citizenship skill for which history, as an often-contested laboratory of human History is useful for work. Its study helps create good businesspeople, professionals
experience, provides training. This is one area in which the full benefits of historical and political leaders. The number of explicit professional jobs for historians is considerable,
study sometimes clash with the narrower uses of the past to construct identity. but most people who study history do not become professional historians. Professional
Experience in examining past situations provides a constructively critical sense that historians teach at various levels, work in museums and media centers, do historical research
can be applied to partisan claims about the glories of national or group identity. The for businesses or public agencies, or participate in the growing number of historical
study of history in no sense undermines loyalty or commitment, but it does teach the consultancies. These categories are important— indeed vital— to keep the basic enterprise of
need for assessing arguments, and it provides opportunities to engage in debate and history going, but most people who study history use their training for broader professional
achieve perspective. purposes. Students of history find their experience directly relevant to jobs in a variety of
careers as well as to further study in fields like law and public administration. Employers

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often deliberately seek students with the kinds of capacities historical study promotes. The
reasons are not hard to identify: students of history acquire, by studying different phases of
the past and different societies in the past, a broad perspective that gives them the range and
flexibility required in many work situations. They develop research skills, the ability to find and
evaluate sources of information, and the means to identify and evaluate diverse
interpretations. Work in history also improves basic writing and speaking skills and is directly
relevant to many of the analytical requirements in the public and private sectors, where the
The past is not the same as history. The past involves everything that ever happened
capacity to identify, assess, and explain trends is essential.
since the dawn of time—every thought and action of man or woman on earth, every leaf that
fell in the tree, and every chemical change in this universe and others.
Historical study is unquestionably an asset for a variety of work and professional
situations, even though it does not, for most students, lead as directly to a particular job slot,
History, by contrast, is a process of interpreting evidence or records from the past in
as do some technical fields. But history particularly prepares students for the long haul in
a thoughtful and informed way. History is the narrative that gives meaning, sense, and
their careers, its qualities helping adaptation and advancement beyond entry-level
explanation to the past in the present.
employment. There is no denying that in our society many people who are drawn to historical
study worry about relevance. In our changing economy, there is concern about job futures in
most fields. Historical training is not, however, an indulgence; it applies directly to many
careers and can clearly help us in our working lives.
History and prehistory show differences between them in their nature and substance.
Why study history? The answer is because we virtually must, to gain access to the The main difference between history and prehistory is the existence of records. History is the
laboratory of human experience. When we study it reasonably well, and so acquire some record of significant events that happened in the past whereas prehistory is the period of
usable habits of mind, as well as some basic data about the forces that affect our own lives, human activity prior to the invention of writing systems.
we emerge with relevant skills and an enhanced capacity for informed citizenship, critical
thinking, and simple awareness. The uses of history are varied. Studying history can help us
develop some literally "salable" skills, but its study must not be pinned down to the narrowest
utilitarianism. Some history—that confined to personal recollections about changes and Histories from above are about the big books, the big ideas, the big institutions, the
continuities in the immediate environment— is essential to function beyond childhood. Some big thinkers, the massive events and the golden ages... More often than not history from
history depends on personal taste, where one finds beauty, the joy of discovery, or intellectual above results in narratives that serve the self-interests both of the historians and the
challenge. Between the inescapable minimum and the pleasure of deep commitment comes powerful people who benefit from intellectual defenses of the status quo. (Comegan, 2017)
the history that, through cumulative skill in interpreting the unfolding human record, provides
a real grasp of how the world works. (Stearns, P.N. "Why Study History?" 1998) A people's history, or history from below is a type of historical narrative which
attempts to account for historical events from the perspective of common people rather than
leaders. There is an emphasis on disenfranchised, the oppressed, the poor, the
nonconformists, and otherwise marginal groups. (Wikipedia, "People's History," 2018)

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History from below seeks to take as its subjects ordinary people, and concentrate on
their experiences and perspectives, contrasting itself with the stereotype of traditional
political history and its focus on the actions of 'great men'. ("History from below," 2008)

In a nutshell, history is a narrative account used to examine and analyze past events.

Historicity is the authentication of characters in history, as opposed to legend or

myth.

Historiography is the writing of history, and the understanding of how the

interpretations of historians change over time. But what is the difference among history,
historicity, and historiography? Are they compatible enterprises? And if compatible, how
dependent are they among each other?

The word "history" (from Greek historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by
investigation") is etymologically unrelated to the possessive pronoun his. Traditionally,
history has been defined as "the study of the past as it is described in written documents."
Feminists argued that it has been men ("his," "story") who usually have been the ones to
record the written past. (Wikipedia, "History," 2018)

Herstory, by contrast, is history written from a feminist perspective, emphasizing the

role of women, or told from a woman's point of view. It is a neologism coined as a pun with
the word "history," as part of a feminist critique of conventional historiography, which in their
opinion is traditionally written as '"his story," i.e., from the masculine point of view. What
about women? Should an event in the past that was written down be called "herstory?"
(Wikipedia, "History," 2018)

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