What is history and how do we do it?

History is the study of past events that have contributed to the overall development of the present and then contributes to the future. We do history by looking at past events through articles, books, testimonies, audio, etc., and connect this information to other facts we know.

What have I learned about history and historical thinking this term?

Throughout this term, I learned that history isn’t all about facts and information, but also the interpretation of others in that period. Interpretations add to the facts and information of the period by giving us an idea of how people reacted to change, their reasoning for their actions, and their overall thought process of what was going on at the time. Throughout this term, I learned that you have to think like a historian and use historical thinking to better understand what was going on in the time and to make your own interpretation of the facts and information provided. I also learned that it is not easy to think historically because it takes a lot of interpretation and understanding of the subject to make your ideas coherent and make sense.

November 25th, 2016