THE
HISTORICAL METHOD
(the process by which historians attempt to understand and interpret the past)
Begin with a question
1) Gather evidence – written, oral, material;
2) Authenticate it;
3) Evaluate it;
4) Organize it in a meaningful way:
a. Mythopoetism – the use of stories (myths) to explain the past. Evolves from oral traditions of prehistoric peoples, e.g., Epic of Gilgamesh, Iliad
b. Determinism – the belief that some force external to humans controls the course of people’s lives
i. Theological (unfolding of Divine Providence), e.g., Ancient Hebrews, Early Christians, Puritans
ii. Environmental (climate or terrain determined culture and character of individual peoples), e.g., Ancient Egypt, U.S. Republic
c. Individualism: “Great Man” Theory – the belief that individuals and individual actions are important to historical developments
i. Sidney Hook, The Hero in History
1. Eventful man – happens to be at the right place at the right time
2. Event-making man – able to control developments by force of personality
ii. Theories based on human conflict
1. Hegel – ideas determine the nature of society; historical change occurs as a consequence of conflict between opposing ideas (thesis v. antithesis)
2. Marx – economics determine the nature of society; historical change occurs through class struggle between exploiters and exploited
3. Freud – conflict is internal; individuals torn between conflicting demands of id and superego – “The price of civilization is neurosis.”
N.B. The
Gregorian calendar
currently in use in the
The Gregorian
calendar replaced the Julian calendar in 1582 in most of the Roman Catholic
world, in 1752 in
Areas
of the world that have other religious traditions use other dating systems.
Throughout
much of ancient and medieval history dates reflected important political developments
or the reigns of rulers. The Roman system, for instance, dated events from
the founding of