Transcript SO 101 Introducion

SO 101
World History
Introduction
History:
What it is and Why it is important
(Yes, this will be on the test!)
History is the study of all recorded
human events.
 Mankind’s origins can be traced back to at least 2 million
years.
 Modern man, that is like you and me, has been present for
about sixty thousand years.
 But recorded history has been maintained for less than ten
thousand years.
 All of recorded history is divided into 5 eras, however, in this
year, we are only concerned with the most recent era, the
one in which we currently live, THE MODERN ERA.
Why do we study history?
There are a number of good reasons:
 History informs us of:
 Who we are.
 Where we came from and how we got here.
 Why the world we live in is the way it is now.
 Where we might be headed and how to make it happen or
prevent it from occurring.
Why do we study history?
 History is inescapable. It is all around us. It involves all of us
from the moment of birth to the hour of our death.
 This involvement goes far beyond the fact that we live in a world
of great promise and, sometimes, great peril—remember 9/11?
It is both great events and everyday occurrences.
 It also means that history involves us in other ways:
 The books we read.
 The movies we watch.
 The T.V. programs we view.
 Many of the works of art, music and theatre that we enjoy are
all inspired by history.
Why do we study history?
 If we allow it to, the study of history will:
 Allow us to be more informed, intelligent and better rounded
individuals.
 Be better citizens of the community, the nation and the world.
 Be constantly, amazed, amused and entertained by the unfolding
pageant of history. It really is fun, if you give it half a chance.
 Also: you won’t get out of the freshman year without it! So,
stay awake, take plenty of notes and ask plenty of questions and
enjoy your year of history.
SO 101
World History
Sources of History
Tasks of Historians
(Also on the Test)
Sources
 How do we know what we know about history?
Historians, scholars who study history (including you, at the
moment), rely on an number of different sources to pursue their
work:
 Physical remains from earlier periods of history. These remains
can be of humans (skeletons) or of objects made by humans.
 Objects made by humans are classified as Artifacts.
 The sciences of Paleontology and Archeology deal with the study
of these two sorts of physical objects.
 Historians rely on both these sciences for information about earlier
periods of history. Historians study the actual objects, photos of the
same and written descriptions of them in forming their
understanding of the past.
Oral Tradition
 Since history is the study of recorded human events, the
records kept by man are of the greatest importance to
historians and to history.
 The oldest sort of records kept by man were “word of mouth
accounts” passed from one group to another and from one
generation to the next.
 This is called “oral tradition.” It still goes on to day, most
frequently in families where stories of how mom met dad or
how great-grandfather rode with Teddy Roosevelt and the
Rough Riders or with PanchoVilla are passed on as a part of
the family history.
Oral Tradition
 The biggest problem with oral tradition is accuracy. As the
story is repeated, over time and space, its details tend to
change. Some details are forgotten, others are invented. In
the end the story has little, if any relation to the actual event,
if there was an actual event. Fact gives way to legend.
 This is why the “history” of most of human existence is so
spotty. Accurate records were not kept.
 It was less than 10,000 years ago that man devised systems of
writing and with it written history. Historians rely most
heavily on written records.
Written Sources:
Primary
 There are two basic types of written sources available to
historians, primary and secondary.
 A primary source is a first hand record or account of an
historic event.
 Documents: Gettysburg Address, Declaration of War, etc.
 Diaries or letters: Diary of Louis XVI, letters home from a war.
 Reports written at the time by participants and witnesses.
 In addition to written statements, photographs, movie film
and video recordings, radio broadcasts and electronic
communications like emails are regarded as primary sources.
Written Sources
Secondary
 A secondary source is one written about the event after it




has taken place.
It usually draws on primary sources as the basis for what is
recorded in it.
It may be written years, decades or centuries after the actual
historical event it describes.
It often contains analysis and interpretation of the event
derived from the study of primary sources and the
subsequent events of history.
It will reflect the opinions and outlook of the author or
authors.
Secondary Sources
 Examples of secondary sources include:
 Textbooks: ModernWorld History: Patterns of Interaction.
 Histories: Poseidon’s Inferno:The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal.
 Biographies: John Adams.
 Documentaries: Victory at Sea.
 Dramatizations of histories and biographies and novels written
in an historical setting may also serve as secondary sources:
 Band of Brothers.
 Gone with the Wind.
 All Quiet on the Western Front.
 Downton Abbey.
Roles of the Historian
 Historians perform several important functions:
 They help maintain the record of historical events.
 They analyze and interpret the causes and consequences of
events.
 They attempt to put historical events into the context of other
events that preceded or followed the event in question.
 Like scientists they seek to uncover the “facts” surrounding an
event. But, unlike scientists, they often arrive at conclusions
that reflect their own unique interpretations of how those facts
shaped the history of the event. “History is an Art not a
Science.”
 In History, there is always room for one more interpretation.
Historical Dates
 Every civilization has developed a unique system of dating




important events.
In China the reign of the first Emperor over 5, 000 years ago
begins the Chinese Calendar.
The Greeks used the First Olympics as the beginning of their
Calendar. They measured time by Olympiads
For the Romans it was the foundation of the city itself, the
Year 1 Ab Urbem Condere.
Western Civilization adopted a Calendar revolving around
the birth of Christ, a key event in salvific history.
Historical Dates
 All events prior to Christ’s birth are recorded as B.C.
(Before Christ.)
 All events from the birth of Christ to the Present are
recorded as A.D. ( Anno Domini=In the Year of Our Lord.)
 The first century A.D. runs from 1-100 A.D, the second
century from 101-200 A.D. and so on to the 21st century,
2001-2100 A.D. Conversely, the 1st century B.C. runs from
100 B.C. to 1 B.C.
 Since the exact date of Christ’s birth is actually not known
the year 1 probably matches what we describe as 3 B.C.!
Historical Dates
 In the 20th century, (1901-2000), the emergence of a global
civilization led most countries to retain the western system
of dating events but changing the terms to describe a system
where a majority of the worlds population are non-Christian.
 A.D. becomes C.E. (Common Era) a time common to
Christians and non-Christians.
 B.C. becomes B.C.E. ( Before the Common Era), a time
when there were no Christians at all.
 In this class, we will continue to use A.D. and B.C.
Calendars
 In the west, the Roman civilization by its pre-eminence
ordained the use of a 12 month calendar of 365 days. Since
the Dictator Julius Caesar made the call, it became known as
the Julian Calendar and it was used wherever the Romans
ruled.
 However, over 16 centuries the calendar seemed to fall out of
sync with the actual seasons, because the earth’s revolution
around the sun takes about 365 ¼ days.
 In the 16th Century A.D., the reigning Pope Gregory
proclaimed a revised calendar which included a Leap Year day
once in 4 years, he also removed over a week from one year
to rebalance the calendar, modestly called the Gregorian
Calendar.
Calendars
 Since this was occurring during the Protestant Reformation,
Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian Calendar while
Protestant countries and Orthodox countries kept the Julian
system.
 The disparity between season and calendar continued to
expand. By the 18th century most western nations adopted
the Gregorian standard, 2 weeks disappeared overnight.
 Russia remained tied to the Julian System until after the
Russian Revolution of 1917. Atheist communists adopted a
Catholic inspired calendar.
 Today the Gregorian Calendar is used everywhere for
purpose of Commerce, Communication and Government.