Method to Study History
This class’s approach to history is that the studying history is not about memorizing facts; it is about developing thinking skills and perspectives on the world. This class will be about more than learning the history in the curriculum. It will also focus on improving your complex thinking skills. Specifically, in this class you will develop your abilities to analyze statements about historic events, use reasoning skills to develop a critique of the statement, and articulating that critique in writing.
In order to develop your perspective on the world, this class will approach history by seeking to develop answers to several essential questions that transcend historic events and societies. When considering these questions, recognize that they are about developing thinking and that as you learn more about history your answers will become more complex. Do not expect to come to a single definitive answer to any of these questions. The essential questions the class will be confronting, organized by theme, will be:
PEGS (Political, Economic, Geographic, Social)
· Political - How are governments structured & how do they reflect & influence their societies?
· Economic - By what systems or processes are goods & services produced & distributed?
· Geographic - How do climate, physical environment, resources & population influence societies?
· Social - How do social class, gender, religion, & ethnicity shape social organization?
Change & Tradition - What causes societies to change? How do societies respond to change?
Diversity & Group Identity - What are the key factors in identity & how do groups manage diversity?
Interaction with Others - What are sources of conflict and cooperation?
History & Myth - How do societies make meaning of the past?
Finally, the class will examine how conflicts over values have been at the core of historic events. People have ideas and beliefs about what they want in their societies and the world, and it is the differences over these that often spark conflict. In order to develop perspective on the importance of values to history, the class will focus on how a group of contrasting values have been a driving force in history and continue to spark conflicts in the world. The diagram to the right states these contrasting values. One narrative of history that will be developed in this class is the formation and struggle of the “liberal value system” - which are the values on the left side of the diagram. The emergence and resilience of societies with this value system will be a theme in this class. | Contrasting Values Individualism «---» Collectivism Equality «---» Hierarchy Liberty «---» Order Democracy «---» Authoritarianism Capitalism «---» Centralization |
