Seven Recs and a Request

[annafugazzi]

So, before anything else, here's a note from one of my kids:

Hi, my name is J. I am doing a project about the History of History and I have some questions for you:

1. What comes to mind when I ask you what are the different kinds of history?
   
2. What are some huge historical events that changed how we think of history? Or that changed what we think of

Comments

[laurellias]

1. Only addition I want to make is propagandistic history.

2. One of the key things in the last fifty years is that collective memory (mentioned above) is becoming accepted as history. The issue with the division between the two is that if collective memory/oral traditions is not accepted, we leave out all the societies that never developed writing systems (essentially saying most of Africa, North America, Australia etc. etc. have no history). I believe this change in perspective came with the Civil Rights movement; it is still hotly debated in academia.

Expansion on some of the key events already mentioned:

Marxism-Socialism in the 60s/70s meant that there was a strong focus on social history as opposed to history of the aristocracy (which is what most written history is about). Again, this gave more creditability to using oral traditions.

After the fall of Communism, the history of individual accomplishments has come in vogue again.

3. I have a very flexible definition of history. Three possibilities (with the first one probably most acceptable to teachers).
a. Agricultural Revolution (corresponds to when "civilization" and writing began) - roughly 10 000 years ago; problem is that you're basically only studying Mesopotamia and leaving everyone else out.
b. advent of humanity - a few hundred thousand to 4 million years ago if you include Homo Erectus; problem is that you're really looking at archaeology at this point since there are no written histories or oral traditions. Uses the definition of history as the study of humanity's past.
c. the most flexible way of looking at history is to include everything from the past. While this is generally not accepted by modern academics, I don't think historians in the past had problems with this since a lot of histories began with the creation of the world. This allows for the terms History of the World and History of the Universe. The only problem in an academic sense is that scientists are the ones with the answers rather than traditional historians. However, once you leave the university setting, I like this definition the most.

[annafugazzi]

Thank you thank you thank you! This was great. My little guy very much appreciates :) :)

Propagandistic history. Had not heard of that one, and I was a history major too! Thanks :D :D