Module 1
1. History
● History means the study of the past
● comes from the word- historia(greek)- enquiry of the truth
● It can be done by studying textual evidence or artifacts
● effects what happens in the future and present
● helps us not repeat mistakes and adopt good practices that may have happened
that stopped in the past
● products of past include-
○ political beliefs
○ Architecture
○ educational prcatices
○ Customs
○ Art
○ system of govt.
○ wars, invasions, battles, assaisnations
○ religious practices
○ educational practices
2. Definitions
○ E.H. Carr,
● famous histriography- what is history
● history is the continuous interaction between the historian and his facts
and an unending dialogue between the past and the present
○ Thomas Carlyle,
● defined history as the biography of great men
● followed the great man theory- certain men who are born for greatness
and they become kings and leaders
○ no great man live his life in vain
○ and history becomes their biogrpahy
○ [Link] Wood
● wanted to study history on a scientific basis and saw it as essentially
scientific in nature
● saw historians tasks as those who re enact the thoughts od the past
○ Henry Jhonson
● in its broadest sense anything that ever happened
3. Nature and Scope of History
● nature
○ study of the past
○ dynamic- ever-changing when new things are interpreted and new
evidence comes up
■ Also, various aspects of human life are part of history so it cannot
be static
■ Human life is ever-changing and history can be misinterpreted and
reinterpreted so in no sphere is history a static subject
○ comprehensive in nature and covers all aspects of human life
○ multisided discipline- multiple perspectives to look at history like political,
sociological, anthropological, and archaeological
● scope
○ A society without knowledge of the part is like an individual without a
memory
○ Trying to imagine a society without any knowledge of the past is the best
way to understand how history is important
○ helps one develop a rational outlook on life
■ understanding and comprehending the reasons for how something
has happened the way it has
■ it is as vast and wide as the world as it is the chronological study of
all events that happened in the world
■ it is extremely important to study current affairs as history provides
reasons for why something is the way it is
4. Uses and Abuses of History
● Uses
○helps us understand people and other societies
○makes us more aware about social issues
○increase knowledge of world events
○helps us understand the relationships between law and governance and
history and how it has developed
○ certain laws are derived from customs
○ how laws developed and why
○ help s understand new cultures
● Absuses
a. can be interpreted in many different ways
b. can be misunderstood
c. language interpretation
d. will always have gaps due to a lack of sources
e. condition of sources makes it hard to comprehend their uses
f. not objective even when it comes to archaeology
g. can be used to justify unlawful or unethical practices
h. written in the perspective of winners
i. solutions may not be always correct
j. can be misunderstood
k. can be erased or omitted
l. life of ordinary people ignored
5. Various Interpretations of History
● historiography- study of the historical interpretations and historical texts
● historical interpretation means the explanation, study and description of any past
event so it includes all historical texts
● historians use different methods to come to conclusions about history
● it is the process by which we describe, analyze, evaluate and create an
explanation for past events
● two main models are:
○ Evolution theory- Herbert Spencer
○ origin, development, and activities of state are similar to the natural
organisms
○ and organism is a living thing that has an organized structure
○ popularised in the 19th century
○ evolution according to him is the change of society from an unorganized,
incoherent, homogenous society to a coherent, organized and
heterogenous society through continuous integration and differentiation
○ modernists- assume that urbanisation, secularisation and structural
differentiation are inevitable and irreversible
● Revolution theory- Karl Marx
○ it is used to explain historical changes in terms of economic development
○ many scholars later developed the theory of marx like
■ engels
■ lenin
■ stalin
■ mao
○ he explained history of society as the history of class struggle
○ humanity was divided into have and have nots
○ marx wanted an egalitarian society which was classless
○ Dialectical materialism-
■ it is derived from the writings of karl marx and engels
■ according to it universe contains nothing but matter and matter
cannot be destroyed or created
■ hence there is no creator of the universe
■ matter is in an eternal state of motion and so it the universe
■ this motion transforms matter into one form to another
■ hence motion is the cause of change and progress
○ Historical Marxism
■ the production of goods is apparently the start of human history
■ as the capability to d that is what sets us apart from animals so till
then we were like animals
■ man is the only tool making animal and when he applied energy
and used resources he made tools
■ so production began
■ the basic means of production are MMM
● man
● machine
● material
■ production is the root of progress and development
■ marx divided history into stages
● primitve communism- production had just started
○ and everything was shared
○ everyone was equal
○ no property rights or issues
● slave free man stage
○ means of production was monopolized by a minority
in society- the haves
■ known as masters of free men
○ the vast majority only has their physical energy and
they became the have nots
■ they were slaves
○ the concept of wealth and property emerged at this
stage
● feudal stage
○ the relation between the slaves and masters
aggravated to a crisis
○ masters denied the slaves the right to life
○ class struggle had fully emerged at this stage
○ the masters owned property and the slaves for
protection and means to live had to work for them
● capitalist stage
○ capitalism resulted in the further monopoly of capital
and aggravated the class struggle
○ technology was also monopolized as industrialization
was occuring
○ production increased but only a few reaped the
benefits completely
○ entire surplus was with haves
○ high inequality
○ industrial capitalists(bourgeoisie)
○ and industrial havenots(proletariat)
● socialism
○ private property ceases to exist
○ means of production, control and sitribtuion becomes
a part of the state
○ state monopolies on the production and capital
○ it is the earlier stage of communism
● communism
○ it is also called scientific socialism
○ all property belongs to all of society in common
○ and actual ownership is of the community
6. History and Other Social Sciences
1. History and Political Science
● includes activities associated with governance of a state or area
● Political Science gives meaning to historical facts and uses these for answering
the questions what should be done and what should not be done?
● History without Politics is fruitless.
● Different pol theories of rulers studied as history.
● History laid foundation for political reforms
2. History and Anthropology
● anthropology is branch of social science which deals with study of
humans(primates, homo sapiens, etc)
● was viewed as a part of history and the anthropologist’s role lay in social
reconstruction
● the social anthropology is indebted to history
● Anthropologists select different aspects of human culture derived from a common
matrix
● irreplaceable guide to study of history
● Many of the institutions studied by the anthropologists deal with such a structure,
which is essentially temporal or historical
● Many of the institutions studied by the anthropologists deal with such a structure,
which is essentially temporal or historical
3. History and Geography
● knowledge of changing physical background(rivers, mountains, etc)
● Geography provides a framework for understanding how physical factors have
influenced human activities, including the development of civilizations, the spread
of religions and cultures, and the patterns of trade and migration.
● Understanding the geography of a particular region can help us understand the
historical events that have occurred there.
● historical events have also shaped the geography of the world. For example, the
colonial era in Africa has left a lasting impact on the continent's political
boundaries,
● while the industrial revolution in Europe transformed the landscape through the
construction of railways, factories, and urban centers.