Historians

• What do they do?• Reconstruct (Remake)

the past

• Why study history?• History serves as a bank

of examples for contemplating present problems.

• What tools do they use?

Think like a Historian, Look for:

• bias• evidence• argument• sources• Context of the period the document was

written

“Just the Facts”?• Historical facts by themselves are

meaningless.

• Historical facts are only important when we give them meaning.

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TOK syllabus & History:4 strands

I. Nature of History II.Methods of Gaining KnowledgeIII.History and Knowledge ClaimsIV. History and Values

Nature of History• What is the significance of Carlyle’s view

that “The history of the world is but the biography of great men?’”

• “Great man,” Socrates, Napoleon, Bismarck, Lincoln, Stalin, Mao, Hitler

• Time magazine’s recent response in their “Person of the Year” issue

Nature of History

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

George Orwell

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Methods of Gaining Knowledge

How far can we speak with certainty about anything in the past?”

Methods of Gaining Knowledge

“How does the context within which historians live affect historical knowledge?”

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History and Values Are the lives of some groups of people more

historically significant than the lives of others?

History and Values

Should value-laden terms, such as hero or freedom, always be avoided?

History and Values

Can history be used for propaganda? If so, how?”

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History and Knowledge Claims

Can history provide a guide to understanding

current affairs?