Significance
Define significance
The quality off being worthy of attention; importance, consequence
Understanding history is understanding how factors of a time and a place have shaped those who lived within them. What are these factors?
Social Conditions
Economic Conditions
Intellectual Conditions
Cultural Realities
Asking good questions about a source can turn it into evidence - true or false
true
What is periodization
Periodization (i.e. creating historical periods) is a way of marking historical change and continuity.
What is cause and consequences
a cause is a reason for an action or condition; something (or someone) that brings about an effect or a result and a consequence is created by a cause
What is the criteria for Historical Significance
Prominence
Consequences
Subsequent profile
What are Ethical Dimensions?
understanding the differences between our ethical universe and those of previous societies.
We should expect to learn something from the past that helps us to face the ethical issues of today.
What are secondary sources
Secondary sources is second-hand information
How is change and continuity connected
They can happen at the same time, and often hint at historical significance
What is the difference between immediate and underlying causes
Direct Causes: causes of a particular event, action or situation that seem to be direct and/or obvious (i.e. the “final dominoes”)
Underlying: seem to be indirect (starting dominoes)
What is prominence (2 main ideas to think about when thinking about prominence)
Immediate Recognition: Was it noticed at the time as having importance
Duration: How long did it exist or operate
What are the 3 levels of moral responsibility?
Historical Individual
Historical Collective
Current Generations
What are primary sources
Primary are sources that give up secrets of the past (first hand information - journals, letters, records)
At what speed can change occur
fast (turning point in history) and slow
Immediate: consequences that occur immediately and directly as a result of a specific action, event, or situation.
consequences that occur later in time and not so obviously as a result of a specific action, event, or situation.
What is considered when thinking about consequences
Magnitude: How significant was the impact? (Did it result in dramatic or minor changes)
Scope: How widespread was the impact? ( Were many people or geographical areas affected? Did it reach across various aspects of life?)
Lasting Nature: How lasting were the effects (Were the effects short or long lived? Did the event significantly change the direction of following events?)
What is the difference between moral judgement and historical fact
moral judgement in history is the expression of evaluation on morals of men in the past , and a historical fact is a fact about the past
What is value (give some points)
What was going on in history at the time the piece was created and how does this piece accurately reflect it?
How is the source useful in learning about the topic?
Under what circumstances was the piece created and how does the piece reflect those circumstances?
What can we tell about any controversies from the piece?
Does the author present a particular side of a controversy or event?
What can we tell about the author’s perspectives from the piece?
How can change and continuity be good and bad?
Change does not necessarily equal progress nor does continuity necessarily equal stagnation.
or most of us in North America, things have improved, at least materially (i.e. we have newer, nicer, “better” stuff). And yet there are things that have changed for the worse (e.g. pollution, drug addiction, world hunger).
How do you determine the importance of consequence
Depth of impact: How deeply felt or profound was the consequence?
Breadth of impact: How widespread were its impacts?
Duration of impact: How long-lasting was the consequence?
What is Subsequent Profile or the 2 main ideas
the importance the event/person/trend has played in the following popular and professional history.
Remembered? Has it been memorialized in popular culture or professional history?
If a kid ran onto the street, what is the cause and what is the moral responsibility?
Kid running onto street is the cause and the parents may have the responsibility of not taking care of the kid
What are limitations (give some points)
What part of the story can we not tell from the document? How could we verify the content of the piece?
Does this piece accurately reflect anything about the time period?
What does the author leave out and why do they leave it out?
What is purposefully omitted (left out)?
what do identification of historical periods depend on the most
our concern
How do you determine the improtance of caujse
Evidence of a causal connection. Is the cause clearly connected with the event and not just a coincidence? If this factor were removed, how likely is it that the event would still have occurred?
Degree of influence. To what extent did the cause contribute to the direction and intensity of the event or make other causes more or less important?
Absence of alternative explanations. Is there no reason to suspect that some other factor, closely aligned with the suggested causal factor, can explain the outcome?