History Extension Complete Notes - What is History & JFK

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1 HSC History Extension Year 2017 Mark Pages 14 Published Dec 29, 2017 History Extension Complete Notes - What is History & JFK By Darcy (97.7 ATAR)

2 Powered by TCPDF ( Your notes author, Darcy. Darcy achieved an ATAR of 97.7 in 2017 while attending St Vincent's College Currently studying Bachelor of Arts and Laws at The University of New South Wales Achievements: 2017 HSC All-Round Achiever Band 6 in Ancient History Band 6 in English Extension 1 Band 6 in History Extension Band 6 in Legal Studies Band 6 in Modern History Band 6 in Studies of Religion II Received a mark of 100% in the Modern History CSSA Trial 2017 Darcy says: I have a passion for the humanities, especially history, so it was no surprise that my favourite subjects at school were Modern, Ancient and Extension History. In my spare time I like playing netball, binge-watching Netflix, and relaxing with my friends. Currently I am enrolled in an Arts/Law degree at UNSW to begin in 2018; majoring in history, and minoring in International Relations.

3 Supplementary notes for Section 1 - Historical Revisionism - The reinterpretation of historical record - E.g. Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov photography - Purposes of revisionism e.g. political, selling something etc. - Battle of Agincourt; English v French Heroic picture of the English victory of the battle, the defeat of the French despite overwhelming odds. The victory is part of the English psyche. However, historians have reassessed the history, revised it more accurately to reflect the truth, and found that the numbers were likely to have been equal. Revisionism could have been used to show the glory of the country. - Purpose can define the writing of history Revisionism: - History as a tool - Rewriting version of events to suit a purpose, e.g.: o Political or Ideological o Factual correction o Censorship political revisionism o Public Opinion impact of changing values and attitudes Lithuania = revision by the government of Lithuanian killing of Jews. Jewish professors who speak out are fired. History Wars = debate about the representation of Aboriginal genocide. What is History? HERODOTUS Herodotus, the 5 th century BC Greek historian, coined the father of history by Cicero, wrote his histories which detail the politics and wars of his country. 1. His work was atheno-centric (perspective); focusing on the aristocrats and great families of those who had been prominent figures in the military during the Greco- Persian wars. 2. His motivations were wonder at the power of Greek unity but with Athens at the forefront, and his pride in the efforts of Athens is central Greek pride. Main aim was to record human achievements for posterity; that the public of future generations would have an understanding of their past and their ancestors, for their deeds may not be lost without glory. PUBLIC HISTORY.

4 3. Departure from the traditional action and reaction approach of the epic poets he provides an abstract cause for complex historical development the Gods do not directly cause events, and instead the expansion of the Persian empire (imperialism) is the main cause. First historian to do detailed research critical attitude to sources; interviewed hundreds, happily sought more than one version of events and invites the reader to make up their own mind. Departure from Homer: Herodotus was a researcher and empiricist. Much of what he wrote was the result of his own travels, observations and inquiries: THIS WAS NEW Homer hadn t worried about sources or bias. 4. He was undoubtedly influenced by context: Greek notions of hubris (arrogance to belief that you are not subject to the will of the gods) resulting in divine punishment evident in the story of the fate of the Persian King Cambyses, presented as punishment for his hubris. It would be another generation before a Greek historian completely removes divine control of the affairs of men. 5. Father of lies?: Fantastic creatures such as flying snakes, sheep with giant tails, giant ants etc. are mentioned in the Histories but clearly do not actually exist. THUCYDIDES Thucydides, the 5 th century BC historian and Athenian general, wrote his History of the Peloponnesian Wars as a military history; aiming to detail recent events which he saw as highly significant. 1. Context: Unsuccessful General in the Peloponnesian War, banished from Athens to Thrace for his failure where he wrote spent the rest of the war collecting evidence and interviewing Spartan participants. 2. Aim: His is a didactic history he wrote for posterity. Unlike Herodotus, he gathers all available evidence, e.g. from listening to speeches, from inscriptions and archaeology, decides what he thinks is the Truth, then shapes his interpretation to fit the truth, as an aid to the interpretation of the future. Aware of bias and deficient evidence, checked the reports of witnesses to events Subjected all evidence to critical scrutiny in order to distinguish truth from falsehood and produce a valid and reliable historical account 3. Unbiased?: Wrote about both sides dispassionately, recognizing the respective virtues and weaknesses of Athens and Sparta. Burrow believes that Thucydides was "immune" to the entrenched bias or agenda of most historians 4. Cyclical history: Doesn t believe in linear progressivism, but rather that human nature is the basic cause of historical events, and human nature is unchanging, and events similar to those of the past will certainly recur in the future.

5 Powered by TCPDF ( 5. Fabrications: e.g. Pericles funeral oration: They may reflect what he saw as the motives behind the speech or what he wanted them to have said, rather than what was actually said 6. Changes from previous approaches: Distinguished himself from poets and 'prose chroniclers', meaning Herodotus. Unlike Herodotus, rarely uses 1st person or passes a judgement and is dismissive of supernatural forces. VON RANKE Leopold Von Ranke, the 19 th century historian, whose seminal work: Civil wars and monarchy in France 1853 was a political history. 1. Context: product of the enlightenment period which heralded a shift towards science and empiricism. 2. Ambition: to make a mark on the field of professional historical studies. Credited with being the father of modern objective history turned history into a professional occupation. AIM: to tell history as it essentially was ; to write a history free of prevailing theories, prejudice and bias - a compendium of fact. 3. But: Despite his somewhat hubristic claim to objectivity, Ranke is a product of his era, and thus he conforms to its ideals. His own personal beliefs are revealed through his conscious or unconscious vets or omissions in his writing, notable his Lutheran faith and his distrust for the aggressive French expansion under Napoleon. Thus, despite Ranke s belief in a history free from subjectivity, and fervent desire to shed light on the truth of history, his account of the past IS NOT A SINGLE TRUTH. 4. Reliance on primary sources: Critical analysis of primary sources original documents and eyewitness accounts empiricist. Only wrote about events about which he had primary sources, thus there is a focus on the actions of monarchs and leaders. As the sources he used were written by the rich and powerful, for the rich and powerful, about the rich and powerful, his history has in-built bias towards the attitudes of the aristocracies in the periods he was writing about: e.g. Reports from Venetian ambassadors: von Ranke did not consider how the sources may have been distorted by the ambassadors' desires to impress their superiors or by writing styles of the day 5. His own views and biases do to an extent influence his writing: o Nationalistic - writing on Prussian history presents a Prussian national German picture o Conservative, pro-monarchy employed by the Prussian monarchy 6. Changes: Von Ranke revolutionised the way in which history is constructed and recorded by advocating for a meticulous, strict, and scientific approach to the discipline of history his aim was to produce a definitive history.