History & Literature

History . . . (Zeruneith, 2007)

"For each generation, it is almost a matter of life and death to preserve its historical heritage, to give its own explanation as a part of the historical process and a continual formation of consciousness." Keld Zeruneith (2007), The Wooden Horse: The Liberation of the Western Mind from Odysseus to Socrates

History . . . (Brzezinski)

"History is much more the product of chaos than of conspiracy." Zbigniew Brzezinski

Intelligence of the past . . . (Burns)

"It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence if the past." Ken Burns

historical narrative

Narrative history is the practice of writing history in a story-based form. It tends to entail history-writing based on reconstructing series of short-term events, and since the influential work of Leopold von Rankeon professionalising history-writing in the nineteenth century has been associated with empiricism. The term narrative history thus overlaps with the term histoire événementielle ('event-history') coined by Fernand Braudel in the early twentieth century, as he promoted forms of history-writing analysing much longer-term trends (what he called the longue durée).

Gondwana

Supercontinent that existed before Pangea, more than 500 million years ago.

Tethys Sea

Tethys Ocean /ˈtiːθɪs/ (Greek: Tēthús), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neotethys, was an ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era located between the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia, before the opening of the Indian and Atlantic oceans during the Cretaceous Period.

Baron de Turgot (1727-1781)

Watch this pageEdit Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulnela. (10 May 1727 - 18 March 1781), commonly known as Turgot, was a French economist and statesman. Originally considered a physiocrat, he is today best remembered as an early advocate for economic liberalism. He is thought to be the first economist to have recognized the law of diminishing marginal returns in agriculture.

tertiary source

a compilation of primary and secondary sources. tertiary source is an index or textual consolidation of primary and secondary sources. Some tertiary sources are not to be used for academic research, unless they can also be used as secondary sources, or to find other sources.

historical analogy

a forecasting technique that uses data and experience from similar products to forecast the demand for a new product.

Cognitive Big Bang

a hypothesized event that facilitated the rapid development of human intellectual ability leading to an explosion of cultural advancement.

historical consciousness

a people's consciousness of past events insofar as that consciousness influences their present behavior. Historical consciousness is defined as the understanding of the temporality of historical experience, that is how past, present and future are thought to be connected for the sake of producing historical knowledge.

Pre-Historic Times, As Illustrated by Ancient Remains, and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages, John Lubbock (1865)

along with Origin of Species (Darwin) and Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man (Lyell) one of the three works that sparked the time revolution of the 1860s.

historical fallacy

assuming that just because an event or character in a text resembles one in real life, it must be exactly like it.

Graham T. Allison (b. 1940)

coined the phrase Thucydides's Trap to refer to the situation that when a rising power causes fear in an established power, it escalates toward war. Thucydides wrote: "What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta." Other past examples of Thucydides's Trap include the start of World War I, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the Thirty Years War. Sinologist Arthur Waldron has criticized the concept of Thucydides's Trap and Allison's application of it to US-China relations,[11] while others have argued that Allison's interpretation ignores many Asian precedents with quite differing implications.

The Idea of History (1946), R.G. Collingwood

collated from various sources soon after his death by a student, T. M. Knox. It came to be a major inspiration for philosophy of history in the English-speaking world and is extensively cited, leading to an ironic remark by commentator Louis Mink that Collingwood is coming to be "the best known neglected thinker of our time". Collingwood categorized history as a science, defining a science as "any organized body of knowledge."[6] However, he distinguished history from natural sciences because the concerns of these two branches are different: natural sciences are concerned with the physical world while history, in its most common usage, is concerned with social sciences and human affairs. Collingwood pointed out a fundamental difference between knowing things in the present (or in the natural sciences) and knowing history. To come to know things in the present or about things in the natural sciences, "real" things can be observed, as they are in existence or that have substance right now. Since the internal thought processes of historical persons cannot be perceived with the physical senses and past historical events cannot be directly observed, history must be methodologically different from natural sciences. History, being a study of the human mind, is interested in the thoughts and motivations of the actors in history. Therefore, Collingwood suggested that a historian must "reconstruct" history by using "historical imagination" to "re-enact" the thought processes of historical persons based on information and evidence from historical sources. Re-enactment of thought refers to the idea that the historian can access not only a thought process similar to that of the historical actor, but the actual thought process itself. Consider Collingwood's words regarding the study of Plato: "In its immediacy, as an actual experience of his own, Plato's argument must undoubtedly have grown up out of a discussion of some sort, though I do not know what it was, and been closely connected with such a discussion. Yet if I not only read his argument but understand it, follow it in my own mind by re-arguing it with and for myself, the process of argument which I go through is not a process resembling Plato's, it actually is Plato's, so far as I understand him rightly." In Collingwood's understanding, a thought is a single entity accessible to the public and therefore, regardless of how many people have the same thought, it is still a singular thought. "Thoughts, in other words, are to be distinguished on the basis of purely qualitative criteria, and if there are two people entertaining the (qualitatively) same thought, there is (numerically) only one thought since there is only one propositional content." Therefore, if historians follow the correct line of inquiry in response to a historical source and reason correctly, they can arrive at the same thought the author of their source had an, in so doing, "re-enact" that thought. Collingwood rejected what he deemed "scissors-and-paste history" in which the historian rejects a statement recorded by their subject either because it contradicts another historical statement or because it contradicts the historian's own understanding of the world. As he states in Principles of History,sometimes a historian will encounter" a story which he simply cannot believe, a story characteristic, perhaps, of the suspersitions or prejudices of the author's time or the circle in which he lived, but not credible to a more enlightened age, and therefore to be omitted." This, Collingwood argues, is an unacceptable way to do history. Sources which make claims that do not align with current understandings of the world were still created by rational humans who had reason for creating them. Therefore, these sources are valuable and ought to be investigated further in order to get at the historical context in which they were created and for what reason.

critical historiography

critical historiography is used by various scholars in recent decades to emphasize the ambiguous relationship between history writing and historiography. Traditionally, historiography was seen as the study of the history-of-history or as a very specialized form of history writing. A critique of critical historiography cites the risk of judging the realities of the past by the yardstick of what is true in the present so that it becomes illusory and can obscure identity. Increasingly there are those who view history writing in reverse, namely as a specialized form of historiography. Critical historiography approaches the history of art, literature or architecture from a critical theoryperspective. Critical historiography is used by various scholars in recent decades to emphasize the ambiguous relationship between the past and the writing of history. Specifically, it is used as a method by which one understands the past and can be applied in various fields of academic work. While historiography is concerned with the theory and history of historical writing, including the study of the developmental trajectory of history as a discipline, critical historiography addresses how historians or historical authors have been influenced by their own groups and loyalties. Here, there is an assumption that historical sources should not be taken at face value and has to be examined critically according to scholarly criteria. Some authors trace the origin of this field in nineteenth-century Germany, particularly with Leopold von Ranke, one of the proponents of the concept of Wissenschaft, which means "critical history" or "scientific history", which viewed historiography as a rigorous, critical inquiry. For instance, in the application of Wissenschaft to the study of Judaism, it is maintained that there is an implied criticism of the stand of those advocating Orthodoxy. It is said to reveal the tendency of nationalist historians to favor the pious affirmation of the orthodox in attempts to restore pride in Jewish history. A type of critical historiography can be seen in the work of Harold Bloom. In Map of Misreading, Bloom argued that poets should not be seen as autonomous agents of creativity, but rather as part of a history that transcends their own production and that to a large degree gives it shape. The historian can try to stabilize poetic production so as to better understand the work of art, but can never completely extract the historical subject from history. Also among those who argue for the primacy of historiography is the architectural historian Mark Jarzombek. The focus of this work is on disciplinary production rather than poetic production, as was the case with Bloom. Since psychology - which became a more or less official science in the 1880s - is now so pervasive, Jarzombek argued, but yet so difficult to pinpoint, the traditional dualism of subjectivity and objectivity has become not only highly ambiguous, but also the site of a complex negotiation that needs to take place between the historian and the discipline. The issue, for Jarzombek, is particular poignant in the fields of art and architectural history, the principal subject of the book. Pierre Nora's notion of "ego-histories" also moves in the direction of critical historiography. The idea of these histories is to bring into focus the relationship between the personality of historians and their life choices in the process of writing of history.

Jamestown (1607)

first permanent English colony in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607 - 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts - Initially, the settlers spent too much time trying to find gold and neglected to prepare for the winter. The "Starving Time" of 1609-10 saw 80% of the settlers die. Only after several more shipments of immigrants and the widespread adoption of tobacco cultivation did the colony begin to thrive.

Postlithic (Era, Period, Age)

human history since 5,500 CE.

onomastics

in the field of linguistics, onomastics is the study of proper names, especially the names of people (anthroponyms) and places (toponyms). A person who studies the origins, distributions, and variations of proper names is an onomastician. Onomastics is "both an old and a young discipline," says Carole Hough.

Braudel's World System

local processes are directly and indirectly influenced by national, regional, and global processes.

archival research

method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships.

social history (new social history)

often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past.

preadamite

pre-Adamite hypothesis or pre-adamism is the theological belief that humans (or intelligent yet non-human creatures) existed before the biblical character Adam. Pre-adamism is therefore distinct from the conventional Judeo-Christian belief that Adam was the first human. Advocates of this hypothesis are known as "pre-Adamites", along with the humans who they believe existed before Adam.

anachronism

something out of place in time. anachronism (from the Greek ana, "against" and khronos, "time") is a chronologicalinconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of persons, events, objects, or customs from different periods. The most common type of anachronism is an object misplaced in time, but it may be a verbal expression, a technology, a philosophical idea, a musical style, a material, a plant or animal, a custom, or anything else associated with a particular period that is placed outside its proper temporal domain.

debitage analysis

study of debitage as a way of examining ancient stone technologies.

Paleolithic stasis

the idea that human cultural and civilizational development somehow remained static during the Paleolithic and that change occurred only after some unspecified stimulus.

historical present

use of the present tense to describe past events.

Certainty of hisyory . . . (Camus, 1942)

"Conscious that I cannot stand aloof from my time, I have decided to be an integral part of it. This is why I esteem the individual only because he strikes me as ridiculous and humiliated. Knowing that there are no victorious causes, I have a liking for lost causes: they require an uncontaminated soul, equal to its defeat as to its temporary victories. . . . Between history and the eternal I have chosen history because I like certainties." Albert Camus (1942), "The Myth of Sisyphus"

History . . . (Angelou)

"History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again." Maya Angelou

The Mirror of History . . . (Zeruneith, 2007)

"We only have a future as long as we are able to see ourselves in the mirror of history." Keld Zeruneith (2007), The Wooden Horse: The Liberation of the Western Mind from Odysseus to Socrates

1491, Charles C Mann (2005)

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (2005) a non-fiction book by American author and science writer Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas. It was the 2006 winner of the National Academies Communication Award for best creative work that helps the public understanding of topics in science, engineering or medicine.

Ussher's Date of Creation

6 p.m., Oct. 22, 4004 BCE

Alfred Marshall, FBA (1842-1924)

Alfred Marshall, FBA (26 July 1842 - 13 July 1924) was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book, Principles of Economics (1890), was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. It brings the ideas of supply and demand, marginal utility, and costs of production into a coherent whole. He is known as one of the founders of neoclassical economics. Although Marshall took economics to a more mathematically rigorous level, he did not want mathematics to overshadow economics and thus make economics irrelevant to the layman.

Annales School

Annales school, School of history. Established by Lucien Febvre (1878-1956) and Marc Bloch (1886-1944), its roots were in the journal Annales: économies, sociétés, civilisations, Febvre's reconstituted version of a journal he had earlier formed with Marc Bloch. Under Fernand Braudel's direction the Annales school promoted a new form of history, replacing the study of leaders with the lives of ordinary people and replacing examination of politics, diplomacy, and wars with inquiries into climate, demography, agriculture, commerce, technology, transportation, and communication, as well as social groups and mentalities. While aiming at a "total history," it also yielded dazzling microstudies of villages and regions. Its international influence on historiography has been enormous.

David Christian

David Gilbert Christian (born June 30, 1946), a historian and scholar of Russian history, has become notable for teaching and promoting the emerging discipline of Big History. In 1989 he began teaching the first course on the topic, examining history from the Big Bang to the present using a multidisciplinary approach with the assistance of scholars in diverse specializations from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Big History frames human history in terms of cosmic, geological, and biological history. Christian is credited with coining the term Big History and he serves as president of the International Big History Association. Christian's best-selling Teaching Company course titled Big History caught the attention of philanthropist Bill Gates, who is personally funding Christian's efforts to develop a program to bring the course to secondary-school students worldwide.

inheritance of acquired assets

E.H. Carr's proposition that while many people may develop a stable of good ideas, humankind collectively is not necessarily capable of profiting from any of them. Mooted to refute the notion of inexorable human progress.

Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones, 1926-1959)

Eddie Jones (December 10, 1926 - February 7, 1959), better known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song "The Things That I Used to Do", produced by Johnny Vincent for Specialty Records. It is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Slim had a major impact on rock and roll and experimented with distorted overtones on the electric guitar a full decade before Jimi Hendrix.

Ernest André Gellner (1925-1995)

Ernest André Gellner (9 December 1925 - 5 November 1995) was a British-Czech philosopherand social anthropologist described by The Daily Telegraph, when he died, as one of the world's most vigorous intellectuals, and by The Independent as a "one-man crusader for critical rationalism".

Samuel von Pufendorf (1632-1694)

Freiherr Samuel von Pufendorf (8 January 1632 - 13 October 1694) was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. He was born Samuel Pufendorf and ennobled in 1684; he was made a baron by Charles XI of Sweden a few months before his death at age 62. Among his achievements are his commentaries and revisions of the natural lawtheories of Thomas Hobbes and Hugo Grotius. Pufendorf was familiar to American political writers such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. His political concepts are part of the cultural background of the American Revolution. Pufendorf is seen as an important precursor of Enlightenment in Germany. He was involved in constant quarrels with clerical circles and frequently had to defend himself against accusations of heresy, despite holding largely traditional Christian views on matters of dogma and doctrine.

critical history

G.W.F. Hegel provided a succinct statement on Critical History in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History: "It is not history itself that is here presented. We might more properly designate it as a History of History; a criticism of historical narratives and an investigation of their truth and credibility." Under the rubric of critical history, I would include any works involving the critical assessment of historical representations or methodologies, historiographical criticism, or studies in the philosophy of history. Critical history leads us to the study, not only of interpretations bearing upon past phenomena but also of present-day matters informing our perspectives on the past.

George Smith (1840-1876)

George Smith (26 March 1840 - 19 August 1876) was a pioneering English Assyriologist who first discovered and translated the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest-known written works of literature.

Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond (1997)

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997) (previously titled Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years) is a 1997 transdisciplinary non-fiction book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1998, Guns, Germs, and Steel won the Pulitzer Prizefor general nonfiction and the Aventis Prize for Best Science Book. A documentary based on the book, and produced by the National Geographic Society, was broadcast on PBS in July 2005.

Hegelian history

Hegel's philosophy of history is perhaps the most fully developed philosophical theory ofhistory that attempts to discover meaning or direction in history (1824a, 1824b, 1857).Hegel regards history as an intelligible process moving towards a specific condition—the realization of human freedom.

John Bagnell Bury (1861-1927)

John Bagnell Bury, FBA (16 October 1861 - 1 June 1927) was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his Later Roman Empire. He was Erasmus Smith's Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin (1893-1902), before being Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge from 1902 until his death. Bury believed that the discipline of history should be approached as a science.

J. Franklin Jameson (1859-1937)

John Franklin Jameson (September 19, 1859 - September 28, 1937) was an American historian, author, and journal editor who played a major role in the professional activities of American historians in the early 20th century. He helped establish the American Historical Association.

Mount Athos

Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. It is governed as an autonomous polity within the Greek Republic. Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Asi-yahola, aka "Osceola" (1804-1838)

Osceola (1804 - January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. Of mixed parentage, including Creek, Scottish, African American, and English, he was considered born to his mother's people in the Creek matrilineal kinship system. He was reared by her in the Creek tradition. When he was a child, they migrated to Florida with other Red Stick refugees after their group's defeat in 1814 in the Creek Wars. There they became part of what was known as the Seminole people.

Prehistory vs. History

Prehistory - no written documents; History: written proof of history.

Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955)

Sir Arthur Keith FRS (5 February 1866 - 7 January 1955) was a Scottish anatomist and anthropologist, and a proponent of scientific racism. He was a fellow and later the Hunterian Professor and conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He was a strong proponent of Piltdown Man, which was proved to be a forgery shortly before his death.

Historiography

The study of how history is done, such as how different people perceive past events and how a source's point-of-view impacts its portrayal of the past.

Theagenes of Rhegium (fl. 529-522 BC)

Theagenes of Rhegium (Greek: fl. 529-522 BC) was a Greek literary critic of the 6th century BC. Born in Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria), he is noted for having defended the mythology of Homer, from more rationalist attacks. In so doing he became an early proponent of the allegorical method of reading texts.

Thomas de Marle de Coucy

Thomas of Marle, Lord of Coucy and Boves, was born in 1073 to Enguerrand I of Boves, the Lord of Coucyand his wife Adele of Marle. After the death of his father, Enguerrand I, Thomas would become the Lord of Coucy and his family's other holdings. As the best-known of the Lords of Coucy, Thomas of Marle would become infamous for his aggressive and brutal tactics in war and his continued rebellion against the authority of Louis VI. Used to hang captives by their testicles until they tore off.

debitage (lithic)

a term referring to all the pieces of shatter and flakes produced and not used when stone tools are made. Debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction and the production of chipped stone tools. This assemblage includes, but is not limited to, different kinds of lithic flakes and lithic blades, shatter and production debris, and production rejects.

Jared Diamond

author of Guns, Germs, and Steel; believes that geography is the key to inequality. Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, and author best known for his popular science books The Third Chimpanzee (1991); Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997, awarded a Pulitzer Prize); Collapse (2005); and The World Until Yesterday(2012). Originally trained in physiology, Diamond is known for drawing from a variety of fields, including anthropology, ecology, geography, and evolutionary biology. He is a professor of geography at UCLA.

historical revisionism

the act of reinterpreting the past to serve an ideological purpose. historiography, the term historical revisionismidentifies the re-interpretation of the historical record. It usually means challenging the orthodox(established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event, introducing contrary evidence, or reinterpreting the motivations and decisions of the people involved. The revision of the historical record can reflect new discoveries of fact, evidence, and interpretation, which then provokes a revised history. In dramatic cases, revisionism involves a reversal of older moral judgments.

Teleology

the explanation of phenomena by the purpose they serve rather than by postulated causes. Teleology or finality is a reason or explanation for something as a function of its end, purpose, or goal. It is derived from two Greek words: telos (end, goal, purpose) and logos (reason, explanation). A purpose that is imposed by a human use, such as that of a fork, is called extrinsic. Natural teleology, common in classical philosophy but controversial today, contends that natural entities also have intrinsic purposes, irrespective of human use or opinion. For instance, Aristotle claimed that an acorn's intrinsic telos is to become a fully grown oak tree.

historical context

the historical period that shapes a work of literature and allows the reader to understand important issues in a given time period.

Myth of Paleolithic Stasis

the idea that humans advanced little during the Paleolithic, or Stone Age.

historical transcendence

the idea that the actions of a person, or that an idea or cultural artifact, can influence and have significance after its historical period or occurrence.

historical thinking

using reading, analysis, and writing to develop an understanding of the past.

Nine Greek Muses

1) Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry 2) Clio, the Muse of history 3) Erato, the Muse of lyric poetry 4) Euterpe, the Muse of music 5) Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy 6) Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred poetry 7) Terpsichore, the Muse of dance and chorus 8) Thalia, the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry 9) Urania, the Muse of astronomy

William Appleman Williams (1921-1990)

William Appleman "Bill" Williams (June 12, 1921 near Atlantic, Iowa - March 5, 1990 near Corvallis, Oregon) was one of the 20th century's most prominent revisionist historians of American diplomacy. He achieved the height of his influence while on the faculty of the department of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is considered to be the foremost member of the "Wisconsin School" of diplomatic history.

terrane

a piece of lithosphere that has a unique geologic history and that may be part of a larger piece of lithosphere, such as a continent. in geology, in full a tectonostratigraphicterrane, is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its own distinctive geologic history, which is different from that of the surrounding areas—hence the term "exotic" terrane. The suture zone between a terrane and the crust it attaches to is usually identifiable as a fault. Older usage of terrane simply described a series of related rock formations or an area having a preponderance of a particular rock or rock groups.

George Remus (1874-1952)

George Remus (November 14, 1874 - January 20, 1952) was an American lawyer and bootlegger during the Prohibition era. Remus was known to have referred to himself in the third person after his rise to power during the early days of Prohibition, which he reportedly continued to do until his death.

Origines (2nd BCE), Cato the Elder

Origines (Latin for "Origins") is the title of a lost work on Roman and Italian history by Cato the Elder, composed in the mid-2nd century BCE. According to Cato's biographer Cornelius Nepos, the Origins consisted of seven books. Book I was the history of the founding and kings of Rome. Books II and III covered the origins of major Italian city[1] and gave the work its title. The last four books dealt with the Roman Republic, its wars, and its growing power, focused on the period between the onset of the First Punic War up to 149 BCE.

postlithic society

any organized aggregation of humans for the purpose of survival occurring after the Stone Age.

pseudohistory

any work that claims to be history, but does not use established historiographical methods; especially one that uses disputed evidence and speculation rather than relying on the analysis of primary sources. Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often using methods resembling those used in legitimate historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to a pseudohistory based upon or derived from the superstitions inherent to occultism. Pseudohistory is related to pseudoscienceand pseudoarchaeology and usage of the terms may occasionally overlap. Although pseudohistory comes in many forms, scholars have identified many features that tend to be common in pseudohistorical works. One such feature is that pseudohistory is nearly always motivated by a contemporary political, religious, or personal agenda. Pseudohistory also frequently presents a big lie or sensational claims about historical facts which would require the radical revision (re-writing) of the historical record.

grand historical narrative

critical theory, and particularly postmodernism, a meta narrative (sometimes master- or grand narrative) is an abstract idea that is supposed to be a comprehensive explanation of historical experience or knowledge. According to John Stephens it "is a global or totalizing cultural narrative schema which orders and explains knowledge and experience". The prefix meta means "beyond" and is here used to mean "about", and a narrative is a story. Therefore, a meta narrative is a story about a story, encompassing and explaining other 'little stories' within totalizing schemes.

primary source

document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions can be used in library science, and other areas of scholarship, although different fields have somewhat different definitions. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document written by such a person. Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources. Generally, accounts written after the fact with the benefit (and possible distortions) of hindsight are secondary. A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used. For example, a memoir would be considered a primary source in research concerning its author or about his or her friends characterized within it, but the same memoir would be a secondary source if it were used to examine the culture in which its author lived. "Primary" and "secondary" should be understood as relative terms, with sources categorized according to specific historical contexts and what is being studied.

CRAAP Test: Authority

significant because the students and educators will look to see who is the author, publisher, or sponsor before they can trust the information. Their education level and the author's affiliations are important because this can help the readers know if the author is qualified to write on the topic. There should also be a contact information of the publisher or author. The authority of the source helps the students or educators know that the information can be used and trusted in a proper manner. Authority in citing a source establishes a trust boundary between the reader and the author of the works.

Greatness . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"'Greatness' may be out of fashion, as is the transcendental, but it is hard to go living without some hope of encountering the extraordinary." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Strong poets . . . (Bloom, 2002)

". . . what strong poets always sought for: freedom for the creative self, for the expansion of the mind's consciousness of itself." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Philophrosyne

Friendliness, kindness, and welcoming. Philophrosyne was the ancient Greek female spirit of welcome, friendliness, and kindness. Her sisters were Euthenia, Eupheme, and Eucleia. Along with her sisters, she was regarded as a member of the younger Charites. According to the Orphic fragments, Philophrosyne was the daughter of Hephaestus and Aglaia.

Nestor of Gerenia

Nestor of Gerenia was the legendary wise King of Pylos described in Homer's Odyssey. Originally from Gerenia, Nestor was an Argonaut, helped fight the centaurs, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He became the King of Pylos after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's siblings.

New History

no clear access to any but the most basic facts of history becuase of the impossibility of objective analysis.

original order

original order is a concept in archival theory that a group of records should be maintained in the same order as they were placed by the record's creator. Along with provenance, original order is a core tenet of the archival concept of respect des fonds. A primary goal of keeping records in their original original order is to preserve additional contextual information about the records' creator and the environment of their creation. Original order also encourages the archivist to remain neutral as opposed to applying any interpretation to the records.

Thucydides Trap

when a rising power causes fear in an established power which escalates toward war. Graham T. Allison coined the phrase Thucydides's Trap to refer to the situation that when a rising power causes fear in an established power, it escalates toward war. Thucydides wrote: "What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta." Other past examples of Thucydides's Trap include the start of World War I, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the Thirty Years War. Sinologist Arthur Waldron has criticized the concept of Thucydides's Trap and Allison's application of it to US-China relations, while others have argued that Allison's interpretation ignores many Asian precedents with quite differing implications.

Critical reading and history . . . (Paul & Elder, 2014)

". . . reading widely in the past creates multiple perspectives in the mind that enable us to better understand the complexities of the present. Critical reading creates a lens through which we come to better understand the role of history in our lives." Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder (2014). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life

Historicism

1) the theory that each period of history has its own unique beliefs and values and can only be understood in its historical context. 2) the idea of attributing meaningful significance to space and time, such as historical period, geographical place, and local culture. Historicism tends to be hermeneutical because it values cautious, rigorous, and contextualized interpretation of information; or relativist, because it rejects notions of universal, fundamental and immutable interpretations.The approach varies from individualist theories of knowledge such as empiricism and rationalism, which neglect the role of traditions. The term "historicism" (Historismus) was coined by German philosopher Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel.

Corpus Juris Secundum

Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) (Meaning, "Second Body of the Law") is an encyclopedia of United States law at the federal and state levels. It is arranged alphabetically, into over 430 topics, which in turn are arranged into subheadings. As of 2010, CJS consisted of 164 bound volumes, 5 index volumes and 11 table of cases volumes. CJS is named after the 6th century Corpus Juris Civilis of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, the first codification of Roman law and civil law. The name Corpus Juris literally means "body of the law"; Secundum denotes the second edition of the encyclopedia, which was originally issued as Corpus Juris by the American Law Book Company (from 1914 to 1937). CJS is published by West in print form and on Westlaw. The print edition is updated annually with pocket supplements and revised editions of bound volumes. Before Thomson's acquisition of West, CJS competed against the American Jurisprudence legal encyclopedia.

Edmund Wilson (1895-1972)

Edmund Wilson (May 8, 1895 - June 12, 1972) was an American writer and critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publication. His scheme for a Library of America series of national classic works came to fruition through the efforts of Jason Epstein after Wilson's death.

Herodotus (c. 484-425 BCE)

Father of history. An ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey). He is known for having written the book The Histories(Greek: Ιστορίαι), a detailed record of his "inquiry" (ἱστορία historía) on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. He is widely considered to have been the first writer to have treated historical subjects using a method of systematic investigation—specifically, by collecting his materials and then critically arranging them into an historiographic narrative. On account of this, he is often referred to as "The Father of History", a title first conferred on him by the first-century BC Roman orator Cicero.

Frederick John Teggert (1870-1946)

Frederick John Teggart (1870-1946) was an Irish-American historian and social scientist, known for work on the history of civilizations.

George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938)

George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 - April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student of Native American life. Grinnell has been recognized for his influence on public opinion and work on legislation to preserve the American bison. Mount Grinnell is named after Grinnell.

Ignatius Donnelly (1831-1901)

Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 - January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and amateur scientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of an ancient impact event affecting ancient civilizations), and Shakespearean authorship, which many modern historians consider to be pseudoscience and pseudohistory. Donnelly's work corresponds to the writings of late 19th and early 20th century figures such as Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, and James Churchward.

Crossing the Rubicon, 49 BCE

In 49 BCE, Gaius Julius crossed the Rubicon River and marched on Rome, this breaking Roman law and becoming Julius Carsar.

Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881)

Lewis Henry Morgan (November 21, 1818 - December 17, 1881) was a pioneering American anthropologist and social theorist who worked as a railroad lawyer. He is best known for his work on kinship and social structure, his theories of social evolution, and his ethnography of the Iroquois. Interested in what holds societies together, he proposed the concept that the earliest human domestic institution was the matrilineal clan, not the patriarchal family.

Pangaea

Pangaea or Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoicand early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from earlier continental units approximately 335 million years ago, and it began to break apart about 175 million years ago. In contrast to the present Earthand its distribution of continental mass, much of Pangaea was in the southern hemisphere and surrounded by a superocean, Panthalassa. Pangaea was the most recent supercontinent to have existed and the first to be reconstructed by geologists.

Representative Men (1850), Emerson

Representative Men is a collection of seven lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published as a book of essays in 1850. The first essay discusses the role played by "great men" in society, and the remaining six each extol the virtues of one of six men deemed by Emerson to be great: - Plato ("the Philosopher") - Emanuel Swedenborg ("the Mystic") - Michel de Montaigne ("the Skeptic") - William Shakespeare ("the Poet") - Napoleon ("the Man of the World") - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ("the Writer")

Hegelianism

The monist, idealist philosophy of Hegel in which the dialectic of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis is used as an analytic tool in order to approach a higher unity or a new thesis.

local history effect

a threat to internal validity in which an extraneous event happens to one experimental group that does not happen to the other groups.

fonds

archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poet that were never published or the records of an institution during a specific period. Fonds are a part of a hierarchical level of description system in an archive that begins with fonds at the top, and the subsequent levels become more descriptive and narrower as one goes down the hierarchy. The level of description goes from fonds to series to file and then an item level. However, between the fonds and series level there is sometimes a sub-fonds or sous-fonds level and between the series to file level there is sometimes a sub-series level that helps narrow down the hierarchy.

artifact

artifact or artefact is something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, however, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as: an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may be a cultural artifact having cultural interest. However, modern archaeologists take care to distinguish material culture from ethnicity, which is often more complex, as expressed by Carol Kramer in the dictum "pots are not people". An object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

CRAAP Test: Currency

first step toward knowing if a source is reliable is to check its currency. Currency means that the information found is the most recent. That said, students and educators may ask where the information was posted or published. Next, they look to see if the information has been revised or updated and whether the research assignment can rely on multiple sources in different platforms. The topic is also taken into consideration of whether it needs current news, media, or the latest findings from research or that can be found from older sources as well. These questions are important because they help pinpoint recent trends of the information and also exhibit the constant research changes that are spreading rapidly as technology expands now and in the future. If the source comes from a website, the links to access it must be working.

annals

historical records. Annals (Latin: annāles, from annus, "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.

Presentism

interpreting and evaluating historical events in terms of contemporary knowledge and standards. In the philosophy of time, presentism is the belief that neither the future nor the past exists. The opposite of presentism is 'eternalism', which is a belief in things that are past and things that are yet to come exist eternally. One other view (that has not been held by very many philosophers) is sometimes called the growing block theory of time, which is a theory that takes the past and present to exist but the future to be nonexistent. Presentism is compatible with Galilean relativity, in which time is independent of space but is probably incompatible with Lorentzian/Einsteinian relativity. Presentism can also be used more loosely to refer to a narrow focus on the conditions of the moment.

Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)

man who said, "The strength of a nation is derived from the character, not from the wealth, nor from the multitude of its people." Also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 - 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Sympathetic to traditional societies, such as the Highlands, for producing courage and loyalty. He criticized commercial society as making men weak, dishonourable and unconcerned for their community. Ferguson has been called "the father of modern sociology" for his contributions to the early development of the discipline. His best-known work is his Essay on the History of Civil Society.

cliometrics (econometric history, new economic history)

the application of statistics in economic history. Cliometrics, sometimes called new economic history, or econometric history, is the systematic application of economic theory, econometrictechniques, and other formal or mathematical methods to the study of history (especially social and economic history). It is a quantitative (as opposed to qualitative or ethnographic) approach to economic history. The term cliometrics comes from Clio, who was the muse of history, and was originally coined by the mathematical economist Stanley Reiter in 1960. There has been a revival in 'new economic history' since the late 1990s.

microhistory

the intense study by historians of extremely small scale phenomena. Microhistory is a genre of history writing which focuses on small units of research, such as an event, community, individual, or a settlement. In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study insofar as microhistory aspires to "[ask] large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner. It is closely associated with social and cultural history.

prosopography

the study of persons or characters, especially their appearances, careers, personalities within a historical, literary, or social context. historical studies, prosopography is an investigation of the common characteristics of a historical group (whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable) by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line analysis. Prosopographical research has the goal of learning about patterns of relationships and activities through the study of collective biography; it collects and analyses statistically relevant quantities of biographical data about a well-defined group of individuals. The technique is used for studying many pre-modern societies.

Paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record. Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of archaeology with a human focus, which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines within the family Hominidae, working from biological evidence (such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints) and cultural evidence (such as stone tools, artifacts, and settlement localities). The field draws from and combines paleontology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. As technologies and methods advance, geneticsplays an ever-increasing role, in particular to examine and compare DNA structure as a vital tool of research of the evolutionary kinship lines of related species and genera.

historical analysis

form of social research that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data. Historical analysis is a method of the examination of evidence in coming to an understanding of the past. It is particularly applied to evidence contained in documents, although it can be applied to all artefacts. The historian is, first, seeking to gain some certainty as to the facts of the past.

The Past . . . (Kung fu-tse)

"Study the Past if you would define the future." Kung fu-tse

Erinyes (Furies)

In ancient Greek, the Erinyes, also known as the Furies, were female chthonic deities of vengeance, sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses". A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath." Walter Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath." They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. According to Hesiod's Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. According to variant accounts, they emerged from an even more primordial level—from Nyx ("Night"), or from a union between air and mother earth. Their number is usually left indeterminate. Virgil, probably working from an Alexandrian source, recognized three: Alecto or Alekto ("endless"), Megaera ("jealous rage"), and Tisiphone or Tilphousia ("vengeful destruction"), all of whom appear in the Aeneid. Dante Alighieri followed Virgil in depicting the same three-character triptych of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the Inferno they confront the poets at the gates of the city of Dis. Whilst the Erinyes were usually described as three maiden goddesses, the Erinys Telphousia was usually a by-name for the wrathful goddess Demeter, who was worshipped under the title of Erinys in the Arkadian town of Thelpousa. According to some sources,[citation needed] the three classic Furies sprang forth from the spilled blood of Uranus when he was castrated by his son Cronus. The sisters are: Alecto - Punisher of moral crimes (anger, etc.) Megaera - Punisher of infidelity, oath breakers, and theft Tisiphone - Punisher of murderers.

mappa mundi

mappa mundi (Latin plural = mappae mundi; French: "mappemonde"; English "mappemond") is any medieval European map of the world.

"A Defence of Poetry" (Shelley, 1821)

"A Defence of Poetry" is an essay by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1821 and first published posthumously in 1840 in Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments by Edward Moxon in London. It contains Shelley's famous claim that "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world".For Shelley, "poets ... are not only the authors of language and of music, of the dance, and architecture, and statuary, and painting; they are the institutors of laws, and the founders of civil society..." Social and linguistic order are not the sole products of the rational faculty, as language is "arbitrarily produced by the imagination" and reveals "the before unapprehended relations of things and perpetuates their apprehension" of a higher beauty and truth. Shelley's conclusive remark that "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world" suggests his awareness of "the profound ambiguity inherent in linguistic means, which he considers at once as an instrument of intellectual freedom and a vehicle for political and social subjugation".

Benedetto Croce (1866-1952)

"All history is contemporary history." An Italianidealist philosopher, historian and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a liberal, although he opposed laissez-faire free trade and had considerable influence on other Italian intellectuals, including both Marxist Antonio Gramsci and fascist Giovani. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature sixteen times.

"prevail as well as to endure" (Gore, 1963)

"From Plato's Republic to Opar to Bond-land, at every level, the human imagination has tried to imagine something better for itself than the existing society. Man left Eden when we got up off all fours, endowing most of his descendants with nostalgia as well as chronic backache. In its naive way, the Tarzan legend returns us to that Eden where, free of clothes and the inhibitions of an oppressive society, a man can achieve in reverie his continuing need, which is, as William Faulkner put it in his high Confederate style, to prevail as well as to endure. . . . The aim of each is to establish personal primacy in a world which in reality diminishes the individual." Gore Vidal (1963), "Tarzan Revisited," Esquire

"Genius attended him palpably . . ." (Bloom, 2002)

"Genius exerts authority over me, when I recognize powers greater than my own. . . . I hope to nurture genius . . . but impart only a genius for appreciation." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Genius . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"Genius is no longer a term much favored by scholars, so many of whom have become cultural levelers quite immune from awe. . . . Our desire for the transcendental and extraordinary seems part of our common heritage, and abandons us slowly, and never completely." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

history . . . (Zinn)

"History can come in handy. If you were born yesterday, with no knowledge of the past, you might easily accept whatever the government tells you. But knowing a bit of history--while it would not absolutely prove the government was lying in a given instance--might make you skeptical, lead you to ask questions, make it more likely that you would find out the truth." Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times

Sympathetic imagination and the passions of man . . .

"To understand any era of the past one must be able to penetrate into the minds of its inhabitants. This is an ever challenging, yet extremely difficult task, to which the historian should bring sympathetic imagination and a wide knowledge of the passions of man." - Chester G. Starr, A History of the Ancient World (1965)

History . . . (Pontynen & Miller, 2011)

"History is more than meaningless fact, or subjective narrative, be it trivialized or a matter of identity. History is an intellectual and moral drama associated with conscious responsible freedom. It involves meaningful memory; memory constitutes our knowledge of the past, informs us of the present, and affects us in the realization of the future. It provides us with solutions to guilt, boredom and fear. . ." Arthur Pontynen and Rod Miller (2011), Western Culture at the American Crossroads: Conflicts Over the Nature of Science and Reason

Metaphorical history

"History, like any discipline, like any system of thought, is constrained by the metaphors at its disposal." David Lord Smail On Deep History and the Brain

Receptive intellect . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"Intellect in a receptive mode, an intelligence not so much passive as dramatically open to the power of wisdom." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Label Version of History . . . (Grayling, 2015)

"It is an unwelcome reflection that history tends to be a thin list of names and dates for most people, it's sweated and bloody realities and their meanings lost among labels. . . . The appropriation of a label is the first step to limiting the perception of those who were not there, and therefore only grasp at third hand the true significances of the event." A. C. Grayling (2015), The Challenge of Things: Thinking Through Troubled Times

A new historical ambience . . .

"Neolithic culture marked a great advance in human destiny, but not the ultimate fulfillment. the small isolated village, the limited technology, the routine imposed by nature, the narrowly conceived social system, and the restricted intellectual horizons characteristic of Neolithic society combined to inhibit further advances. men had to discover a new ambience in order to improve their condition." - John B. Harrison & Richard E. Sullivan, A Short History of Western Civilization (1966)

Neolithic (Era, Period, Age)

"New Stone Age"; About 10,000 years ago marked by advances in the production of stone tools. Shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Neolithic also known as the "New Stone Age"), the final division of the Stone Age, began about 12,000 years ago when the first developments of farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East, and later in other parts of the world. The division lasted until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BC), marked by the development of metallurgy, leading up to the Bronze Age and Iron Age. In Northern Europe, the Neolithic lasted until about 1700 BC, while in China it extended until 1200 BC. Other parts of the world (including the New World) remained broadly in the Neolithic stage of development until European contact. The Neolithic comprises a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops and of domesticated animals. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek néos, "new" and líthos, "stone", literally meaning "New Stone Age". The term was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.

History . . . (Shermer)

"One may gain transcendence by affecting history, by actions whose influence extends well beyond one's biological existence. The alternatives of this scenario--apathy about one's effect on others and the world, or belief in the existence of another life for which science provides no proof--may lead one to miss something of profound importance in this life." Michael Shermer Why People Believe Weird Things (1997)

Institutionalized confusions . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"Our confusions about canonical standards for genius are now institutionalized confusions, so that all judgments as to the distinction between talent and genius are at the mercy of the media, and obey cultural politics and it's vagaries." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Genius . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"Talent cannot originate, genius must. . . . All genius . . . is idiosyncratic and grandly arbitrary, and ultimately stands alone." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Authentic genius . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"The absorbing quality of all authentic genius, which always has the capacity to absorb us." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Genius . . . (Blake, 1798)

"The ages are all equal, but genius is always above its age." William Blake (1798), Annotations to "The Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds"

The Future . . . (Van Doren, 1991)

"The future has a hard substantiality and may be even more intelligible than the past. It is, of course, the present that is hardest to understand." Charles Van Doren (1991), A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future

Man everywhere and at all times . . .

"The history of man includes man everywhere and at all times." - Frederick J. Teggart, Prolegomena to History (1916)

The past . . . (Faulkner)

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner "Requiem for a Nun"

The past . . . (Faulkner )

"The past is never dead; it's not even past." William Faulkner

History . . . (Polybius, 200-118 BCE)

"The study of history is . . . the only method of learning to bear with dignity the vicissitudes of Fortune." Polybius (200-118 BCE)

Common characteristics to genius . . . (Bloom, 2002)

"There are common characteristics to genius, since vivid individuality of speculation, spirituality, and creativity must rely upon originality, audacity, and self-reliance." Harold Bloom (2002), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds

Method and madness . . . (Shakespeare, 1599)

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't." William Shakespeare (1599), The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act 2, Scene 2

Rewritable past . . . (Macdonald, 2018)

"What gives an individual, organization or nation their identity? Culture, perhaps, or personality, values and capabilities. But all of that depends on our history. We see ourselves as good or capable or determined based on our understanding of our individual and collective past. . . . History shapes our identity; and people, organizations and nations act according to the identity they adopt. . . . Everything we do stems at least in part from our understanding of the past. A past that can be infinitely rewritten." Hector Macdonald (2018), Truth: How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality

History and identity . . . (Macdonald, 2018)

"What is understood to have happened in the past matters immensely in our present and future. Our history moulds our identity. It shapes the way we think." Hector Macdonald (2018), Truth: How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality

The Past . . . (de Tocqueville)

"When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness." Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

The past and the future . . . (Orwell, 1949)

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." Eric Arthur Blair, "George Orwell" (1949), Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)

(1737 - 1794) Author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in 1776, one of the first modern histories that attempted to explain the past as a guide to the future. Edward Gibbon FRS (8 May 1737 - 16 January 1794) was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788 and is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its polemical criticism of organised religion.

epoch

(n.) a distinct period of time, era, age. epoch, for the purposes of chronology and periodization, is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by congruity, or by following conventions understood from the epoch in question. The epoch moment or date is usually defined from a specific, clear event of change, epoch event. In a more gradual change, a deciding moment is chosen when the epoch criterion was reached.

History Tactics (Macdonald, 2018)

1) forgetting the past: historical omission 2) selecting the past: biased selection. Selective accounts of history can be very misleading. Hector Macdonald (2018), Truth: How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality

Sacred History

1) the history of a religion or religious project as chronicled or derived from canonical writings. 2) as used by David Lord Smail, used in an extended sense to describe the rigidity of historians in adhering to a rise of civilization model of historiography rather than a presumably more accurate deep time approach. When referring to approaches to Western civilization often called "Mosaic history" after the Biblical Moses.

Historicity

1) the use of an understanding of history as a basis for trying to change history-that is, producing informed processes of social change. 2) the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history as opposed to being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denotes historical actuality, authenticity, factuality and focuses on the true value of knowledge claims about the past. Some theoreticians characterize historicity as a dimension of all natural phenomena that take place in space and time. Other scholars characterize it as an attribute reserved to certain human phenomena, in agreement with the practice of historiography.Herbert Marcuse explained historicity as that which "defines history and thus distinguishes it from 'nature' or from the 'economy'" and "signifies the meaning we intend when we say of something that is "historical."

1493, Charles C. Mann (2011)

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (2011) is a nonfiction book by Charles C. Mann first published in 2011. It covers the global effects of the Columbian Exchange, following Columbus' first landing in the Americas, that led to our current globalized world civilization. It follows on from Mann's previous book on the Americas prior to Columbus, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn (1980)

A People's History of the United States (1980) a non-fiction book by American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn. In the book, Zinn presented what he considered to be a different side of history from the more traditional "fundamental nationalist glorification of country". Zinn portrays a side of American history that can largely be seen as the exploitation and manipulation of the majority by rigged systems that hugely favor a small aggregate of elite rulers from across the orthodox political parties.

Catastrophism

A principle that states that geologic change occurs suddenly. Catastrophism is the theory that the Earth had largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope.[1] This is in contrast to uniformitarianism (sometimes described as gradualism), in which slow incremental changes, such as erosion, created all the Earth's geologicalfeatures. Uniformitarianism held that the present was the key to the past, and that all geological processes (such as erosion) throughout the past were like those that can be observed now. Since the early disputes, a more inclusive and integrated view of geologic events has developed, in which the scientific consensus accepts that there were some catastrophic events in the geologic past, but these were explicable as extreme exam.

Big History

A unified account of the entire history of the Universe that uses evidence and ideas from many disciplines to create a broad context for understanding humanity; a modern scientific origin story. Big history is an academic discipline which examines history from the Big Bang to the present. Big History resists specialization, and searches for universal patterns or trends. It examines long time frames using a multidisciplinary approach based on combining numerous disciplines from science and the humanities, and explores human existence in the context of this bigger picture. It integrates studies of the cosmos, Earth, life, and humanity using empirical evidence to explore cause-and-effect relations, and is taught at universities and primary and secondary schools often using web-based interactive presentations. Historian David Christian has been credited with coining the term "Big History" while teaching one of the first such courses at Macquarie University. An all-encompassing study of humanity's relationship to cosmology and natural history has been pursued by scholars since the Renaissance, and the new field, Big History, continues such work.

Age of Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason or simply the Enlightenment) was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, the "Century of Philosophy". Some consider the publication of Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica (1687) as the first major enlightenment work. French historians traditionally date the Enlightenment from 1715 to 1789, from the beginning of the reign of Louis XV until the French Revolution. Most end it with the turn of the 19th century. Philosophers and scientists of the period widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffeehouses and in printed books, journals, and pamphlets. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Church and paved the way for the political revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. A variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism and neoclassicism, trace their intellectual heritage to the Enlightenment.

A.L. Kroeber (1876-1960)

Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876 - October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. He played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through 1947. Kroeber provided detailed information about Ishi, the last surviving member of the Yahi people, whom he studied over a period of years. He was the father of the acclaimed novelist, poet, and writer of short stories Ursula K. Le Guin.

The American Historical Review

American Historical Review is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of historyand has often been described as the premier journal of American history in the world. According to the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports, the AHRhas the highest impact factor among all history journals at 2.188.

Charles C. Mann

American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics. His book 1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus won the National Academies Communication Award for best book of the year. Charles C. Mann (born 1955) is an American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics. His book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus won the National Academies Communication Award for best book of the year.

August Landmesser (1910-1944)

August Landmesser (born 24 May 1910; KIA 17 October 1944; confirmed in 1949) was a worker at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. He is known as the possible identity of a man appearing in a 1936 photograph, conspicuously refusing to perform the Nazi salute with the other workers. Landmesser had run afoul of the Nazi Party over his unlawful relationship with Irma Eckler, a Jewish woman. He was later imprisoned and eventually drafted into penal military service, where he was killed in action; Eckler was sent to a concentration camp where she was presumably killed.

August Ludwig von Schlözer (1735-1809)

August Ludwig von Schlözer (5 July 1735, Gaggstatt - 9 September 1809, Göttingen) was a German historian who laid foundations for the critical study of Russian history. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History.

Avalonia

Avalonia was a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. Crustal fragments of this former microcontinent underlie south-west Great Britain, southern Ireland, and the eastern coast of North America. It is the source of many of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada, and parts of the coastal United States. Avalonia is named for the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. Avalonia developed as a volcanic arc on the northern margin of Gondwana. It eventually rifted off, becoming a drifting microcontinent. The Rheic Oceanformed behind it, and the Iapetus Ocean shrank in front. It collided with the continents Baltica, then Laurentia, and finally with Gondwana, ending up in the interior of Pangea. When Pangea broke up, Avalonia's remains were divided by the rift which became the Atlantic Ocean.

Azoic Age

Azoic Age, Azoic Era, Azoic Period and Azoic Eonwere terms used before 1950 to describe the age of rocks formed before the appearance of life in the geologic sequence. The word "Azoic" is derived from the Greek a- meaning without and zoön meaning animal (or living being), it was first used to mean without death. Azoic was used as early as 1846 by a geologist named Adams, and gradually replaced the earlier term Primitive. Due to the controversy over evolution, "Azoic" was replaced, by 1900, in most usages by the term "Archaean" or "Archaeozoic. The Archaean was later subdivided into the Archaean and the even earlier Hadean. Many of the rocks that had originally been thought to be of Azoic time were reclassified as Archaean, but the period itself is now essentially the Hadean. J.D. Dana in 1863, said that the Azoic "stands as the first [age] in geologic history, whether science can point out unquestionably the rocks of that age or not." He went on to say that when fossils had been found in strata which had previously been classified as Azoic, the boundary was simply moved lower. "Such changes are part of the progress of the science."

Baltica

Baltica is a paleocontinent that formed in the Paleoproterozoic and now constitutes northwestern Eurasia, or Europe north of the Trans-European Suture Zone and west of the Ural Mountains. The thick core of Baltica, the East European Craton, is more than three billion years old and formed part of the Rodinia supercontinent at c. 1 Ga.

Benoit de Maillet (1656-1738)

Benoît de Maillet (Saint-Mihiel, 12 April 1656 - Marseille, 30 January 1738) was a well-travelled French diplomat and natural historian. He was French consul general at Cairo, and overseer in the Levant. He formulated an evolutionary hypothesis to explain the origin of the earth and its contents. De Maillet's geological observations convinced him that the earth could not have been created in an instant because the features of the crust indicate a slow development by natural processes. He also believed that creatures on the land were ultimately derived from creatures living in the seas. He believed in the natural origin of man. He estimated that the development of the earth took two billion years.

"Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Sir Walter Scott

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, As home his footsteps he hath turn'd From wandering on a foreign strand! If such there breathe, go, mark him well; For him no Minstrel raptures swell; High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;— Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung. Sir Walter Scott (1805), "Lay of the Last Minstrel," Canto VI, [My Native Land]

European Hypothesis

British anthropologists Keith and Grafton Elliot Smithwere both fixed on European origin of humankind and were in opposition to models of Asian and African origin. In 1925 Raymond Dart announced the discovery of Australopithecus africanus, which he claimed was evidence for an early human ancestor in Africa. The British anthropologists of the time, who firmly believed in the European hypothesis, did not accept finds outside of their own soil. Keith, for example, described "Darts child" as a juvenile ape and nothing to do with human ancestry.

collective unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history. the collective unconscious. Collective unconscious (German: kollektives Unbewusstes) refers to structures of the unconscious mind which are shared among beings of the same species. It is a term coined by Carl Jung. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populated by instincts, as well as by archetypes: universal symbols such as The Great Mother, the Wise Old Man, the Shadow, the Tower, Water, and the Tree of Life. Jung considered the collective unconscious to underpin and surround the unconscious mind, distinguishing it from the personal unconscious of Freudian psychoanalysis. He argued that the collective unconscious had profound influence on the lives of individuals, who lived out its symbols and clothed them in meaning through their experiences. The psychotherapeutic practice of analytical psychology revolves around examining the patient's relationship to the collective unconscious. Psychiatrist and Jungian analyst Lionel Corbett argues that the contemporary terms "autonomous psyche" or "objective psyche" are more commonly used today in the practice of depth psychology rather than the traditional term of the "collective unconscious." Critics of the collective unconscious concept have called it unscientific and fatalistic, or otherwise very difficult to test scientifically (due to the mythical aspect of the collective unconscious). Proponents suggest that it is borne out by findings of psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology.

"What is History?," E.H. Carr

Carr is also famous today for his work of historiography, What Is History? (1961), a book based upon his series of G. M. Trevelyan lectures, delivered at the University of Cambridge between January-March 1961. In this work, Carr argued that he was presenting a middle-of-the-road position between the empirical view of history and R. G. Collingwood's idealism. Carr rejected the empirical view of the historian's work being an accretion of "facts" that he or she has at their disposal as nonsense. Carr divided facts into two categories, "facts of the past", that is historical information that historians deem unimportant, and "historical facts", information that the historians have decided is important. Carr contended that historians quite arbitrarily determine which of the "facts of the past" to turn into "historical facts" according to their own biases and agendas.

counterfactual history

Counterfactual history, also sometimes referred to as virtual history, is a recent form of historiography which attempts to answer "what if" questions known as counterfactuals. It seeks to explore history and historical incidents by means of extrapolating a timeline in which certain key historical events did not happen or had an outcome which was different from that which did in fact occur.

Chester G. Starr

Chester G. Starr (October 5, 1914 in Centralia, Missouri - 22 September 1999 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) was an American historian. An authority on ancient history, he specialized in the ancient art and archeology of the Greco-Roman civilization. According to the University of Michigan, he was "the acknowledged dean of ancient history in America." His best-known text, A History of the Ancient World, was reissued with successive enlargements between 1965 and 1991. His historiographical methodology has been described as Hegelian, especially in Civilization and the Caesars: The Intellectual Revolution in the Roman Empire (1954). In what has been called his greatest work: The Origins of Greek Civilization (1961), he dismantled the Nordic theory, which sought to interpret Greek cultural achievements in terms of a master race. His approach focused on individuals as agents of historical change, in contrast to the dominant methodology of the time: the Annales School and the Braudelian concept of longue durée.

Collapse, Jared Diamond (2005)

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005) (titled Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive for the British edition) is a book by academic and popular science author Jared Diamond, in which the author first defines collapse: "a drastic decrease in human population size and/or political/economic/social complexity, over a considerable area, for an extended time." He then reviews the causes of historical and pre-historical instances of societal collapse—particularly those involving significant influences from environmental changes, the effects of climate change, hostile neighbors, trade partners, and the society's response to the foregoing four challenges—and considers the success or failure different societies have had in coping with such threats.

Consensus history

Consensus history is a term used to define a style of American historiography and classify a group of historians who emphasize the basic unity of American values and the American national character and downplay conflicts, especially conflicts along class lines, as superficial and lacking in complexity. The term originated with historian John Higham, who coined it in a 1959 article in Commentary titled "The Cult of the American Consensus." Consensus history saw its primary period of influence in the 1950s and it remained the dominant mode of American history until historians of the New Left began to challenge it in the 1960s.

Big Bang Theory

Cosmological model that explains the sudden development of the universe through expansion from a hot, dense state. Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmologicalmodel for the observable universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution. The model describes how the universe expanded from a very high-density and high-temperature state, and offers a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), large scale structure and Hubble's law (the farther away galaxies are, the faster they are moving away from Earth). If the observed conditions are extrapolated backwards in time using the known laws of physics, the prediction is that just before a period of very high density there was a singularity which is typically associated with the Big Bang. Current knowledge is insufficient to determine if the singularity was primordial. Since Georges Lemaître first noted in 1927 that an expanding universe could be traced back in time to an originating single point, scientists have built on his idea of cosmic expansion.

David Hackett Fischer

David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935). best known for two major works: Albion's Seed(1989), and Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History) (2004). In Albion's Seed, he argues that core aspects of American culture stem from four British folkways and regional cultures and that their interaction and conflict have been decisive factors in U.S. political and historical development. works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (Albion's Seed,The Great Wave) to narrative histories of significant events (Paul Revere's Ride, Washington's Crossing) to explorations of historiography (Historians' Fallacies, in which he coined the term "historian's fallacy").

chorography

Describes places smaller than the earth, such as countries. From χῶρος khōros, "place" and γράφειν graphein, "to write" is the art of describing or mapping a region or district, and by extension such a description or map. This term derives from the writings of the ancient geographer Pomponius Melaand Ptolemy, where it meant the geographical description of regions. However, its resonances of meaning have varied at different times. Richard Helgerson states that "chorography defines itself by opposition to chronicle. It is the genre devoted to place, and chronicle is the genre devoted to time". Darrell Rohl prefers a broad definition of "the representation of space or place".

"Desiderata" (1927), Max Ehrman

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Eros

Eros was the Greek god of love, or more precisely, passionate and physical desire. Without warning he selects his targets and forcefully strikes at their hearts, bringing confusion and irrepressible feelings or, in the words of Hesiod, he "loosens the limbs and weakens the mind" (Theogony, 120). Eros is most often represented in Greek art as a carefree and beautiful youth, crowned with flowers, especially of roses which were closely associated with the god.

Euramerica

Euramerica (also known as Laurussia - not to be confused with Laurasia, - the Old Red Continent or the Old Red Sandstone Continent) was a minor supercontinent created in the Devonian as the result of a collision between the Laurentian, Baltica, and Avalonia cratons during the Caledonian orogeny, about 410 million years ago. In the Late Carboniferous, tropical rainforests lay over the equator of Euramerica. A major, abrupt change in vegetation occurred when the climate aridified. The forest fragmented and the lycopsids which dominated these wetlands thinned out, being replaced by opportunistic ferns. There was also a great loss of amphibian diversity and simultaneously the drier climate spurred the diversification of reptiles.

The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, Charles Lyell (1863)

Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man is a book written by British geologist, Charles Lyell in 1863. The first three editions appeared in February, April, and November 1863, respectively. A much-revised fourth edition appeared in 1873. Antiquity of Man, as it was known to contemporary readers, dealt with three scientific issues that had become prominent in the preceding decade: the age of the human race, the existence of ice ages, and Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Lyell used the book to reverse or modify his own long-held positions on all three issues. The book drew sharp criticism from two of Lyell's younger colleagues - paleontologist Hugh Falconer and archaeologist John Lubbock - who felt that Lyell had used their work too freely and acknowledged it too sparingly. It sold well, however, and (along with Lubbock's 1865 book Prehistoric Times) helped to establish the new science of prehistoric archaeology in Great Britain.

George Park Fisher 1827-1909)

George Park Fisher (August 10, 1827 - December 20, 1909) was an American theologian and historian who was noted as a teacher and a prolific writer. Wrote Outlines of Universal History (1885), one of the first books designed as a text for American secondary schools.

Giambattista Vico

Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista 23 June 1668 - 23 January 1744) was an Italian political philosopher and rhetorician, historian and jurist, of the Age of Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationalism, was an apologist for Classical Antiquity, a precursor of systematic and complex thought, in opposition to Cartesian analysis and other types of reductionism, and was the first expositor of the fundamentals of social science and of semiotics. The Latin aphorism Verum esse ipsum factum ("What is true is precisely what is made") coined by Vico is an early instance of constructivist epistemology. He inaugurated the modern field of the philosophy of history, and, although the term philosophy of history is not in his writings, Vico spoke of a "history of philosophy narrated philosophically." Although he was not an historicist, contemporary interest in Vico usually has been motivated by historicists, such as Isaiah Berlin, an historian of ideas, Edward Said, a literary critic, and Hayden White, a metahistorian. Vico's intellectual magnum opus is the book Scienza Nuova (1725, New Science), which attempts a systematic organization of the humanities as a single science that recorded and explained the historical cycles by which societies rise and fall.

Thucydides (460-400 BCE)

Greek historian. Considered the greatest historian of antiquity, he wrote a critical history of the Peloponnesian War that contains the funeral oration of Pericles. An Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the fifth-century BC warbetween Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientific history" by those who accept his claims to have applied strict standards of impartiality and evidence-gathering and analysis of cause and effect, without reference to intervention by the deities, as outlined in his introduction to his work.

Septuaguint

Greek translation of the Old Testament. cohesion, tone, or spelling. cohesion, tone, or spelling. The Septuagint (from the Latin: septuāgintā literally "seventy"; often abbreviated as 70 in Roman numerals, i.e., LXX; sometimes called the Greek Old Testament) is the earliest extant Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. It is estimated that the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch, were translated in the mid-3rd century BCE and the remaining texts were translated in the 2nd century BCE. The Septuagint was the Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and was in wide use by the time of Jesusand Paul of Tarsus because most Jews could no longer read Hebrew. For this reason it is quoted more often than the Hebrew Old Testament in the New Testament, particularly in the Pauline epistles, by the Apostolic Fathers, and later by the Greek Church Fathers.

Harry Elmer Barnes (1889-1968)

Harry Elmer Barnes (June 15, 1889 - August 25, 1968) was an American historian who, in his later years, was known for his historical revisionism and Holocaust denial. Barnes taught history at Columbia University from 1918 to 1929. Afterwards, he worked as a freelance writer and occasional adjunct professor at smaller schools. Through his position at Columbia and his prodigious scholarly output, Barnes was once highly regarded as a historian. However, by the 1950s, he had lost credibility and become a "professional pariah."

Herophilos (335-280 BC)

Herophilos (335-280 BC), sometimes Latinised Herophilus, was a Greek physician deemed to be among the earliest anatomists. Born in Chalcedon, he spent the majority of his life in Alexandria. He was the first scientist to systematically perform scientific dissections of human cadavers. He recorded his findings in over nine works, which are now all lost. Celsus in the 1st-century medical treatise De Medicina and the early Christian author Tertullian state that Herophilos vivisected at least 600 live prisoners.

historical negationism (denialism)

Historical negationism, or denialism, is an illegitimate distortion of the historical record. It is often imprecisely or intentionally incorrectly referred to as historical revisionism, but that term also denotes a legitimate academic pursuit of re-interpretation of the historical record and questioning the accepted views. In attempting to revise the past, illegitimate historical revisionism may use techniques inadmissible in proper historical discourse, such as presenting known forged documents as genuine, inventing ingenious but implausible reasons for distrusting genuine documents, attributing conclusions to books and sources that report the opposite, manipulating statistical series to support the given point of view, and deliberately mis-translating texts (in languages other than the revisionist's).

E.H. Carr (1892-1982)

In "The Twenty Years Crisis" (1939), Carr examined the previous two decades of IR. He criticized the "utopianism" of idealists who failed to realize that IR is characterized by incessant struggle between "have" and "have not" nations. Carr argued against the idea that a "harmony of interests" between nations will render power politics obsolete. He later became a Marxist. Was an English historian, diplomat, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr was best known for his 14-volume history of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1929, for his writings on international relations, particularly The Twenty Years' Crisis, and for his book What Is History? in which he laid out historiographical principles rejecting traditional historical methods and practices.

A.J.P. Taylor (1906-1990)

In "War by Timetable" (1969), Taylor argued that none of the great powers sought war prior to 1914, but developed elaborate mobilization timetables to deter enemy attack. This created inexorable movement towards a war that none of Europe's leaders actually sought. editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Alan John Percivale Taylor FBA (25 March 1906 - 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his television lectures. His combination of academic rigour and popular appeal led the historian Richard Overy to describe him as "the Macaulay of our age."

enjambment

In poetry, enjambment (from the French enjambement) is incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning runs over from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation. Lines without enjambment are end-stopped. In reading, the delay of meaning creates a tension that is released when the word or phrase that completes the syntax is encountered (called the rejet); the tension arises from the "mixed message" produced both by the pause of the line-end, and the suggestion to continue provided by the incomplete meaning. In spite of the apparent contradiction between rhyme, which heightens closure, and enjambment, which delays it, the technique is compatible with rhymed verse. Even in couplets, the closed or heroic couplet was a late development; older is the open couplet, where rhyme and enjambed lines co-exist. Enjambment has a long history in poetry. Homer used the technique, and it is the norm for alliterative verse where rhyme is unknown. In the 32nd Psalm of the Hebrew Bible enjambment is unusually conspicuous. It was used extensively in England by Elizabethan poets for dramatic and narrative verses, before giving way to closed couplets. The example of John Milton in Paradise Lost laid the foundation for its subsequent use by the English Romantic poets; in its preface he identified it as one of the chief features of his verse: "sense variously drawn out from one verse into another."

James Harvey Robinson

James Harvey Robinson (June 29, 1863 in Bloomington, Illinois - February 16, 1936 in New York City) was an American historian, who co-founded New History, which greatly broadened the scope of historical scholarship in relation to the social sciences. In 1912, proposed that comparative psychology could illuminate human history. Jay Green concludes: From his innovations in historical methodology and research to his revisions of secondary and undergraduate pedagogy, Robinson endeavored to reform the modern study of history, making it relevant and useful to contemporary peoples. A quintessential Progressive, he combined astute in erudite thinking with a penchant for activism in order to challenge his professional colleagues' "obsolete" conception of history and to demonstrate written history's potential for inspiring social improvement.

James Hutton (1726-1797)

James Hutton FRSE (3 June 1726- 26 March 1797) a Scottish geologist, physician, chemical manufacturer, naturalist, and experimental agriculturalis. He contributed to what was later called uniformitarianism—a fundamental principle of geology—that explains the features of the Earth's crust by means of natural processes over geologic time. Hutton's work helped to establish geology as a science, and as a result he is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Geology", though these principles were already in use by others including Buffon.

James Ussher (1581-1656)

James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 - 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his identification of the genuine letters of the church father, Ignatius, and for his chronology that sought to establish the time and date of the creation as "the entrance of the night preceding the 23rd day of October... the year before Christ 4004"; that is, around 6 pm on 22 October 4004 BC, per the proleptic Julian calendar.

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873)

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (May 28, 1807 - December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-American biologist and geologistrecognized as an innovative and prodigious scholar of Earth's natural history. Agassiz grew up in Switzerland. He received doctor of philosophy and medical degrees at Erlangen and Munich, respectively. After studying with Cuvier and Humboldtin Paris, Agassiz was appointed professor of natural history at the University of Neuchâtel. He emigrated to the United States in 1847 after visiting Harvard University. He went on to become professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, to head its Lawrence Scientific School, and to found its Museum of Comparative Zoology.

John Lubbock (1834-1913)

John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, 4th Baronet, PC,DL, FRS (30 April 1834 - 28 May 1913), known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet from 1865 until 1900, was an English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath. Lubbock worked in his family company as a banker but made significant contributions in archaeology, ethnography, and several branches of biology. He coined the terms "Paleolithic" and "Neolithic" to denote the Old and New Stone Ages, respectively. He helped establish archaeology as a scientific discipline, and was also influential in nineteenth-century debates concerning evolutionary theory. He introduced the first law for the protection of the UK's archaeological and architectural heritage. He was also a founding member of the X Club.

J. M. Roberts

John Morris Roberts CBE (14 April 1928 - 30 May 2003), often known as J. M. Roberts, was a British historian with significant published works. From 1979 to 1985 he was vice chancellor of the University of Southampton, and from 1985 to 1994, Warden of Merton College, Oxford. He was also well known as the author and presenter of the BBC TV series The Triumph of the West (1985).

Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609)

Joseph Justus Scaliger (5 August 1540 - 21 January 1609) was a French religious leader and scholar, known for expanding the notion of classical history from Greek and ancient Roman history to include Persian, Babylonian, Jewish and ancient Egyptian history. He spent the last sixteen years of his life in the Netherlands.

Critical Philosophy

Kant's term for his effort to assess the nature and limits of "pure reason," unadulterated by experience, in order to identify the actual relationship of the mind to knowledge. Attributed to Immanuel Kant, the critical philosophy(German: kritische Philosophie) movement sees the primary task of philosophy as criticism rather than justification of knowledge; criticism, for Kant, meant judging as to the possibilities of knowledge before advancing to knowledge itself (from the Greek kritike (techne), or "art of judgment"). The basic task of philosophers, according to this view, is not to establish and demonstrate theories about reality, but rather to subject all theories—including those about philosophy itself—to critical review, and measure their validity by how well they withstand criticism. "Critical philosophy" is also used as another name for Kant's philosophy itself. Kant said that philosophy's proper enquiry is not about what is out there in reality, but rather about the character and foundations of experience itself. We must first judge how human reason works, and within what limits, so that we can afterwards correctly apply it to sense experience and determine whether it can be applied at all to metaphysical objects.

Laurasia

Laurasia was the more northern of two supercontinents (the other being Gondwana) that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent around 335 to 175 million years ago (Mya). It separated from Gondwana 215 to 175 Mya (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting farther north after the split.

Laurentia

Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of the North American continent. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, although originally it also included the cratonic areas of Greenland and also the northwestern part of Scotland, known as the Hebridean Terrane. During other times in its past, Laurentia has been part of larger continents and supercontinents and itself consists of many smaller terranes assembled on a network of Early Proterozoic orogenic belts. Small microcontinents and oceanic islands collided with and sutured onto the ever-growing Laurentia, and together formed the stable Precambrian craton seen today.

Lemuel Ricketts Boulware (1895-1990)

Lemuel Ricketts Boulware (1895 in Springfield, Kentucky - November 7, 1990 in Delray Beach, Florida) was General Electric's vice president of labor and community relations from 1956 until 1961. Boulware's business tutelage and political cultivation of Ronald Reagan from 1954 to 1962 while Reagan was a spokesman for the company is argued to have led to Reagan's conversion from New Deal-style liberalism to Barry Goldwater-style conservatism. Boulware's aggressive 20-year-long policy of "take-it-or-leave-it" bargaining by GE became known as "Boulwarism". He devised the strategy in reaction to success in the 1946 general strikes by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the other two largest unions of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

Lies My Teacher Told Me, James W. Loewen (1995)

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (1995), James W. Loewen, a sociologist. It critically examines twelve popular American high school history textbooks and concludes that the textbook authors propagate false, Eurocentric and mythologized views of American history. In addition to his critique of the dominant historical themes presented in high school textbooks, Loewen presents themes that he says are ignored by traditional history textbooks.

Magna Carta Libertatum

Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for "the Great Charter of the Liberties"), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; "Great Charter"), is a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.

Martin Delany (1812-1885)

Martin Robinson Delany (May 6, 1812 - January 24, 1885) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, physician, soldier and writer, and arguably the first proponent of black nationalism. Delany is credited with the Pan-African slogan of "Africa for Africans."

Parson Seems (1759-1825)

Mason Locke Weems (October 11, 1759 - May 23, 1825), usually referred to as Parson Weems, was an American book agent and author who wrote the first biography of George Washington immediately after his death. He was the source of some of the apocryphal stories about Washington. The tale of the cherry tree ("I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet") is included in the fifth edition of The Life of Washington (1809 imprint, originally published 1800), a bestseller that depicted Washington's virtues and was intended to provide a morally instructive tale for the youth of the young nation.

Modern History

Modern history, the modern period or the modern era, is the linear, global, historiographical approach to the time frame after post-classical history. Modern history can be further broken down into periods: The early modern period began in approximately the early 16th century; notable historical milestones included the European Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, and the Protestant Reformation. The late modern period began approximately in the mid-18th century; notable historical milestones included the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Divergence, and the Russian Revolution. It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world's population to reach 1 billion; the next billion came just over a century later, in 1927. Contemporary history is the span of historic events from approximately 1945 that are immediately relevant to the present time.

On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin (1859)

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presented a body of evidence that the diversity of lifearose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. Darwin included evidence that he had gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation.

CRAAP Test: Relevance

One question in this category to ask is how does the topic relate to the information given in a source? More importantly, the writers of the references should focus on the intended audience. There are a vast number of topics and an increase in access to information. Therefore, the relevance of the information helps the audience know what they are looking for. Also, there is a check-in about whether the data is at an appropriate level of comprehension, that is, the degree must not be too elementary or advanced for the students' or educators' needs. Because of the variety of sources, educators can do their best to keep an open mind about source usage. Moreover, they should decide if they feel comfortable enough to cite the source.

Paleo-Tethys Ocean

Paleo-Tethys or Palaeo-Tethys Ocean was an ocean located along the northern margin of the paleocontinent Gondwana that started to open during the Middle Cambrian, grew throughout the Paleozoic, and finally closed during the Late Triassic; existing for about 400 million years. Paleo-Tethys was a precursor to the Tethys Ocean(also called the Neo-Tethys) which was located between Gondwana and the Hunic terranes(continental fragments that broke-off Gondwana and moved north). It opened as the Proto-Tethys Oceansubducted under these terranes and closed as the Cimmerian terranes (that also broke-off Gondwana and moved north) gave way to the Tethys Ocean. Confusingly, the Neo-Tethys is sometimes defined as the ocean south of a hypothesised mid-ocean ridge separating Greater Indian from Asia, in which case the ocean between Cimmeria and this hypothesised ridge is called the Meso-Tethys, i.e. the "Middle-Tethys".

Paulus Orosius (375-418)

Paulus Orosius—less often Paul Orosius in English—was a Gallaecian Chalcedonian priest, historian and theologian, a student of Augustine of Hippo. He wrote a total of three books, of which his most important is his Seven Books of History Against the Pagans (Latin: Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII), considered to be one of the books with the greatest impact on historiography during the period between antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as being one of the most important Hispanic books of all time. Part of its importance comes from the fact that the author shows his historiographical methodology. The book is a historical narration focusing on the pagan peoples from the earliest time up until the time Orosius was alive. Orosius was a highly influential figure both for the dissemination of information (History Against the Pagans was one of the main sources of information regarding Antiquity that was used up to the Renaissance) and for rationalising the study of history (his methodology greatly influenced later historians).

Peter Novick (1934-2012)

Peter Novick (July 26, 1934, Jersey City - February 17, 2012, Chicago) was an American historian, and Professor of History at the University of Chicago. He was best known for writing That Noble Dream: The "Objectivity Question" and the American Historical Profession and The Holocaust in American Life. The latter title has also been published as The Holocaust and Collective Memory, especially for non-US anglophonic markets. Though deemed a precursor, Novick was a sharp critic of Norman Finkelstein, but also of his opponent Alan Dershowitz. He died in 2012 in Chicago of lung cancer. Novick earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University, in 1957 and 1965 respectively.

philosophy of history

Philosophy of history is a branch of philosophy concerning the eventual significance, if any, of human history. Furthermore, it speculates as to a possible teleological end to its development—that is, it asks if there is a design, purpose, directive principle, or finality in the processes of human history. Philosophy of history should not be confused with historiography, which is the study of history as an academic discipline, and thus concerns its methods and practices, and its development as a discipline over time. Nor should philosophy of history be confused with the history of philosophy, which is the study of the development of philosophical ideas through time.

historical debt

Points to the effects of historical injustices that have propagated continued inequity in a society in the form of contemporary injustices such as multigenerational poverty and illiteracy as well as political and social disenfranchisement. Examples of nations with profound historical debt include the United States because of its poor treatment of African Americans and Native Americans and Australia for its mistreatment of indigenes.

Postmodern History

Postmodernists see no ultimate purpose in history, advocating instead a nihilist perspective. Less radical Postmodernists advocate the view that history is what we make of it. They believe that historical facts are inaccessible, leaving the historian to his or her imagination and ideological bent to reconstruct what happened in the past. Postmodernists use the term historicism to describe the view that all questions must be settled within the cultural and social context in which they are raised. Both Lacan and Foucault argue that each historical period has its own knowledge system and individuals are unavoidably entangled within these systems. Answers to life's questions cannot be found by appealing to some external truth, but only to the norms and forms within each culture that phrase the question.

Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185 - c. 159? BC)

Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185 - c. 159? BC), better known in English as Terence, was a Roman playwright during the Roman Republic, of Berber descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170-160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on, impressed by his abilities, freed him. Terence apparently died young, probably in Greece or on his way back to Rome. All of the six plays Terence wrote have survived. One famous quotation by Terence reads: "Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto", or "I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me." This appeared in his play Heauton Timorumenos.

Quintus Smyrnaeus

Quintus Smyrnaeus or Quintus of Smyrna, also known as Kointos Smyrnaios, was a Greek epic poet whose Posthomerica, following "after Homer" continues the narration of the Trojan War. He has traditionally been thought to have lived in the latter part of the 4th century AD, but early dates have also been proposed. His epic in fourteen books, known as the Posthomerica, covers the period between the end of Homer's Iliad and the end of the Trojan War. Its primary importance is as the earliest surviving work to cover this period, the archaic works in the Epic Cycle, which he knew and drew upon, having been lost. His materials are borrowed from the cyclic poems from which Virgil (with whose works he was probably acquainted) also drew, in particular the Aethiopis (Coming of Memnon) and the Iliupersis (Destruction of Troy) of Arctinus of Miletus and the Ilias Mikra (Little Iliad) of Lesches. His work is closely modelled on Homer, though Quintus is universally acknowledged to be inferior to Homer as a poet.

Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970)

Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916 - October 24, 1970) was an American historian and public intellectual of the mid-20th century. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier communist approach to history, in the 1950s he came closer to the concept of "consensus history", and was epitomized by some of his admirers as the "iconic historian of postwar liberal consensus." Others see in his work an early critique of the one-dimensional society, as Hofstadter was equally critical of socialist and capitalist models of society, and bemoaned the "consensus" within the society as "bounded by the horizons of property and entrepreneurship", criticizing the "hegemonic liberal capitalist culture running throughout the course of American history". His most widely read works are Social Darwinism in American Thought, 1860-1915 (1944); The American Political Tradition (1948); The Age of Reform (1955); Anti-intellectualism in American Life (1963), and the essays collected in The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964). He was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize: in 1956 for The Age of Reform, an analysis of the populism movement in the 1890s and the progressive movement of the early 20th century; and in 1964 for the cultural history Anti-intellectualism in American Life.

R.G. Collingwood (1889-1943)

Robin George Collingwood FBA (1889-1943) was an English philosopher, historian and archaeologist. He is best known for his philosophical works, including The Principles of Art (1938) and the posthumously published The Idea of History (1946).

Rodinia

Rodinia (from the Russian родить, rodít, meaning "to beget, to give birth", or родина, ródina, meaning "motherland, birthplace") was a Neoproterozoicsupercontinent that assembled 1.1-0.9 billion years ago and broke up 750-633 million years ago.Valentine & Moores 1970 were probably the first to recognise a Precambrian supercontinent, which they named 'Pangaea I'. It was renamed 'Rodinia' by McMenamin & McMenamin 1990 who also were the first to produce a reconstruction and propose a temporal framework for the supercontinent.

Ovid's Four Ages of Man

Roman poet Ovid (1st century BC - 1st century AD) tells a similar myth of Four Ages in Book 1.89-150 of the Metamorphoses. His account is similar to Hesiod's, with the exception that he omits the Heroic Age. Ovid emphasizes that justice and peace defined the Golden Age. He adds that in this age, men did not yet know the art of navigation and therefore did not explore the larger world. Further, no man had knowledge of any arts but primitive agriculture. In the Silver Age, Jupiter introduces the seasons and men consequentially learn the art of agriculture and architecture. In the Bronze Age, Ovid writes, men were prone to warfare, but not impiety. Finally, in the Iron Age, men demarcate nations with boundaries; they learn the arts of navigation and mining; they are warlike, greedy and impious. Truth, modesty and loyalty are nowhere to be found.

Romanticism

Romanticism (also known as the Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, and the scientific rationalization of nature—all components of modernity. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. It had a significant and complex effect on politics, with romantic thinkers influencing liberalism, radicalism, conservatism and nationalism.

Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth

Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth model is one of the major historical models of economic growth. It was published by American economist Walt Whitman Rostow in 1960. The model postulates that economic growth occurs in five basic stages, of varying length: Traditional societyThe Pre Conditions of take-offTake-offDrive to technological maturityHigh mass consumption. Rostow's model is one of the more structuralistmodels of economic growth, particularly in comparison with the "backwardness" model developed by Alexander Gerschenkron, although the two models are not mutually exclusive.

SS Baychimo

SS Baychimo was a steel-hulled 1,322 ton cargo steamer built in 1914 in Sweden and owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, used to trade provisions for pelts in Inuit settlements along the Victoria Island coast of the Northwest Territories of Canada. She became a notable ghost ship along the Alaska coast, being abandoned in 1931 and seen numerous times since then until her last sighting in 1969.

The Shiji, Sima Tan and Sima Qian

Sima Tan and Sima Qian in the Han Empire of China established Chinese historiography with the compiling of the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian).

Charles Lyell (1797-1875)

Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, FRS (14 November 1797 - 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of existing natural causes in explaining Earth history. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology (1830-33 and later editions), which presented for a wide public audience the idea that the Earth was shaped by the same natural processes still in operation today, operating at similar intensities. The philosopher William Whewell termed this gradualistic view "uniformitarianism" and contrasted it with catastrophism, which had been championed by Georges Cuvier and was better accepted in Europe. The combination of evidence and eloquence in Principles convinced a wide range of readers of the significance of "deep time" for understanding the Earth and environment.

Sir Henry James Sumner Maine (1882-1888)

Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, KCSI (15 August 1822 - 3 February 1888), was a British Whig[1]comparative jurist and historian. He is famous for the thesis outlined in his book Ancient Law that law and society developed "from status to contract." According to the thesis, in the ancient world individuals were tightly bound by status to traditional groups, while in the modern one, in which individuals are viewed as autonomous agents, they are free to make contracts and form associations with whomever they choose. Because of this thesis, Maine can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern legal anthropology, legal history and sociology of law.

Herbert Butterfield

Sir Herbert Butterfield FBA (7 October 1900 - 20 July 1979). British historian and philosopher of history, he is remembered chiefly for a short volume early in his career entitled The Whig Interpretation of History(1931) and for his Origins of Modern Science (1949). Butterfield turned increasingly to historiography and man's developing view of the past. Butterfield was a devout Christian and reflected at length on Christian influences in historical perspectives. Butterfield thought that individual personalities were more important than great systems of government or economics in historical study. His Christian beliefs in personal sin, salvation and providence were a great influence in his writings, a fact he freely admitted. At the same time, Butterfield's early works emphasized the limits of a historian's moral conclusions, "If history can do anything it is to remind us that all our judgments are merely relative to time and circumstance."

The Stages of Empire (Glubb)

Sir John Bagot Glubb. Army General and historian, he studied eleven empires starting with the Assyrians in 859 B.C. and ending with the British in 1950 A.D. Sir John determined that each followed a remarkably similar pattern from birth to demise. Spanning a period of about ten generations, each went through 7 Stages of Empire: - The Age of Pioneers (Outburst) - The Age of Conquests - The Age of Commerce - The Age of Affluence - The Age of Intellect - The Age of Decadence - The Age of Decline & Collapse And what marked the penultimate age? Defensiveness, pessimism, materialism, frivolity, an influx of foreigners, the Welfare State, and a weakening of religion. To what did he attribute this decadence? Too long a period of wealth and power, selfishness, love of money, and the loss of a sense of duty.

Speech of Universal History (1681)

Speech of Universal History or Discours sur l'histoire universelle in original French (1681) is a work of theology and philosophy from French Roman Catholic bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet. It is regarded by many Catholics as a continuation or actualization of St. Augustine of Hippo's the City of God (De Civitate Dei). It proposes, much like the City of God, a metaphysical appreciation of universal history as an actual war between God and the Devil.

Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 or the Great Crash, was a major stock market crash that occurred in late October 1929. It started on October 24 ("Black Thursday") and continued until October 29, 1929 ("Black Tuesday"), when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. It was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its after effects. The crash, which followed the London Stock Exchange's crash of September, signaled the beginning of the 12-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries.

Almagest (2nd CE), Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 CE)

The Almagest is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy (c. AD 100 - c. 170). One of the most influential scientific texts of all time, it canonized a geocentric model of the Universe that was accepted for more than 1200 years from its origin in Hellenistic Alexandria, in the medieval Byzantine and Islamic worlds, and in Western Europe through the Middle Ages and early Renaissance until Copernicus. It is also a key source of information about ancient Greek astronomy.

Big History Project

The Big History Project was started by Bill Gates and David Christian to enable the global teaching of the subject of Big History, which is described as "the attempt to understand, in a unified way, the history of Cosmos, Earth, Life and Humanity." It is a course that covers history from the Big Bang through to the present in an interdisciplinary way. The Big History Project "is dedicated to fostering a greater love and capacity for learning among high school students".

Bugaboo Fire

The Bugaboo Fire was a wildfire that helped feed one of the largest fires in Georgia history. It raged from April to June 2007 and ultimately merging with other fires becoming the largest fire in the history of both Georgia and Florida. The Bugaboo, which was not actually named until it had blazed for nearly a month, started in the Okefenokee Swamp, most of which is located in Georgia. It merged with the Sweat Farm Road Fire creating the largest south GA fire in documented history. It was the culmination of several converging fires.

Cross of Gold speech

The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a former United States Representative from Nebraska, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896. In the address, Bryan supported bimetallism or "free silver", which he believed would bring the nation prosperity. He decried the gold standard, concluding the speech, "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold". Bryan's address helped catapult him to the Democratic Party's presidential nomination; it is considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history.

Francis Fukuyama, "The End of History?"

The End of History and the Last Man is a 1992 book by Francis Fukuyama, expanding on his 1989 essay "The End of History?", published in the international affairs journal The National Interest.[1] In the book, Fukuyama argues that, following the ascendency of Western-style liberal democracy following the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, humanity was reaching "not just ... the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government".

The Epic Cycle

The Epic Cycle (Greek: Epikos Kyklos) was a collection of Ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter and related to the story of the Trojan War, including the Cypria, the Aethiopis, the so-called Little Iliad, the Iliupersis, the Nostoi, and the Telegony. Scholars sometimes include the two Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, among the poems of the Epic Cycle, but the term is more often used to specify the non-Homeric poems as distinct from the Homeric ones. Unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, the cyclic epics survive only in fragments and summaries from Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period. The Epic Cycle was the distillation in literary form of an oral tradition that had developed during the Greek Dark Age, which was based in part on localised hero cults. The traditional material from which the literary epics were drawn treats Mycenaean Bronze Age culture from the perspective of Iron Age and later Greece. In modern scholarship the study of the historical and literary relationship between the Homeric epics and the rest of the Cycle is called Neoanalysis. A longer Epic Cycle, as described by the 9th-century CE scholar and clergyman Photius in codex 239 of his Bibliotheca, also included the Titanomachy (8th century BC) and the Theban Cycle (between 750 and 500 BC), which in turn comprised the Oedipodea, the Thebaid, the Epigoni and the Alcmeonis; however, it is certain that none of the cyclic epics (other than Homer) survived to Photius' day, and it is likely that Photius was not referring to a canonical collection. Modern scholars do not normally include the Theban Cycle when referring to the Epic Cycle.

Great Fire of 1910

The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil's Broom fire) was a wildfire in the western United States that burned three million acres (4,700 sq mi; 12,100 km2) in North Idaho and Western Montana, with extensions into Eastern Washington and Southeast British Columbia, in the summer of 1910. The area burned included large parts of the Bitterroot, Cabinet, Clearwater, Coeur d'Alene, Flathead, Kaniksu, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, Lolo, and St. Joe National Forests.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon (1776)

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium. Volume I was published in 1776 and went through six printings. Volumes II and III were published in 1781; volumes IV, V, and VI in 1788-1789.

The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1880)

The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1880) is a long English-language poem written by "Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî", a pseudonym of the true author, Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), a well-known British Arabist and explorer. In a note to the reader, Burton claims to be the translator of the poem, to which he gives the English title "Lay of the Higher Law." It is thus a pseudotranslation, pretending to have had an original Persian text, which never existed. The Kasidah is essentially a distillation of Sufi thought in the poetic idiom of that mystical tradition; Burton had hoped to bring Sufist ideas to the West.

E.P. Thompson (1924-1993)

The Making of the English Working Class. Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 - 28 August 1993) was a British historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is probably best known today for his historical work on the British radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class(1963).

La Scienza Nuova, Giambattista Vico (1725)

The New Science (Italian: La Scienza Nuova) is the major work of Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico. It was first published in 1725 to little success, but has gone on to be highly regarded and influential in the philosophy of history, sociology, and anthropology. The central concepts were highly original and prefigured the Age of Enlightenment.

Nine Lyric (Melic) Poets

The Nine Lyric or Melic Poets were a canonical group of ancient Greek poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of critical study. In the Palatine Anthology it is said that they established lyric song. They were: Alcman of Sparta (choral lyric, 7th century BC) Sappho of Lesbos (monodic lyric, c. 600 BC) Alcaeus of Mytilene (monodic lyric, c. 600 BC) Anacreon of Teos (monodic lyric, 6th century BC) Stesichorus of Metauros (choral lyric, 7th century BC) Ibycus of Rhegium (choral lyric, 6th century BC) Simonides of Ceos (choral lyric, 6th century BC) Bacchylides of Ceos (choral lyric, 5th century BC) Pindar of Thebes (choral lyric, 5th century BC) In most Greek sources the word melikos (from melos, "song") is used to refer to these poets, but the variant lyrikos (from lyra, "lyre") became the regular form in both Latin (as lyricus) and in modern languages. The ancient scholars defined the genre on the basis of the musical accompaniment, not the content. Thus, some types of poetry which would be included under the label "lyric poetry," in modern criticism are excluded—namely, the elegy and iambus which were performed with flutes. The Nine Lyric Poets are traditionally divided among those who primarily composed choral verses, and those who composed monodic verses. This division is contested by some modern scholars.

The Outline of History, H.G. Wells (1919)

The Outline of History (1919), subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a work by H. G. Wells that first appeared in an illustrated version of 24 fortnightly installments beginning on 22 November 1919 and was published as a single volume in 1920. It sold more than two million copies, was translated into many languages, and had a considerable impact on the teaching of history in institutions of higher education. Set human history within the context of deep history. Wells modeled the Outline on the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot.

Panic of 1819

The Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States. It was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic heralded the transition of the nation from its colonial commercial status with Europe toward an independent economy. Though the downturn was driven by global market adjustments in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, its severity was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands, fueled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns. The Second Bank of the United States (SBUS), itself deeply enmeshed in these inflationary practices, sought to compensate for its laxness in regulating the state bank credit market by initiating a sharp curtailment in loans by its western branches, beginning in 1818. Failing to provide metallic currency when presented with their own banknotes by the SBUS, the state-chartered banks began foreclosing on the heavily mortgaged farms and business properties they had financed. The ensuing financial panic, in conjunction with a sudden recovery in European agricultural production in 1817, led to widespread bankruptcies and mass unemployment. The financial disaster and depression provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprise, along with a general belief that federal government economic policy was fundamentally flawed. Americans, many for the first time, became politically engaged so as to defend their local economic interests. The New Republicans and their American System—tariff protection, internal improvements, and the BUS—were exposed to sharp criticism, eliciting a vigorous defense.

Panic of 1837

The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up. Pessimism abounded during the time. The panic had both domestic and foreign origins. Speculative lending practices in western states, a sharp decline in cotton prices, a collapsing land bubble, international specie flows, and restrictive lending policies in Great Britain were all to blame. On May 10, 1837, banks in New York City suspended specie payments, meaning that they would no longer redeem commercial paper in specie at full face value. Despite a brief recovery in 1838, the recession persisted for approximately seven years. Banks collapsed, businesses failed, prices declined, and thousands of workers lost their jobs. Unemployment may have been as high as 25% in some locales. The years 1837 to 1844 were, generally speaking, years of deflation in wages and prices.

Panic of 1857

The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the 1850s, the financial crisis that began in late 1857 was the first worldwide economic crisis. In Britain, the Palmerston government circumvented the requirements of the Bank Charter Act 1844, which required gold and silver reserves to back up the amount of money in circulation. Surfacing news of this circumvention set off the Panic in Britain. Beginning in September 1857, the financial downturn did not last long; however, a proper recovery was not seen until the American Civil War, in 1861. The sinking of SS Central America contributed to the panic of 1857, as New York banks were awaiting a much-needed shipment of gold. American banks did not recover until after the civil war. After the failure of Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, the financial panic quickly spread as businesses began to fail, the railroad industry experienced financial declines, and hundreds of workers were laid off. Since the years immediately preceding the Panic of 1857 were prosperous, many banks, merchants, and farmers had seized the opportunity to take risks with their investments and as soon as market prices began to fall, they quickly began to experience the effects of financial panic.

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 until 1877, and even longer in France and Britain. In Britain, for example, it started two decades of stagnation known as the "Long Depression" that weakened the country's economic leadership.[1] In the United States the Panic was known as the "Great Depression" until the events of the early 1930s set a new standard. The Panic of 1873 and the subsequent depression had several underlying causes, of which economic historians debate the relative importance. American inflation, rampant speculative investments (overwhelmingly in railroads), the demonetization of silver in Germany and the United States, ripples from economic dislocation in Europe resulting from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), major property losses in the Chicago (1871) and Boston (1872) fires, and other factors put a massive strain on bank reserves, which plummeted in New York City in September and October 1873 from $50 million to $17 million. The first symptoms of the crisis were financial failures in Vienna, which spread to most of Europe and North America by 1873.

Panic of 1893

The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the realigning election of 1896 and the presidency of William McKinley. One of the causes for the Panic of 1893 can be traced back to Argentina. Investment was encouraged by the Argentine agent bank, Baring Brothers. However, the 1890 wheat crop failure and a coup in Buenos Aires ended further investments. In addition, speculations also collapsed in South African and Australian properties. Because European investors were concerned that these problems might spread, they started a run on gold in the U.S. Treasury. At that time, it was comparatively simple to cash in dollar investments for exportable gold. During the Gilded Age of the 1870s and 1880s, the United States had experienced economic growth and expansion, but much of this expansion depended on high international commodity prices. To exacerbate the problems with international investments, wheat prices crashed in 1893. One of the first clear signs of trouble came on February 20, 1893, twelve days before the inauguration of U.S. President Grover Cleveland, with the appointment of receivers for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, which had greatly overextended itself. Upon taking office, Cleveland dealt directly with the Treasury crisis and successfully convinced Congress to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which he felt was mainly responsible for the economic crisis. As concern for the state of the economy deepened, people rushed to withdraw their money from banks, and caused bank runs. The credit crunch rippled through the economy. A financial panic in London combined with a drop in continental European trade caused foreign investors to sell American stocks to obtain American funds backed by gold.

Panic of 1907

The Panic of 1907 - also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis - was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on banks and trust companies. The 1907 panic eventually spread throughout the nation when many state and local banks and businesses entered bankruptcy. Primary causes of the run included a retraction of market liquidity by a number of New York City banks and a loss of confidence among depositors, exacerbated by unregulated side bets at bucket shops. The panic was triggered by the failed attempt in October 1907 to corner the market on stock of the United Copper Company. When this bid failed, banks that had lent money to the cornering scheme suffered runs that later spread to affiliated banks and trusts, leading a week later to the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company—New York City's third-largest trust. The collapse of the Knickerbocker spread fear throughout the city's trusts as regional banks withdrew reserves from New York City banks. Panic extended across the nation as vast numbers of people withdrew deposits from their regional banks. The panic might have deepened if not for the intervention of financier J. P. Morgan, who pledged large sums of his own money, and convinced other New York bankers to do the same, to shore up the banking system. This highlighted the impotence of the nation's Independent Treasury system, which managed the nation's money supply yet was unable to inject liquidity back into the market. By November, the financial contagion had largely ended, only to be replaced by a further crisis. This was due to the heavy borrowing of a large brokerage firm that used the stock of Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (TC&I) as collateral. Collapse of TC&I's stock price was averted by an emergency takeover by Morgan's U.S. Steel Corporation—a move approved by anti-monopolist president Theodore Roosevelt. The following year, Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, father-in-law of John D. Rockefeller Jr., established and chaired a commission to investigate the crisis and propose future solutions, leading to the creation of the Federal Reserve System.

Pleistocene (2.58 May - 11,700 kya)

The Pleistocene often colloquially referred to as the Ice Age) is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the world's most recent period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology. The Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary Period, between the Pliocene and the Holocene or sixth epoch of the Cenozoic Era. In the ICS timescale, the Pleistocene is divided into four stages or ages, the Gelasian, Calabrian, Middle Pleistocene (unofficially the "Chibanian"), and Upper Pleistocene (unofficially the "Tarantian"). In addition to this international subdivision, various regional subdivisions are often used.

Phantom Time Hypothesis

The phantom time hypothesis is a historical conspiracy theory asserted by Heribert Illig. First published in 1991, it hypothesizes a conspiracy by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, Pope Sylvester II, and possibly the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, to fabricate the Anno Domini dating system retrospectively, in order to place them at the special year of AD 1000, and to rewrite history to legitimize Otto's claim to the Holy Roman Empire. Illig believed that this was achieved through the alteration, misrepresentation and forgery of documentary and physical evidence. According to this scenario, the entire Carolingian period, including the figure of Charlemagne, is a fabrication, with a "phantom time" of 297 years (AD 614-911) added to the Early Middle Ages. The proposal has been universally rejected by mainstream historians.

nouvelle histoire

The term new history, from the French term nouvelle histoire, was coined by Jacques Le Goff and Pierre Nora, leaders of the third generation of the Annales School, in the 1970s. The movement can be associated with cultural history, history of representations and histoire des mentalités. The new history movement's inclusive definition of the proper matter of historical study has also given it the label total history. The movement was contrasted with the traditional ways of writing history which focused on politics and 'great men'. The new history rejected any insistence on composing historical narrative; an over-emphasis on administrative documents as basic source materials; concern with individuals' motivations and intentions as explanatory factors for historical events; and the old belief in objectivity. The approach was rejected by Marxist historiansbecause it downplayed what Marxists believed was the central role of class in shaping history.

Theory of History, Von Mises

Theory and History: An Interpretation of Social and Economic Evolution is a treatise by Austrian schooleconomist and philosopher Ludwig von Mises. It can be thought of as a continuation in the development of the Misesian system of social science. In particular, it provides further epistemological support for his earlier works, esp. Human Action. Most notably, Mises elaborates on methodological dualism, develops the concept of thymology - a historical branch of the sciences of human action - and presents his critique of Marxist materialism.

Azoic Theory

Theory proposed by Edward Forbes in the nineteenth century that no living organisms can be found on the seabed at depths deeper than 300 fathoms.

These Truths, Jill Lepore (2018)

These Truths: A History of the United States (2018) is a book of American history by historian Jill Lepore. It traces histories of American politics, law, society, and technology from the Age of Discovery through the present day.

Jean Bodin (1530-1596)

This was the man who created the theory of sovereignty in which a state becomes sovereign by claiming a monopoly over the instruments of justice. Introduced the idea of progressive history. Jean Bodin (1530-1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology.

"History is the biography of great men . . ."

Thomas Carlyle stated that "The history of the world is but the biography of great men", reflecting his belief that heroes shape history through both their personal attributes and divine inspiration. In his book On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, Carlyle saw history as having turned on the decisions, works, ideas, and characters of "heroes", giving detailed analysis of six types: The hero as divinity (such as Odin), prophet (such as Jesus), poet (such as Shakespeare), priest (such as Martin Luther), man of letters (such as Rousseau), and king (such as Napoleon). Carlyle also argued that the study of great men was "profitable" to one's own heroic side; that by examining the lives led by such heroes, one could not help but uncover something about one's own true nature. As Sidney Hook notes, a common misinterpretation of the theory is that "all factors in history, save great men, were inconsequential," whereas Carlyle is instead claiming that great men are the decisive factor, owing to their unique genius. Hook then goes on to emphasise this uniqueness to illustrate the point: "Genius is not the result of compounding talent. How many battalions are the equivalent of a Napoleon? How many minor poets will give us a Shakespeare? How many run of the mine scientists will do the work of an Einstein?"

archival bond

a concept in archival theoryreferring to the relationship that each archival record has with the other records produced as part of the same transaction or activity and located within the same grouping. These bonds are a core component of each individual record and are necessary for transforming a document into a record, as a document will only acquire meaning (and become a record) through its interrelationships with other records.

Craetaceous Western Interior Seaway

Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, and the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that existed during the mid- to late Cretaceous period as well as the very early Paleogene, splitting the continent of North Americainto two landmasses, Laramidia to the west and Appalachia to the east. The ancient sea stretched from the Gulf of Mexico and through the middle of the modern-day countries of the United States and Canada, meeting with the Arctic Ocean to the north. At its largest, it was 2,500 feet (760 m) deep, 600 miles (970 km) wide and over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long.

classical tradition

Western civilization originated in classical Greece and Rome over some one thousand years, from approximately 480 BCE to 323 BCE. (Dante and Vergil in Hell by Delacroix, 1823). The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, rituals, practices, and sayings. Philosophy, political thought, and mythology are three major examples of how classical culture survives and continues to have influence.

Whig history

Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents the past as an inevitable progression towards ever greater libertyand enlightenment, culminating in modern forms of liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy. In general, Whig historians emphasize the rise of constitutional government, personal freedoms and scientific progress. The term is often applied generally (and pejoratively) to histories that present the past as the inexorable march of progress towards enlightenment. The term is also used extensively in the history of science to mean historiography that focuses on the successful chain of theories and experiments that led to present-day science, while ignoring failed theories and dead ends. Whig history is a form of liberalism, putting its faith in the power of human reason to reshape society for the better, regardless of past history and tradition. It proposes the inevitable progress of humankind. Whig history has many similarities with the Marxisttheory of history, which presupposes that humanity is moving through historical stages to the classless, egalitarian society to which communism aspires.

William H. McNeill

William Hardy McNeill (October 31, 1917 - July 8, 2016) was a historian and author, noted for his argument that contact and exchange among civilizations is what drives human history forward, first postulated in The Rise of the West (1963). Best-known work is The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, which was published in 1963, relatively early in his career. The book explored world history in terms of the effect different old world civilizations had on one another, and cites the deep influence of Western civilizationon the rest of the world to argue that societal contact with foreign civilizations is the primary force in driving historical change. It had a major impact on historical theory by emphasizing cultural fusions, in contrast to Spengler's view of discrete, independent civilizations.

William Luther Pierce III (1933-2002)

William Luther Pierce III (September 11, 1933 - July 23, 2002) was an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic author and political commentator. For more than 30 years, he was one of the highest profile individuals of the white nationalist movement. A physicist by profession, he was author of the novels The Turner Diaries and Hunter under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. The former has inspired multiple hate crimes, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Pierce founded the National Alliance, a white nationalist organization, which he led for almost thirty years.

Lord Kelvin, William Thomson (1824-1907)

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, OM, GCVO, PC, FRS,FRSE (26 June 1824 - 17 December 1907) was an Irish-Scottish (of Ulster Scots heritage) mathematical physicist and engineer who was born in Belfast in 1824. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging discipline of physics in its modern form. He worked closely with mathematics professor Hugh Blackburn in his work. He also had a career as an electric telegraph engineer and inventor, which propelled him into the public eye and ensured his wealth, fame and honour. For his work on the transatlantic telegraph project he was knighted in 1866 by Queen Victoria, becoming Sir William Thomson. He had extensive maritime interests and was most noted for his work on the mariner's compass, which previously had limited reliability.

Yasuke

Yasuke (variously rendered as 弥助 or 弥介, 彌助 or 彌介 in different sources.) was a retainer of African origin who served under the Sengoku PeriodJapanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke arrived to Japan in 1579 in the service of Italian Jesuitmissionary Alessandro Valignano, Visitor of Missions in the Indies, in India. Yasuke was present during the Honnō-ji Incident, the forced suicide on June 21, 1582, of Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. Yasuke is thought by some to have been the first African that Nobunaga had ever seen, but he was one of the many Africans to have come to Japan during the Nanban trade.

Francis Fukuyama

Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama (born October 27, 1952) is an American political scientist, political economist, and author. Fukuyama is known for his book The End of History and the Last Man (1992), which argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies and free market capitalism of the West and its lifestyle may signal the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution and become the final form of human government. However, his subsequent book Trust: Social Virtues and Creation of Prosperity (1995) modified his earlier position to acknowledge that culture cannot be cleanly separated from economics. Fukuyama is also associated with the rise of the neoconservative movement, from which he has since distanced himself.

yuga

Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four-age cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Satya Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a Kali Yuga. Our present time is ascending Kali yuga.

Fernand Braudel (1902-1985)

a French historian and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects: The Mediterranean(1923-49, then 1949-66), Civilization and Capitalism(1955-79), and the unfinished Identity of France(1970-85). His reputation stems in part from his writings, but even more from his success in making the Annales School the most important engine of historical research in France and much of the world after 1950. As the dominant leader of the Annales School of historiography in the 1950s and 1960s, he exerted enormous influence on historical writing in France and other countries. He was a student of Henri Hauser (1866-1946).

Count de Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc (1707-1788)

a Frenchnaturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quartovolumes of his Histoire Naturelle during his lifetime; with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the two decades following his death. Ernst Mayr wrote that "Truly, Buffon was the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century". Buffon held the position of intendant (director) at the Jardin du Roi, now called the Jardin des Plantes.

What is History? (1961), E.H. Carr

a book based upon his series of G. M. Trevelyan lectures, delivered at the University of Cambridge between January-March 1961. In this work, Carr argued that he was presenting a middle-of-the-road position between the empirical view of history and R. G. Collingwood's idealism. Carr rejected the empirical view of the historian's work being an accretion of "facts" that he or she has at their disposal as nonsense. Carr divided facts into two categories, "facts of the past", that is historical information that historians deem unimportant, and "historical facts", information that the historians have decided is important. Carr contended that historians quite arbitrarily determine which of the "facts of the past" to turn into "historical facts" according to their own biases and agendas.

local history

a distinct contextual event that affects either the program or the nonprogram group, but not both. Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small but a study of past events in a given geographical but one that is based on a wide variety of documentary evidenceand placed in a comparative context that is both regional and national. Historic plaques are one form of documentation of significant occurrences in the past and oral histories are another.

archival analysis

a form of the observational method in which the researcher examines the accumulated documents, or archives, of a culture.

deep time

a framework for considering the span of human history within the much larger age of the universe and planet earth. Deep time is the concept of geologic time. The philosophical concept of deep time was developed in the 18th century by Scottish geologist James Hutton(1726-1797); his "system of the habitable Earth" was a deistic mechanism keeping the world would eternally suitable for humans. The modern concept shows huge changes over the age of the Earth which has been determined to be, after a long and complex history of developments, around 4.55 billion years.

Raoul de Cambrai

a french knight pillaged a convent, raped the nuns and burned them alive. Raoul de Cambrai is a 12th -13th century French epic poem (chanson de geste) concerning the eponymous hero's battles to take possession of his fief and of the repercussions from these battles. It is typically grouped in the "rebellious vassals cycle", or "Geste of Doon de Mayence."

geofact

a geofact (a portmanteau of "geology" and "artifact") is a natural stone formation that is difficult to distinguish from a man-made artifact. Geofacts could be fluvially reworked and be misinterpreted as an artifact, especially when compared to paleolithic artifacts. Some of the proposed criteria for distinguishing geofacts from artifacts for paleolithic specimens resembling debitage have been subjected to evaluation by experimental and actualistic studies. If the artifact has two or more of the following, then the artifact is more than likely to be a geofact. Distinguishing geofacts from lithic debitage, through experiments and comparisons.

era

a long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic. era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comparable terms are epoch, age, period, saeculum, aeon (Greek aion) and Sanskrit yuga.

chronicle

a record of events in order of time; a history. chronicle (Latin: chronica, from Greek from chrónos - "time") is a historical account of facts and events arranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the chronicler. This is in contrast to a narrative or history, which sets selected events in a meaningful interpretive context and excludes those the author does not see as important.

Pannotia

a supercontinent that existed during the Neoproterozoic. Pannotia (from Greek: pan-, "all", -nótos, "south"; meaning "all southern land"), also known as Vendian supercontinent, Greater Gondwana, and the Pan-African supercontinent, was a relatively short-lived Neoproterozoic supercontinent that formed at the end of the Precambrian during the Pan-African orogeny (650-500 Ma) and broke apart 560 Ma with the opening of the Iapetus Ocean.[1] Pannotia formed when Laurentia was located adjacent to the two major South American cratons, Amazonia and Río de la Plata. The opening of the Iapetus Ocean separated Laurentia from Baltica, Amazonia, and Río de la Plata.

longue durèe

a term used in historical studies, to refer to historical continuities over long periods of time, often ones that aren't obvious on the surface. longue durée (French pronunciation: ​[lɔ̃ɡ dyʁe]; English: the long term) is an expression used by the French Annales School of historical writing to designate their approach to the study of history. It gives priority to long-term historical structures over what François Simiand called histoire événementielle("evental history", the short-term time-scale that is the domain of the chronicler and the journalist), concentrating instead on all-but-permanent or slowly evolving structures, and substitutes for elite biographies the broader syntheses of prosopography. The crux of the idea is to examine extended periods of time and draw conclusions from historical trends and patterns.

Histories (440 BCE), Herodotus

also known as The Histories) of Herodotus is considered the founding work of history in Western literature. Written in 440 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in Western Asia, Northern Africa and Greece at that time. Although not a fully impartial record, it remains one of the West's most important sources regarding these affairs. Moreover, it established the genre and study of history in the Western world (despite the existence of historical records and chronicles beforehand).

The Posey War (1923)

also known as the Last Indian Uprising and several other names, occurred in March 1923 and may be considered the final Indian War in American history. Though it was a minor conflict, it involved a mass exodus of Ute and Paiute native Americans from their land around Bluff, Utah to the deserts of Navajo Mountain. The natives were led by a chief named Posey, who took his people into the mountains to try and escape his pursuers. Unlike previous conflicts, posses played a major role while the United States Army played a minor one. The war ended after a skirmish at Comb Ridge. Posey was badly wounded and his band was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in Blanding. When Posey's death was confirmed by the authorities, the prisoners were released and given land allotments to farm and raise livestock.

Eusebius of Caesarea (269/265-339/340)

an early Christian historian whose Ecclesiastical History preserved for later generations excerpts from a number of ancient Christian documents no longer available. Also known as Eusebius Pamphili was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christianpolemicist. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314 AD. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as an extremely learned Christian of his time.He wrote Demonstrations of the Gospel, Preparations for the Gospel, and On Discrepancies between the Gospels, studies of the Biblical text. As "Father of Church History" (not to be confused with the title of Church Father), he produced the Ecclesiastical History, On the Life of Pamphilus, the Chronicle and On the Martyrs. He also produced a biographical work on the first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, who ruled between 306 and 337 AD.

conodonts

an early, soft-bodied vertebrate with prominent eyes and dental elements. Conodonts (Greek kōnos, "cone", + odont, "tooth") are extinct agnathan chordates resembling eels, classified in the class Conodonta. For many years, they were known only from tooth-like microfossils found in isolation and now called conodont elements. Knowledge about soft tissues remains limited. The animals are also called Conodontophora(conodont bearers) to avoid ambiguity.

eolith

an eolith (from Greek "eos", dawn, and "lithos", stone) is a chipped flint nodule. Eoliths were once thought to have been artifacts, the earliest stone tools, but are now believed to be geofacts (stone fragments produced by fully natural geological processes such as glaciation). The first eoliths were collected in Kent by Benjamin Harrison, an amateur naturalist and archaeologist, in 1885 (though the name "eolith" wasn't coined until 1892, by J. Allen Browne). Harrison's discoveries were published by Sir Joseph Prestwich in 1891, and eoliths were generally accepted to have been crudely made tools, dating from the Pliocene. Further discoveries of eoliths in the early 20th century - in East Anglia by J. Reid Moir and in continental Europeby Aimé Louis Rutot and H. Klaatsch - were taken to be evidence of human habitation of those areas before the oldest known fossils. Indeed, the Englishfinds helped to secure acceptance of the hoax remains of Piltdown man.

Song of Roland

an epic poem based on the Battle of Roncevaux in 778, during the reign of Charlemagne. Song of Roland (French: La Chanson de Roland) is an epic poem (chanson de geste) based on the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, during the reign of Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French literature and exists in various manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in the 12th to 14th centuries. The date of composition is put in the period between 1040 and 1115: an early version beginning around 1040 with additions and alterations made up until about 1115. The final text has about 4,000 lines of poetry. The epic poem is the first[1] and, along with The Poem of the Cid, one of the most outstanding examples of the chanson de geste, a literary form that flourished between the 11th and 15th centuries and celebrated legendary deeds.

Neurohistory (Email, 2008)

an interdisciplinary approach to history that leverages advances in neuroscience to tell new kinds of stories about the past, but especially of deep history. This is achieved by incorporating the advances in neurosciences into historiographical theory and methodology in the attempt to reconstruct the past It was first proposed by Harvard professor Daniel Lord Smail in his work and it offers historians a way to engage critically with the implicit folk psychologies in the interpretation of evidence. A historical approach, neurohistory allows the idea that the brain can be a narrative focus of history, one that is not anchored on the framework of political organization. An interpretation also describes it as an approach to the past that recognizes the evidence for brain plasticity in human development, giving context importance, particularly when constructing human experience. Neurohistory is also linked with cultural history in the sense that it provides more insights, particularly with respect to early history, since it does not constrain historical imagination. It leads to the so-called implicit presentism drawn from a historian's inferences projected from his folk-psychological notions through reconstructed context.

Oswald Spengler

an obscure German high school teacher who wrote Decline of the West, said the west was about to be conquered by Asians. Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (German, 29 May 1880 - 8 May 1936) was a German historian and philosopher of history whose interests included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West, published in 1918 and 1922, covering all of world history. Spengler's model of history postulates that any culture is a superorganism with a limited and predictable lifespan. Predicted that about the year 2000, Western civilization would enter the period of pre‑death emergency whose countering would necessitate Caesarism (extraconstitutional omnipotence of the executive branch of the central government). Rendered as a nationalist, anti-democratic, and a prominent member of the Conservative Revolution, but he rejected National Socialism due to its excessive racialism.

critical history

any works involving the critical assessment of historical representations or methodologies, historiographical criticism, studies in the philosophy of history, or that question the accuracy or legitimacy of historical account, whether through the lens of critical theory, postmodernism, or some other theoretical or philosophical frame. Critical history leads us to the study, not only of interpretations bearing upon past phenomena but also of present-day matters informing our perspectives on the past.

Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975)

argues that societies are born, mature, decay, and sometimes die. Arnold Joseph Toynbee, CH, FBA (14 April 1889 - 22 October 1975) was a British historian, philosopher of history, author of numerous books. Toynbee in the 1918-1950 period was a leading specialist on international affairs. Best known for his 12-volume A Study of History (1934-1961). With his prodigious output of papers, articles, speeches and presentations, and numerous books translated into many languages, Toynbee was a widely read and discussed scholar in the 1940s and 1950s. However, by the 1960s his magnum opus had fallen out of favor among mainstream historians and his vast readership had faded.

auxiliary (ancillary) sciences of history

auxiliary (or ancillary) sciences of history are scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research. Many of these areas of study, classification and analysis were originally developed between the 16th and 19th centuries by antiquaries, and would then have been regarded as falling under the broad heading of antiquarianism. "History" was at that time regarded as a largely literary skill. However, with the spread of the principles of empirical source-based history championed by the Göttingen School of History in the late 18th century and later by Leopold von Rankefrom the mid-19th century onwards, they have been increasingly regarded as falling within the skill-set of the trained historian.

Fall of the Roman Empire, 476 CE

by convention, the Western Roman Empire is deemed to have ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacerdeposed Romulus Augustulus and proclaimed himself ruler of Italy, but this convention is subject to many qualifications. In Roman constitutional theory, the Empire was still simply united under one emperor, implying no abandonment of territorial claims. In areas where the convulsions of the dying Empire had made organized self-defence legitimate, rump statescontinued under some form of Roman rule after 476. Julius Nepos still claimed to be Emperor of the West and controlled Dalmatia until his murder in 480.

philosophy of history

contemporary philosophy a distinction is made between critical philosophy of history (also known as analytic) and speculative philosophy of history. The names of these types are derived from C. D. Broad's distinction between critical philosophy and speculative philosophy. The former studies the past itself whereas the latter is the equivalent of what the philosophy of science is for nature. Though there is some overlap between the two aspects, they can usually be distinguished; modern professional historians tend to be skeptical about speculative philosophy of history. Sometimes critical philosophy of history is included under historiography. Philosophy of history should not be confused with the history of philosophy, which is the study of the development of philosophical ideas in their historical context.

conjectural history

conjectural history is a type of historiographyisolated in the 1790s by Dugald Stewart, who termed it "theoretical or conjectural history", as prevalent in the historians and early social scientists of the Scottish Enlightenment. As Stewart saw it, such history makes space for speculation about causes of events, by postulating natural causes that could have had such an effect. His concept was to be identified closely with the French terminology histoire raisonnée, and the usage of "natural history" by David Hume in his work The Natural History of Religion. It was related to "philosophical history", a broader-based kind of historical theorising, but concentrated on the early history of man in a type of rational reconstruction that had little contact with evidence. Such conjectural history was the antithesis of the narrative history being written at the time by Edward Gibbon and William Robertson.

Deep History

connected history of modern humans and our ancestors. Deep history is a term for the distant past of the human species. As an intellectual discipline, deep history encourages scholars in anthropology, archaeology, primatology, genetics and linguistics to work together to write a common narrative about the beginnings of humans, and to redress what they see as an imbalance among historians, who mostly concentrate on more recent periods. Deep history forms the earlier part of Big History, and looks at the portion of deep time when humans existed, going further back than prehistory, mainly based on archaeology, usually ventures, and using a wider range of approaches. Proponents of deep history argue for a definition of history that rests not upon the invention of writing, but upon the evolution of anatomically modern humans. According to Daniel Lord Smail, perhaps the most prominent advocate of Deep History, the concept of prehistory is recast as an arbitrary boundary that limits the longue durée perspective of historians, and which rests upon assumptions that history follows a teleological path beginning with the origins of civilization in Ancient Mesopotamia. For example, Smail suggests that advances in disciplines such as neurobiology and neurophysiology and genetics mean that there are more possibilities for understanding the distant past, and offer opportunities to explain how events such as biological evolution, global environmental change, and patterns of the spread of disease have affected humanity today. Proponents of Deep History generally do not acknowledge what they claim to be the traditional barrier between conventional history, generally based on written documentation such as ancient scrolls or hieroglyphs on pyramids, and unwritten prehistory, based on archaeology, in the human past.

CRAAP Test: Accuracy

emphasizing the trustworthiness of sources, the accuracy of the contents in the source must connect back to the origin. Evidence must support the information presented to the audience. Evidence can include findings, observations, or field notes. The report must be reviewed or referred. It must be verifiable from another source or common knowledge. That said, the language used in the sources has to be unbiased or free of emotion, because of its use for fact retrieval. The content in the source should be free of spelling, grammar, or typographical errors.

Postcolonialism

examines the social and political power relationships that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism, including the social, political and cultural narratives surrounding the colonizer and the colonized. This approach may overlap with contemporary history and critical theory, and may also draw examples from history, political science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and human geography. Sub-disciplines of postcolonial studies examine the effects of colonial rule on the practice of feminism, anarchism, literature and Christian thought.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

explored the relationship between power and knowledge, in part by analyzing institutions such as prisons and schools as instruments of social control. Paul-Michel Foucault (15 October 1926 - 25 June 1984), generally known as Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, and literary critic.

Great Man Theory

great man theory is a 19th-century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes; highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect. The theory is primarily attributed to the Scottish philosopher and essayist Thomas Carlyle who gave a series of lectures on heroism in 1840, later published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History, in which he states: Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

his best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto, and the three-volume Das Kapital. His political and philosophical thought had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history and his name has been used as an adjective, a noun and a school of social theory. Marx's critical theories about society, economics and politics - collectively understood as Marxism - hold that human societies develop through class struggle. In capitalism, this manifests itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (known as the bourgeoisie) that control the means of productionand the working classes (known as the proletariat) that enable these means by selling their labour powerin return for wages. Employing a critical approach known as historical materialism, Marx predicted that, like previous socio-economic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system: socialism. For Marx, class antagonisms under capitalism, owing in part to its instability and crisis-prone nature, would eventuate the working class' development of class consciousness, leading to their conquest of political power and eventually the establishment of a classless, communist society constituted by a free association of producers. Marx actively pressed for its implementation, arguing that the working class should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic emancipation.

historical criticism

historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text." While often discussed in terms of Jewish and Christian writings from ancient times, historical criticism has also been applied to other religious and secular writings from various parts of the world and periods of history. The primary goal of historical criticism is to discover the text's primitive or original meaning in its original historical context and its literal sense or sensus literalis historicus. The secondary goal seeks to establish a reconstruction of the historical situation of the author and recipients of the text. That may be accomplished by reconstructing the true nature of the events that the text describes. An ancient text may also serve as a document, record or source for reconstructing the ancient past, which may also serve as a chief interest to the historical critic.

black legend

historiographical phenomenon in which a sustained trend in historical writing of biased reporting and introduction of fabricated, exaggerated and/or decontextualized facts is directed against particular persons, nations or institutions with the intention of creating a distorted and uniquely inhuman image of them while hiding their positive contributions to history. The term was first used by French writer Arthur Lévy in his 1893 work Napoléon Intime, in contrast to the expression "Golden Legend" that had been in circulation around Europe since the publication of a book of that name during the Middle Ages.

history of mentalities

history of mentalities or histoire des mentalités(French: 'history of attitudes') is the body of historical works aimed at describing and analyzing the ways in which people of a given time period thought about, interacted with, and classified the world around them, as opposed to the history of particular events, or economic trends. The history of mentalities has been used as a historical tool by several historians and scholars from various schools of history. Notably, the historians of the Annales School helped to develop the history of mentalities and construct a methodology from which to operate. In establishing this methodology, they sought to limit their analysis to a particular place and a particular time. This approach lends itself to the intensive study that characterizes microhistory, another field which adopted the history of mentalities as a tool of historical analysis.

social memory

how social life affects the processes of memory and forgetting, whether on an individual psychological level or in terms of how groups think of their collective history. Social memory is a concept used by historians and others to explore the connection between social identity and historical memory. It asks how and why diverse peoples come to think of themselves as members of a group with a shared (though not necessarily agreed upon) past.

humanism

humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition. The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it. The term was coined by theologian Friedrich Niethammer at the beginning of the 19th century to refer to a system of education based on the study of classical literature ("classical humanism"). Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human freedom and progress. It views humans as solely responsible for the promotion and development of individuals and emphasizes a concern for man in relation to the world.

historical presentism

in literary and historical analysis, presentism is the anachronistic introduction of present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Some modern historians seek to avoid presentism in their work because they consider it a form of cultural bias, and believe it creates a distorted understanding of their subject matter.[1]The practice of presentism is regarded by some as a common fallacy in historical writing. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the first citation for presentism in its historiographic sense from 1916, and the word may have been used in this meaning as early as the 1870s. The historian David Hackett Fischer identifies presentism as a fallacy also known as the "fallacy of nunc pro tunc."

Lithic Stage

in the sequence of cultural stages first proposed for the archaeology of the Americas by Gordon Willeyand Philip Phillips in 1958, the Lithic stage was the earliest period of human occupation in the Americas, as post-glacial hunters and collectors spread through the Americas. The stage derived its name from the first appearance of Lithic flaked stone tools. The term Paleo-Indian is an alternative, generally indicating much the same period. This stage was conceived of as embracing two major categories of stone technology: (1) unspecialized and largely unformulated core and flake industries, with percussion the dominant and perhaps only technique employed, and (2) industries exhibiting more advanced "blade" techniques of stoneworking, with specialized fluted or unfluted lanceolate points the most characteristic artifact types. Throughout South America, there are stone tool traditions of the lithic stage, such as the "fluted fishtail" that reflect localized adaptations to the diverse habitats of the continent.

secondary source

information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event. scholarship, a secondary source is a documentor recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. A secondary source is one that gives information about a primary source. In this source, the original information is selected, modified and arranged in a suitable format. Secondary sources involve generalization, analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information. The most accurate classification for any given source is not always obvious. Primary and secondary are relative terms, and some sources may be classified as primary or secondary, depending on how they are used. A third level, the tertiary source, such as an encyclopedia or dictionary, resembles a secondary source in that it contains analysis, but attempts to provide a broad introductory overview of a topic.

macrohistory

macrohistory seeks out large, long-term trends in world history, searching for ultimate patterns through a comparison of proximate details. For example, a macro-historical study might examine Japanese feudalism and European feudalism in order to decide whether feudal structures are an inevitable outcome given certain conditions. Macro-historical studies often "assume that macro-historical processes repeat themselves in explainable and understandable ways". This approach can identify stages in the development of humanity as a whole such as the large-scale direction towards greater rationality, greater liberty or the development of productive forces and communist society, among others.

phaleristics

phaleristics, from the Greek mythological hero Phalerus (Greek: Phaleros) via the Latin phalera ("heroics"), sometimes spelled faleristics, is an auxiliary science of history and numismatics which studies orders, fraternities and award items, such as medals and other decorations. The subject includes orders of chivalry (including military orders), orders of merit and fraternal orders. These may all in turn be official, national, state entities, or civil, religious, or academic-related ones. The field of study also comprises comparative honour systems, and thus in a broader sense also history (art history), sociology and anthropology.

philology

philology is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics. Philology is more commonly defined as the study of literary texts as well as oral and written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning. A person who pursues this kind of study is known as a philologist.

proleptic Julian calendar

proleptic Julian calendar is produced by extending the Julian calendar backwards to dates preceding AD 8 when the quadrennial leap yearstabilized. The leap years that were actually observed between the implementation of the Julian calendar in 45 BC and AD 8 were erratic: see the Julian calendararticle for details. A calendar obtained by extension earlier in time than its invention or implementation is called the "proleptic" version of the calendar. Likewise, the proleptic Gregorian calendar is occasionally used to specify dates before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Because the Julian calendar was used before that time, one must explicitly state that a given quoted date is based on the proleptic Gregorian calendar if that is the case.

public history

public history is a broad range of activities undertaken by people with some training in the discipline of history who are generally working outside of specialized academic settings. Public history practice is deeply rooted in the areas of historic preservation, archival science, oral history, museum curatorship, and other related fields. The field has become increasingly professionalized in the United States and Canada since the late 1970s. Some of the most common settings for the practice of public history are museums, historic homes and historic sites, parks, battlefields, archives, film and television companies, and all levels of government.

CRAAP Test: Purpose

purpose of the sources helps the readers know whether the information they are looking for is right for their research. The questions that arise when looking for the purpose range from informing, teaching, selling, entertaining, research or even self-gaining purposes. Also, the author's intentions should be clear. Certain aspects should be taken into consideration whether the information given is fact, opinion, or propaganda as well as political, personal, religious, or ideological bias. Knowing the purpose of the information helps researching for sources a lot easier.

quantitative history

quantitative history is an approach to historical research that makes use of quantitative, statisticaland computer tools. It is considered a branch of social science history and has four leading journals: Historical Methods (1967- ), Journal of Interdisciplinary History (1968- ), the Social Science History (1976- ), and Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution (2010- ).

historical memory

refers to the ways in which groups and nations construct and identify with particular narratives about historical periods. Historical memory refers to the fluid way by which groups of people create and then identify with specific narratives about historical periods or events, sometimes based on present circumstances. Historical memory involves a collection of familial memory, religious memory, and national memory.

historical perspective

refers to understanding a subject in light of its earliest phases and subsequent evolution. This perspective differs from history because its object is to sharpen one's vision of the present, not the past. When historical perspective is overlooked in social research, researchers may draw misleading conclusions. Historical perspective expands research horizons by encouraging study of the relative stability of phenomena, providing alternative explanations for phenomena, and aiding problem formulation and research design.

respect des fonds

respect des fonds, or le respect pour les fonds, is a principle in archival theory that proposes to group collections of archival records according to their fonds (according to the entity by which they were created or from which they were received). It is one of several principles stemming from provenance that have guided archival arrangement and description from the late 19th century until the present day. It is similar to archival integrity, which dictates that "a body of records resulting from the same activity must be preserved as a group."[2] It is also closely related to the idea of original order - the idea that archivists ought to maintain records using the creator's organizational system. However, respect des fondsdiffers from that other foundational sub-principle of provenance in its concern with the integrity of the collection or record group as a whole rather than the organization of materials within that collection or record group.

saeculum

saeculum is a length of time roughly equal to the potential lifetime of a person or, equivalently, of the complete renewal of a human population. The term was first used by the Etruscans. Originally it meant the period of time from the moment that something happened (for example the founding of a city) until the point in time that all people who had lived at the first moment had died. At that point a new saeculum would start. According to legend, the gods had allotted a certain number of saecula to every people or civilization; the Etruscans themselves, for example, had been given ten saecula.

sigillography

sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the wax, lead, clay, and other seals used to authenticate archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design and production of seals (both matrices and impressions), but also considers the legal, administrative and social contexts in which they were used. It has links to diplomatics, heraldry, social history, and the history of art, and is regarded as one of the auxiliary sciences of history.

social history

social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments in Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States. In the two decades from 1975 to 1995, the proportion of professors of history in American universities identifying with social history rose from 31% to 41%, while the proportion of political historians fell from 40% to 30%. In the history departments of British and Irish universities in 2014, of the 3410 faculty members reporting, 878 (26%) identified themselves with social history while political history came next with 841 (25%).

unwitting testimony

unwitting testimony refers to the unintentional evidence provided by historical sources. It may demonstrate the attitudes of an author, or the culture to which he or she belongs. This category of information is made in recognition of the fact that primary sources contain flaws as well as several layers of evidence and that there are messages that are not explicit.

source criticism

source criticism (or information evaluation) is the process of evaluating the qualities of an information source, such as its validity, reliability, and relevance to the subject under investigation. Gilbert J Garraghan and Jean Delanglez divide source criticism into six inquiries: When was the source, written or unwritten, produced (date)?Where was it produced (localization)?By whom was it produced (authorship)?From what pre-existing material was it produced (analysis)?In what original form was it produced (integrity)?What is the evidential value of its contents (credibility)? The first four are known as higher criticism; the fifth, lower criticism; and, together, external criticism. The sixth and final inquiry about a source is called internal criticism. Together, this inquiry is known as source criticism. R. J. Shafer on external criticism: "It sometimes is said that its function is negative, merely saving us from using false evidence; whereas internal criticism has the positive function of telling us how to use authenticated evidence."

CRAAP Test

standard for evaluating sources for credibility (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose). CRAAP test is a test developed by Sarah Blakeslee and her team of librarians at California State University, Chico (CSU Chico) to check the reliability of sources across academic disciplines. Due to a vast number of sources existing online, it can be difficult to tell whether these sources are trustworthy to use as tools for research. Thus, the CRAAP test makes it easier for educators and students to determine if their sources can be trusted. CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. By employing the CRAAP test while evaluating sources, a researcher reduces the likelihood of using unreliable information. The CRAAP test is used mainly by higher education librarians at universities.

archival science

study and theory of building and curating archives, which are collections of documents, recordings and data storage devices. To build and curate an archive, one must acquire and evaluate recorded materials, and be able to access them later. To this end, archival science seeks to improve methods for appraising, storing, preserving, and cataloging recorded materials. An archival record preserves data that is not intended to change. In order to be of value to society, archives must be trustworthy. Therefore, an archivist has a responsibility to authenticate archival materials, such as historical documents, and to ensure their reliability, integrity, and usability. Archival records must be what they claim to be; accurately represent the activity they were created for; present a coherent picture through an array of content; and be in usable condition in an accessible location.

archontology

study of historical offices and important positions in state, international, political, religious and other organizations and societies. It includes chronology, succession of office holders, their biographies and related records.

codicology

study of relations among manuscripts. Codicology (from Latin codex, genitive codicis, "notebook, book"; and Greek -λογία, -logia) is the study of codices or manuscript books written on parchment (or paper) as physical objects. It is often referred to as 'the archaeology of the book', concerning itself with the materials (parchment, sometimes referred to as membrane or vellum, paper, pigments, inks and so on), and techniques used to make books, including their binding. There are no clear-cut definitions: some codicologists say that their field encompasses palaeography, the study of handwriting, while some palaeographers say that their field encompasses codicology. The study of written features such as marginalia, glosses, ownership inscriptions, etc. falls in both camps, as does the study of the physical aspects of decoration, which otherwise belongs to art history.

The Archeology of Knowledge, Michel Foucault (1969)

the Archaeology of Knowledge (French: L'archéologie du savoir) is a 1969 methodological and historiographical treatise by the French philosopher Michel Foucault, in which he promotes "archaeology" or the "archaeological method", an analytical method he implicitly used in his previous works Madness and Civilization (1961), The Birth of the Clinic (1963), and The Order of Things (1966). It is Foucault's only explicitly methodological work.

paleogeography

the ancient geographic setting of an area. Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments. When the focus is specifically on the study of landforms, the term paleogeomorphology is sometimes used instead. Paleogeography yields information that is crucial to scientific understanding in a variety of contexts.

historical anthropology

the archaeological study of places for which written records exist. Historical anthropology is a historiographical movement which applies methodologies and objectives from Social and Cultural Anthropology to the study of historical societies.[1] Like most such movements, it is understood in different ways by different scholars, and to some may be synonymous with the history of mentalities, cultural history, ethnohistory, microhistory, history from below or Alltagsgeschichte. Anthropologists whose work has been particularly inspirational to historical anthropology include Emile Durkheim, Clifford Geertz, Arnold van Gennep, Jack Goody, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, Marcel Mauss and Victor Turner. Peter Burke has contrasted historical anthropology with Social History, finding that historical anthropology tends to focus on qualitative rather than quantitative data, smaller communities, and symbolic aspects of culture. Thus it reflects a turn away, in the 1960s, in Marxist historiography from 'the orthodox Marxist approach to human behaviour in which actors are seen as motivated in the first instance by economics, and only secondarily by culture or ideology', in the work of historians such as E. P. Thompson.

Historical Materialism

the assumption that material forces are the prime movers of history and politics; a key philosophical tenet of Marxism. Historical materialism, also known as the materialist conception of history, is a methodology used by some communist and Marxist historiographers that focuses on human societies and their development through history, arguing that history is the result of material conditions rather than ideas. This was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883) as the "materialist conception of history." It is principally a theory of history which asserts that the material conditions of a society's mode of production or in Marxist terms, the union of a society's productive forces and relations of production, fundamentally determine society's organization and development. Historical materialism is an example of Marx and Engel's scientific socialism, attempting to show that socialism and communism are scientific necessities rather than philosophical ideals.

hermeneutics

the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and non-verbal communication as well as semiotics, presuppositions, and pre-understandings. Hermeneutics has been broadly applied in the humanities, especially in law, history and theology. Hermeneutics was initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture, and has been later broadened to questions of general interpretation. The terms hermeneutics and exegesis are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider discipline which includes written, verbal, and non-verbal communication. Exegesis focuses primarily upon the word and grammar of texts.

classical antiquity

the culture and civilization of ancient Greece and Rome. Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known as the Greco-Roman world. It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.

Paelolithic (Era, Period, Age)

the earliest period of human history, Old Stone Age, time of discovery of stone tools, humans were hunters, gatherers, nomadic and used simple tools, people had no permanent home and moved from place to place. Paleolithic or Palaeolithic also called the Old Stone Age, is a period in human prehistory distinguished by the original development of stone tools that covers c. 99% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by homininsc. 3.3 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocenec. 11,650 cal BP. The Paleolithic Age is followed in Europe by the Mesolithic Age, although the date of the transition varies geographically by several thousand years.

collective memory

the experiences shared and recalled by significant numbers of people. Such memories are revived, preserved, shared, passed on, and recast in many forms, such as stories, holidays, rituals, and monuments. Collective memory refers to the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity. The English phrase "collective memory" and the equivalent French phrase "la mémoire collective" appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. The philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs analyzed and advanced the concept of the collective memory in the book La mémoire collective (1950). Collective memory can be constructed, shared, and passed on by large and small social groups. Examples of these groups can include nations, generations, communities among others. Collective memory has been a topic of interest and research across a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, history, philosophyand anthropology.

Great Man Theory

the great man theory is a 19th-century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes; highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect. The theory is primarily attributed to the Scottish philosopher and essayist Thomas Carlyle who gave a series of lectures on heroism in 1840, later published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History, in which he states: Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these.

recent African origins hypothesis

the hypothesis that all modern people are derived from one single population of archaic Homo sapiens from Africa who migrated out of Africa after 100,000 years ago, replacing all other archaic forms due to their superior cultural capabilities. Also called the Eve or out of Africa hypothesis. In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans, also called the "Out of Africa" theory (OOA), recent single-origin hypothesis(RSOH), replacement hypothesis, or recent African origin model (RAO), is the dominant model of the geographic origin and early migration of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens). It follows the early expansions of hominins out of Africa, accomplished by Homo erectus and then Homo neanderthalensis. The model proposes a "single origin" of Homo sapiens in the taxonomic sense, precluding parallel evolution of traits considered anatomically modern in other regions, but not precluding multiple admixturebetween H. sapiens and archaic humans in Europe and Asia. H. sapiens most likely developed in the Horn of Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. The "recent African origin" model proposes that all modern non-African populations are substantially descended from populations of H. sapiens that left Africa after that time. There were at least several "out-of-Africa" dispersals of modern humans, possibly beginning as early as 270,000 years ago, including 215,000 years ago.

Hegelian Dialectic

the idea, according to G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831), a German philosopher, that social change results from the conflict of opposite ideas. The thesis is confronted by the antithesis, resulting in a synthesis, which then becomes a new thesis. The process is evolutionary. Marx turned Hegel "upside down" and made class conflict, not ideas, the force driving history forward.

Historical particularism

the idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.

academic history

the main reason for studying history is to gain critical thinking skills and know the truth about past events. Can be a large, multivolume work such as the Cambridge Modern History, written collaboratively under some central editorial control.

Mesolithic (Era, Period, Age)

the middle part of the Stone Age; marked by the creation of smaller and more complex tools. In Old World archaeology, Mesolithic (Greek: mesos "middle"; lithos "stone") is the period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymously, especially for outside northern Europe, and for the corresponding period in the Levant and Caucasus. The Mesolithic has different time spans in different parts of Eurasia. It refers to the final period of hunter-gatherer cultures in Europe and Western Asia, between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Neolithic Revolution. In Europe it spans roughly 15,000 to 5,000 BP; in Southwest Asia (the Epipalaeolithic Near East) roughly 20,000 to 8,000 BP. The term is less used of areas further east, and not at all beyond Eurasia and North Africa.

political history

the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is interrelated to other fields of history, especially diplomatic history, as well as constitutional history and public history. Political history studies the organization and operation of power in large societies. By focusing on the elites in power, on their impact on society, on popular response, and on the relationships with the elites in other social history, which focuses predominantly on the actions and lifestyles of ordinary people, or people's history, which is historical work from the perspective of the common people.

Prehistory

the period of time before written records. Human prehistory is the period between the use of the first stone tools c. 3.3 million years ago by hominins and the invention of writing systems. The earliest writing systems appeared c. 5,300 years ago, but it took thousands of years for writing to be widely adopted, and it was not used in some human cultures until the 19th century or even until the present. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different dates in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently.

colonialiam

the policy of a nation seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of economic dominance. The colonising country seeks to benefit from the colonised country or land mass. In the process, colonisers imposed their religion, economics, and medicinal practices on the natives. Colonialism is largely regarded as a relationship of domination of an indigenous majority by a minority of foreign invaders where the latter rule in pursuit of its interests.

Short Chronology Theory

the short chronology is one of the chronologies of the Near Eastern Bronze and Early Iron Age, which fixes the reign of Hammurabi to 1728-1686 BC and the sack of Babylon to 1531 BC. The absolute 2nd millennium BC dates resulting from these reference points have very little academic support, and have essentially been disproved by recent dendrochronology research. The middle chronology (reign of Hammurabi 1792-1750 BC) is more commonly accepted in academic literature. For much of the period in question, middle chronology dates can be calculated by adding 64 years to the corresponding short chronology date (e.g. 1728 BC in short chronology corresponds to 1792 in middle chronology). After the so-called "dark age" between the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Kassite dynasty in Babylonia, absolute dating becomes less uncertain. While exact dates are still not agreed upon, the 64-year middle/short chronology gap ceases from the beginning of the Third Babylon Dynasty onward.

short chronology

the short chronology is one of the chronologies of the Near Eastern Bronze and Early Iron Age, which fixes the reign of Hammurabi to 1728-1686 BC and the sack of Babylon to 1531 BC. The absolute 2nd millennium BC dates resulting from these reference points have very little academic support, and have essentially been disproved by recent dendrochronology research. The middle chronology (reign of Hammurabi 1792-1750 BC) is more commonly accepted in academic literature. For much of the period in question, middle chronology dates can be calculated by adding 64 years to the corresponding short chronology date (e.g. 1728 BC in short chronology corresponds to 1792 in middle chronology). After the so-called "dark age" between the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Kassite dynasty in Babylonia, absolute dating becomes less uncertain. While exact dates are still not agreed upon, the 64-year middle/short chronology gap ceases from the beginning of the Third Babylon Dynasty onward.

Panthalassa

the single, large ocean that covered Earth's surface during the time the supercontinent Pangaea existed. Panthalassa, also known as the Panthalassic Oceanor Panthalassan Ocean (from Greek "all" and "sea"),[1] was the superocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea. During the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition c. 250 Ma it occupied almost 70% of Earth's surface. Its ocean floor has completely disappeared because of the continuous subduction along the continental margins on its circumference. Panthalassa is also referred to as the Paleo-Pacific ("old Pacific") or Proto-Pacificbecause the Pacific Ocean developed from its centre in the Mesozoic to the present.

epigraphy

the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literary composition.

toponymy

the study of place names. Toponym is the general name for any place or geographical entity. Related, more specific types of toponym include hydronym for a body of water and oronym for a mountain or hill. A toponymist is one who studies toponymy.

transhistoricity

transhistoricity is the quality of holding throughout human history, not merely within the frame of reference of a particular form of society at a particular stage of historical development. An entity or concept that has transhistoricity is said to be transhistorical. Certain theories of history (e.g. that of Hegel), treat human history as divided into distinct epochs with their own internal logics—historical materialism is the most famous case of such a theory. States of affairs which hold within one epoch may be completely absent, or carry opposite implications in another, according to these theories.

coherence theory of truth

truth test in which new or unclear ideas are evaluated in terms of rational or logical consistency and in relation to already established truths. egards truth as coherence within some specified set of sentences, propositions or beliefs. The model is contrasted with the correspondence theory of truth. A positive tenet is the idea that truth is a property of whole systems of propositions and can be ascribed to individual propositions only derivatively according to their coherence with the whole. While modern coherence theorists hold that there are many possible systems to which the determination of truth may be based upon coherence, others, particularly those with strong religious beliefs hold that the truth only applies to a single absolute system. In general, truth requires a proper fit of elements within the whole system. Very often, though, coherence is taken to imply something more than simple formal coherence. For example, the coherence of the underlying set of concepts is considered to be a critical factor in judging validity. In other words, the set of base concepts in a universe of discourse must form an intelligible paradigm before many theorists consider that the coherence theory of truth is applicable.

Universal History

universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of the history of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicletraces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to the present. Universal history embraces the events of all times and nations in so far as scientific treatment of them is possible. Universal history in the Western tradition is commonly divided into three parts, viz. ancient, medieval, and modern time. The division on ancient and medieval periods is less sharp or absent in the Arabic and Asian historiographies. A synoptic view of universal history led some scholars, beginning with Karl Jaspers, to distinguish the Axial Agesynchronous to "classical antiquity" of the Western tradition. Jaspers also proposed a more universal periodization—prehistory, history and planetary history. All distinguished earlier periods belong to the second period (history) which is a relatively brief transitory phase between two much longer periods.

urban history

urban history is a field of history that examines the historical nature of cities and towns, and the process of urbanization. The approach is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, urban sociology, urban geography, business history, and archaeology. Urbanization and industrialization were popular themes for 20th-century historians, often tied to an implicit model of modernization, or the transformation of rural traditional societies.

History

written and other recorded events of people. story (from Greek, historia, meaning 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation') is the past as it is described in written documents, and the study thereof. Events occurring before written records are considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events. Scholars who write about history are called historians. History also includes the academic discipline which uses a narrative to examine and analyse a sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that determine them. Historians sometimes debate the nature of history and its usefulness by discussing the study of the discipline as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the problems of the present.