Looking at history Through The Eyes of those who lived history can be the most fascinating aspect of historical study. It opens a door to understanding both what all humanity shares in common and the many ways in which we are different. It brings us closest to the real lives of real people in the past. Still, we can never be an a crazy scientist trying to prove a theory they have believed for years or an Italian boy preparing to leave the only home he knows to join his father in a far away place called New York. We can never be an African-American woman watching her children dragged away by slave traders.
We have a different set of beliefs, expectations, desires, fears, opportunities and experiences. What is logical or common place to us may have been impossible in their world. Likewise, what is inconceivable to us may have been entirely possible at any time in the past. Ignoring this leads to errors of "presentism." When we wonder about the past, while avoiding "presentism", we look for the values, skills, and forms of knowledge people needed to succeed back then. We try to reconstruct the worldview that affected their choices and actions during their day. Remember, you are the historians. You are responsible for "doing history".
C...Out!
*Adapted from Thinking Like a Historian
From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
School District of Waukesha
Waukesha STEM Academy
