History

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" target="_blank"> 28] (UTC). For the science of locating events in time, by methods not necessarily related to human records, see chronology. For other uses, see History (disambiguation).-->

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History is the study of the past, focused on human activity and leading up to the present day.Whitney, W. D. (1889). The Century dictionary; an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language. New York: The Century Co. Page 2842. More precisely, history is the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race Whitney, W. D. (1889). The Century dictionary; an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language. New York: The Century Co. Page omg no sence 2842.; as well as the study of all events in time, in relation to humanity. WordNet Search - 3.0, "History". Those who study it as a profession are called historians. All events that are remembered and preserved in some form constitute the historical record. WordNet Search - 3.0, "History". Some historians study universal history. Others focus on certain methods, such as chronology, demography, historiography, genealogy, paleography, or cliometrics, or on certain areas, such as History of Brazil (1889–1930), History of China, or History of Science.

Broad discipline The study of history has sometimes been classified as part of the humanities and at other times as part of the social sciencesScott Gordon and James Gordon Irving, The History and Philosophy of Social Science. Routledge 1991. Page 1. ISBN 0415056829 It can also be seen as a bridge between those two broad areas, incorporating methodologies from both. Some individual historians strongly support one or the other classification.Ritter, H. (1986). Dictionary of concepts in history. Reference sources for the social sciences and humanities, no. 3. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Page 416. In modern academia, history is increasingly classified as a social science. In the 20th century the study of history was revolutionized by French historian Fernand Braudel, by using such outside disciplines as economics, anthropology, and geography in the study of global history.

Traditionally, historians have attempted to answer historical questions through the study of written documents, although historical research is not limited merely to these sources. In general, the sources of historical knowledge can be separated into three categories: what is written, what is said, and what is physically preserved, and historians often consult all three.Michael C. Lemon (1995). The Discipline of History and the History of Thought. Routledge. Page 201. ISBN 0415123461 Historians frequently emphasize the importance of written records, which would limit history to times after the history of writing. This emphasis has led to the term prehistory archaeological.org to refer to any period of human history predating surviving written records. Since writing emerged at different times throughout the world, and since some kinds of written records are more perishable than others, the distinction between prehistory and history is often blurred.

There are a variety of ways in which history can be organized, including chronologically, culture, and topically. These three divisions are not mutually exclusive, and significant overlaps are often present, as in "The Argentine Labor Movement in an Age of Transition, 1930–1945." It is possible for historians to concern themselves with both the very specific and the very general, although the modern trend has been toward specialization. The area called Big History resists this specialization, and searches for universal patterns or trends. History has often been studied with some practical or theory aim, but also may be studied out of simple intellectual curiosity.

History and prehistory , United KingdomThe development, transmission, and transformation of cultural practices and events are the subject of history. In the 20th century, the division between history and prehistory became problematic. Criticism arose because of history's implicit exclusion of certain civilizations, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa and pre-Columbian America. Historians in the West have been criticized for focusing disproportionately on the Western world.Jack Goody (2007) The Theft of History Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521870690 Introduction available online. Reviewed by Daniel Reichman of Cornell University; Eric Alden Smith of the University of Washington; Herbert S. Lewis of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Hoon Song of the University of Minnesota.

Additionally, prehistorians such as Vere Gordon Childe and historical archaeologists such as James Deetz began using archaeology to explain important events in areas that were traditionally in the field of written history. Historians began looking beyond traditional political history narratives with new approaches such as economic, social and cultural history, all of which relied on various sources of evidence. In recent decades, strict barriers between history and prehistory may be decreasing.

There are differing views for the definition of when history begins. Some believe history began in the 34th century BC, with cuneiform writing. Cuneiform was written on clay tablets, on which symbols were drawn with a blunt reed called a stylus. The impressions left by the stylus were wedge-shaped, thus giving rise to the name cuneiform ("wedge-shaped"). The Sumerian script was adapted for the writing of the Akkadian language, Elamite language, Hittite language, Luwian language, Hurrian language, and Urartian language languages, and it inspired the Old Persian and Ugaritic national alphabets. Even older pictographic scripts from the region are also known, including the pre-cuneiform Proto-Elamite and Indus scripts (still undeciphered).

Sources that can give light on the past, such as oral tradition, linguistics, and genetics, have become accepted by many mainstream historians. Nevertheless, archaeologists distinguish between history and prehistory based on the appearance of written documents within the region in question. This distinction remains critical for archaeologists because the availability of a written record generates very different interpretative problems and potentials.

Historiography Historiography has a number of related meanings. It can refer to the history of historical study, its Historical method and practices (the history of history). It can also refer to a specific body of historical writing (for example, "medieval historiography during the 1960s" means "medieval history written during the 1960s"). Historiography can also be taken to mean historical theory or the study of historical writing and memory. As a meta-level analysis of descriptions of the past, this third conception can relate to the first two in that the analysis usually focuses on the narratives, interpretations, worldview, use of evidence, or method of presentation of other historians.

Scientific views In 1910, American historian Henry Brooks Adams printed and distributed to university libraries and history professors the small volume A Letter to American Teachers of History proposing a "theory of history" based on the second law of thermodynamics and the principle of entropy.Adams, Henry. (1986). History of the United States of America During the Administration of Thomas Jefferson (pg. 1299). Library of America.Adams, Henry. (1910). A Letter to American Teachers of History. Google Books, Scanned PDF. Washington. This, essentially, is the use of the arrow of time in history.

Notes and references Further reading

Asimov, Isaac; Asimov's Chronology of the World; Harper Collins, 1991, ISBN 0062700367.
Durant, Will & Ariel; The Lessons of History; MJF Books, 1997, ISBN 1-56731-024-9.
Durant, Will & Ariel; The Story of Civilization; 11 vols., Simon & Schuster.
Evans, Richard J.; In Defence of History; W. W. Norton (2000), ISBN 0-393-31959-8
Gonick, Larry; The Cartoon History of the Universe; Doubleday, vol. 1 (1990) ISBN 0-385-26520-4, vol. II (1994) ISBN 0-385-42093-5, W. W. Norton, vol. III (2002) ISBN 0-393-05184-6.
Wells, H. G.; An Outline of History; Reprint Services Corporation (1920), ISBN 0-7812-0661-8.
The World Almanac and Book of Facts (annual); World Almanac Education Group; 2005 ISBN 0886879450

External links Further reading

Williams, H. S. (1907). The historians' history of the world. (ed., This is Book 1 of 25 Volumes; PDF version is available)
Wells, H. G. (1921). The outline of history, being a plain history of life and mankind. (ed., This is Book 1 of multi-volume set.)

General Information

Internet History Sourcebooks Project See also Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use.
WWW-VL: History Central Catalogue first history on the WWW, located at European University Institute
BBC History Site

BBC - History
Presents original content on a variety of historical topics. Includes games, timelines, history for kids, and featured writers.

BBC - History - History for Kids
The 'History for Kids' section of the BBC History website ... Burgh life in Mary's time. Explore life in the Royal Burgh of Stirling during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Institute of Historical Research (IHR) home page
Web site established in 1993 with the aim of promoting the use of electronic networks by historians and history students and providing easy access to online resources.

History On-Line - Home Page
Theses list update: 'Theses completed 2006' and 'Theses in progress 2007' have now been added to the theses section. Find out about new books and articles with our ...

Active History - Games, quizzes, online revision, lessons and ...
Online activities and resources for history students, including tests, quizzes and information. Searchable by topic or year group.

The Historical Association
Aims to further the study, teaching and enjoyment of history at all levels: teacher and student, amateur and professional with activities, events and magazine, The Historian.

History Department Homepage
Undergraduate, taught postgraduate and MPhil/PhD research programmes at one of the UK's largest history departments. Includes a 'What's on?' feature and information on research ...

History
Details of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, staff and information for current students.

channel4.com – History
From ancient Britons to 20th Century conflict, get a different angle on history from Channel 4’s History section. ... TIME TEAM SPECIAL The Real Knights of the Round Table Tony ...

UKTV History
The official website for the UK's leading specialist factual channel, UKTV History. With a rich mix of archive titles and newly-commissioned programming, the channel delivers ...