Tok Essay

This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through

Anthropology is the science that studies human cultures. As her sources of information are the study of human societies and changes between them. Anthropologists exploring human behavior and activities, try to reach the definition of social and cultural phenomens. The science of anthropology is divided into two main areas, physical anthropology and social anthropology. These are two independent science of physical anthropology from each other deal with the biological side of human life and comes in natural sciences and social anthropology deals with the development of human societies and is part of the social sciences.

As the hostility grows between both parties, historians must consider the factual disposition of their writings. Empiricist J.B. Bury stated that history is a “science, nothing more, nothing less”. The accurate connotations that science brings highlights the academics arguments. Although not completely a science, history integrates different forms of science, such as geology, in order to reach the objective truth (Evans). It is the assertion of history as a science to which academics believe their history is presented. To which, academic’s believe their rival’s representation of history is inaccurate, and therefore invalid. Academic historians insistence to their own superiority may contend to their tension between

Historians, as we normally perceive bear the responsibility as scholars who record and research about past events and compiled them together in order to benefit the future generations as an authoritative channel for them to understand and study the past of human kind. Nevertheless, these missions were hardly the main

Humans are an interesting species because of the strong need humans have to fully understand what it truly means to be human. Many fields such as history, psychology, and sociology all offer a perspective in the study of humanity, but there are distinguishable from anthropology. Anthropology differs from other humanities fields due to its holistic nature, comparative research methods, and the strong emphasis on fieldwork and participant interaction. Anthropology is the study of people throughout the world, their evolutionary history, how they behave, adapt to different environments, communicate and socialize with one another. In order for anthropologists to examine the full scope of human life, they employ the four field approach that embodies the holistic nature of the field.

Not all is known and the facts passed down may not reveal the whole truth. History is biased and can easily be manipulated by those with more power, and it is a modern historian’s job to weed through the commonly accepted information, and try to find the truth. If the truth is not found, then they present alternative theories to broaden the world’s knowledge on the possible course of events in the

• Anthropologists study the origin, development, and customs of human beings • They may research many questions related to what it means to be human:

To Howard Zinn, history is no more than a looking glass for historians to see what needs to change in the modern world. Zinn explains how historians should see the past and the future in his 1966 essay “Historian as Citizen”. He begins by stating that historians cling too tightly to the patterns of the past and are wrong in using them as a guide to the future. He says, “This necessariness of the past tends to infect our thinking about the future, weighing down our disposition to act” (Zinn 44). Already, Zinn makes a broad statement that counters the aged ways of historians everywhere. He is asking them to let go of history. This is offputting to some but it is his strong voice that makes his philosophy so grand.

The article “History Still Matters” by Bill Moyers expresses some important concerns in our societies over the loss of interest in history. Throughout the article Moyers explains the loss of interest but also shows the reader the subject is crucial for societies to progress. He uses deeper meanings to further understand the importance of history as well as expressing the reasons he thinks cultures have lost interest past events. The author also mentions that although people find no relations to history in today’s world, there are conflicts that can resemble current problems. It is also imperative to realize history has assembled our concurrent world. For those reasons we can have our own outlook and interpretations of history to further understand the progression and stage we are currently in.

History is the totality of all past human events, and historiography is the written record of what is known about our lives and societies. In the recent past, history lessons were meant to convey a certain patriotism or to turn an immigrant into a “true American,” but today too many historians are using historical analysis for political purposes. This probably dates to the tumultuous times of the 1960s. Gordon Wood offers a prescription for the proper use of history. Shunning the ideologues of today, he believes historians should “seek to study past events not to make trans-historical generalizations about human behavior but to understand those events as they actually were, in all their peculiar contexts and circumstances.”

Through the study of past evidence, historians become capable of creating educated interpretations of the past based on such evidence and previous knowledge. Difficulty in interpretation does not come from insufficient evidence, with an abundance of preserved historical works from writers, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus for example, but the unreliable nature of literary tradition (Cornell, 1986) resulting in differentiated opinions of the usefulness of ancient evidence particularly with the incompatible stories of Roman foundation. The usefulness of stories from Romans can become increasingly valuable though there are some historians of the opinion the

Human history is marked by discovery and change, either challenging, or affirming our perceptions, confronting and changing our views as new light is shed on our perceptions of the world. Bryson’s ‘A short history of nearly everything’, Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ and Graeme Manson’s ‘Orphan Black’ all accept the potentially destructive implications of scientific or subjective discovery in process and result. As such, it affirms their transformative possibilities of discovery and gently oppose us if we are willing to lay aside our assumptions or our entrenched world views.

history is handled, and the role of science. There are many important differences between the

What is History? This is the question posed by historian E.H. Carr in his study of historiography. Carr debates the ongoing argument which historians have challenged for years, on the possibility that history could be neutral. In his book he discusses the link between historical facts and the historians themselves. Carr argues that history cannot be objective or unbiased, as for it to become history, knowledge of the past has been processed by the historian through interpretation and evaluation. He argues that it is the necessary interpretations which mean personal biases whether intentional or not, define what we see as history. A main point of the chapter is that historians select the facts they think are significant which ultimately

Politically we are confronted with a host of issues ranging from matters pertaining to local taxation, planning, and zoning to regional (if not global) terrorism and other manifestations of conflict. The study of geography allows us to participate and enjoy our planet. Geography gives us a sense of reference to where we live and where we may be going in relationship to where we have been. Its appreciation of the world we live in. Anthropology is the study of human kind and culture, everybody wants to know where and how humans came to be. Some examples we can apply anthropology in our daily lives would be in relating to our families, friends, co-workers, in understanding work dynamics, in understanding and communicating with teens,, and in proposing new ideas, and plans. Its unique contribution to studying the bonds of human social relations been the distinctive concept of culture.