I want a preface in history for my history project hammirdev
Answers
In “A Preface to History” Carl G. Gustavson uses the historical approach to study history. He feels to effectively study history it is necessary to develop a sense of historical mindedness. By developing this sense the history student is able to look beyond the historical event itself and begin to search for forces, patterns, causes and continuity which both lead up to the event and cause it to become a force for future events. It is quickly discovered by the historical minded student that no one person or cause resulted in a specific historical event. Rather the event is but one point on a continuum; each point having an effect and being effected by other points on the continuum.
History is a continuity of events which, by its study, can enable a person or society to determine the likely outcomes of certain actions. Gustavson, however, makes it clear that the study of history will not give one the ability to accurately predict outcomes; only to give likely possibilities.
History should be approached from more than just a superficial inquiry touching only the surface of an historical event. To effectively study and understand history one must get below the surface and discover what actions, profiles and contours shaped the event. A society is dynamic so it should be obvious to the student of history that no event just fell upon the scene. An historical event’s birth is in reality more of an evolution caused by the dynamics and forces of a society. Nothing about history is either dead or static. Rather history is a product of the continuity of a society which is at the same time in perpetual change. We often see changes as specific historical events, but it is the continuity of the society that actually leads it to a particular spot in history. The student who is not historically minded will likely believe that an historical event is the result of a specific situation or circumstance, such as one man’s appearance on the scene, when in reality many social forces have been building up for some time; long before the actual “event” occurs.
For the historically minded, Germany’s involvement in World War II was the result of many factors reaching even beyond the first World War. The novice historian, on the other hand, may conclude that, if not for Adolph Hitler, Germany may never have precipitated the War. The novice sees the surface events and mistakenly refers to them as causes. Meanwhile, the historically minded student will see these surface events as symptoms of an ongoing trend. He will dig below the surface in an attempt to see for example why someone like Hitler could come into power at this time and in this place. The novice has touched on a frame of reference and stops there; while the historically minded uses the frame of reference as the beginning point of his or her study of the historical event.
I believe this must be the approach one should take when studying history. There can be no real understanding of events without understanding what forces led to those events. If one reason to study history is to learn from it then the study must go to the causal factors. We cannot say we have learned from an historical event if we only look at the surface manifestations of that event.