In our everyday lives, we often encounter history in the form of narratives that are told in politics, popular culture, and even high school textbooks. These depictions of past events are often shaped by ideas in the present. They describe the past as the narrator would like to imagine it, and convey messages about the world we live in. The manipulation of history facilitates the manipulation of the present because so much of our world is shaped by our collective memory. Show
Professional historians do not promote narratives about the past driven by contemporary agendas. They study history in past human experiences through primary sources. These can be documents, paintings, films, artefacts, and other forms of information produced by the people who lived at the time being studied. Historians analyse these sources by first determining their context, perspective, and reliability; thereby determining what kind of historical information they can provide, and what they cannot. For example, a letter written by a nurse working in a hospital ward in 1918 and a report by a public health official from the same year would provide very different perspectives on the influenza epidemic at that time and help the historian to answer different questions about that event. Through careful analysis of primary sources, historians strive to study the past through the lens of the past, rather than the lens of the present. Historical knowledge allows us to be informed participantsThe skill of building historical knowledge on the basis of evidence from primary sources liberates the student of history from narratives about the past that are intended to tell us who we are and where our loyalties should lie. For example, if we study the development of modern mass politics, we can better understand the meaning of terms such as “nation,” “republic,” and “democracy,” their application to contemporary politics, and their rhetorical exploitation by public figures. Historical knowledge empowers us to be informed participants in the ongoing development of the traditions, laws, and institutions that order our lives, rather than passive subjects of those who would define them for us. The critical study of history is essential to our understanding of our collective human experience, both in the context of our own community and in the broader context that encompasses other communities more remote from our own. Historical knowledge of cultures around the globe can help us to understand the traditions and values of communities that may seem foreign to us, but with which we must interact in an increasingly integrated, global economy. A firm grounding in world history can help us to overcome xenophobia, and better appreciate social diversity. Students of history become better citizens of the global community, and of their own countries. Events of the past still shape the world todayIn addition to successful institutions, historians study atrocities like slavery and genocide. The enormities of the past continue to influence our world in the form of political conflicts, social animosities, and economic hardships. In order to address these problems, we need to understand their historical context. Evidence-based analysis is a necessary prerequisite for the determination of ethical solutions to the problems created by past tragedies. The discipline of history is extremely broad in its application because it is the study of the collective experience of all humanity. In this pursuit, historians must analyse evidence from an extremely wide range of sources. This pursuit demands intellectual courage and versatility that empowers students of history and prepares them to conduct independent research in many other spheres of life, such as law, finance, public policy, and medicine. Moreover, in order to be useful, historical research must be explained to a broad audience. So, the student of history must learn to communicate in clear, articulate prose. These skills of conducting independent research and conveying that research in writing prepare the student of history for a wide variety of personal and professional pursuits. New innovation can revolutionise studying historyAt the same time, innovations in research methodology and communication are continually changing the field of history. For example, QGIS mapping software has provided historians with new ways of analyzing spatial data, and of presenting their research to students and to the public. Primary sources, such as ancient manuscripts and delicate artefacts can be preserved in digital form and made available online. Historical research can now be presented to the public through interactive websites and other forms of “digital history.” There is, thus, an increasingly broad range of opportunities to approach the field of history as a researcher and to present that research creatively to a broad audience.
Contributor Profile Daniel ScarboroughAssociate Professor School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Nazarbayev University Why is history important to understanding politics?Without history, a society shares no common memory of where it has been, what its core values are, or what decisions of the past account for present circumstances. Without history, we cannot undertake any sensible inquiry into the political, social, or moral issues in society.
How is history related to politics?Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, social history, people's history, and public history.
What is the contribution of history to political?The study of past political movements, developments, events and relations forms a valuable part of the study of Political Science. History provides study material to Political Science, which serves as the foundation for studying the current political movements, events and relations.
Why it is important for the government to know the history of the state?History matters because in the same way that it can make our leaders better informed, it can make our citizens more informed and perhaps encourage them to be more active both in politics and in their communities.
What is history in political science?A history degree program contributes to a deep understanding of the cultural and historical context of political decisions, social movements, and cultural shifts over time. On the other hand, a political science degree focuses primarily on past and current events through the lens of politics.
How does political science help history?Hence, Political Science always takes the help of History for studying political institutions i.e. the history of their evolution from their emergence and gradual evolution into their contemporary forms, powers, functions, mutual relations and relative positions.
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Why is history important in politics
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