History Ext Reading: (1 Viewer)

[Fake-Name]

Hey, I'm looking to study those History Ext readings. We've covered only two: Herodotus and Von Ranke. I understand that each states their belief of what the purpose of history is, but what are we supposed to do with them? Are we supposed to throw them into a response showing the changing beliefs of history?

The 2010 HSC question was:
Question 1 (25 marks)
To what extent do forms of historical communication influence the way history has been
constructed and recorded over time?
Support your argument with sustained integration of the Source and at least TWO other
sources.

Would the readings be considered the two sources?

Thanks.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

You have not been given the History Extension Source Book of Readings? I suppose it's not vital, as teachers are recommended only to examine a select few historians with their classes. But anyway I have attached the readings, very lengthy, but very interesting!

View attachment History Extension Source Book.pdf

Well you've identified that you need to know their beliefs and purpose. However, you are also required to know things such as their context, biographical details, bias, how they constructed history, what sources did they utilise / how they utilised sources, forms of communication, type of history, interpretations and perspectives of history. These can all be found in the syllabus, the five key questions.

You must also start to recognise some of the debates in historiography. You will pick up on the debates as you familiarise yourself with the schools of history (post-modernist, Annales, Marxist, Feminist, Post-Colonial, Empiricism, Traditional, Christian, Renaissance, etc). For example there are debates between the Empiricist Historians and the Relativist Historians, as demonstrated by the 'History Wars'.

To answer you question; yes the readings 'Herodotus and Von Ranke' would be the sources you utilise to answer that particular exam question. However, by exploring a number of readings you'll find others are more suitable for that particular exam question.

I'm not sure if you're using a written text in your extension class, however my class is utilising John Warren's 'History and the Historians' and also 'Is History Fiction?' by Anne Curthoys and John Docker.

I hope this helped you somewhat, and I wish you luck for Extension History.

 

[Fake-Name]

Thanks that really cleared everything up. We have gone into detail about the context/bias/methodologies of many historians from Herodotus to Marxist Christopher Hill.

So, is the question is generally about the changing nature of History-writing? Would we quote a few readings and discuss how the historian put his belief into practice, then discuss how it has changed due to historical debates and such?

Thanks for the link btw.

 

[ArtemisOrthia]

Glad to have helped you somewhat. n_n

In terms of chronology have you only looked to the time of the Marxist Christopher Hill? I ask because there is still the Annales School and Post-Modernist School which develop after Marxism Historiography.

The 2010 HSC question: "To what extent do forms of historical communication influence the way history has been constructed and recorded over time?
Support your argument with sustained integration of the Source and at least TWO other sources."

You obviously must make a judgment, and without the source it will be hard for you to do so. So either you agree or disagree with the statement that historical communication influence the way history has been constructed and recorded over time. If I were to brain storm an answer to this question now, I'd certainly agree.

A couple of examples being; with the Classical Historians their main sources and historical communications would have been from the epic poets (especially in terms of Herodotus) and their extensive usage of eyewitness accounts, oral history, and speeches. You could demonstrate how the very idea of speeches as historical communications changed greatly just within the classical period, with Thucydides desire to display literary style; whereas Polybius wanted to rely on his own ability to relay the speech verbatim.

And then as history developed into the Christian sector; obviously the Bible became a key source and was utilised for historical communication; and as evident from Venerable Bede whom relied heavily on biblical texts, recorded history that was more parallel to that of Religion. With their 'faith' in religion, there were certain aspects that the Christian Historians couldn't accept from the Classical Period; certainly they preferred written sources over oral history. And there was certainly a belief that God played huge roles in the past and the recording of History.

I've only discussed two time periods here; looking at the Classical and the Christian Historians. Of course you would look at more broader periods, in order to demonstrate the diverse influence that Historical communication has had on the recording and construction of time. I'd try and make sure you cover several periods in depth, and then in the exam choose the two that suit best with the question and you have substantial information to derive an argument from. It does only ask for two, so choose the best. My example, is looking at the first Historical periods, where you could analyse either Herodotus / Thucydides / Polybius ( the ones a mentioned earlier) and then juxtapose the historian to Venerable Bede. I wouldn't choose these two for a response though; they are just the two that came to my head first. [my fault for being more Ancient inclined then Modern].

Hopefully that made some sense to you. If you're still struggling, just inquire to your teacher when school resumes. Remember, I'm in the same boat as you; and I am still learning all the ropes of the extension course. n_n Another suggestion from me, is to have a look on the Board of Studies; I think it's ARC from memory, and they contain responses from various band groups, and might give you a better idea in terms of how to structure and answer.

All the best.

 

[Fake-Name]

Thankyou so much, that was a great answer. I understand it now, thankyou for that.

Repped.