Tradition of Historiography and Modern Historiography | History | Standard 10 | MSBSHSE (SSC)

Summary

The transcript explores the tradition of historiography, which is the critical examination of historical sources and writing of historical narratives. It highlights that historians use a conceptual framework to interpret events and that historiography wasn't common in ancient societies. However, ancient people conveyed their past through methods like cave paintings, storytelling, and songs. Modern historiography, rooted in ancient Greek writings, emphasizes a scientific method, anthropocentric questions, evidence-based answers, and traces human history through documented deeds. Herodotus, a Greek historian, is credited with pioneering the term 'history.'

Takeaways

• 📜 Historiography refers to the critical examination and writing of historical narratives.
• 🧑‍🏫 A historian analyzes and interprets historical events based on a conceptual framework.
• 📚 The historian's narrative cannot include every event from the past, as it is shaped by their approach.
• 🏛️ Ancient societies did not practice formal historiography but still passed down stories of ancestors through oral traditions, cave paintings, songs, and ballads.
• 🎨 These traditional methods are now considered important sources of history in modern historiography.
• 🔬 Modern historiography relies on scientific principles, starting with the formation of specific, relevant questions.
• 👥 These questions are anthropocentric, focusing on human activities rather than divine intervention.
• 📖 Modern historiography uses reliable evidence to support its findings and conclusions.
• 🗺️ It maps out mankind’s journey by analyzing past human actions and their effects.
• 🏺 The roots of modern historiography can be traced back to ancient Greek historical writings, with Herodotus being the first to use the term 'history' in the 5th century BCE.

Q & A

What is historiography?

Historiography is the writing of critical historical narratives, examining historical sources and writing historical accounts.

Who is a historian?

A historian is a scholar who writes critical historical narratives.

What determines a historian's style of writing?

A historian's style of writing is determined by the conceptual framework they adopt while interpreting historical events.

Was historiography prevalent in ancient societies?

No, historiography was not prevalent in ancient societies, but they used other means like storytelling, cave paintings, and ballads to pass on history.

What were the traditional means used by ancient communities to pass on historical knowledge?

Ancient communities used cave paintings, storytelling, singing songs, and ballads to pass on stories of ancestors.

What are the main characteristics of modern historiography?

Modern historiography is based on scientific principles, focuses on human deeds, relies on reliable evidence, and presents mankind's journey through past events.

What does 'anthropocentric' mean in the context of modern historiography?

'Anthropocentric' means that modern historiographical questions are centered on the deeds of human societies rather than divine intervention.

How is modern historiography different from ancient methods of recording history?

Modern historiography relies on scientific methods, whereas ancient methods involved storytelling, cave paintings, and ballads.

Who is considered the father of history and why?

Herodotus, a Greek historian from the 5th century BCE, is considered the father of history because he was the first to use the term 'history' in his book 'The Histories'.

What is the significance of Greek historical writings in modern historiography?

Greek historical writings, particularly those of Herodotus, are considered foundational to modern historiography due to their emphasis on human actions and evidence-based narrative.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Concept of Historiography and Historical Research

Historiography refers to the critical examination of historical sources and the writing of historical narratives. A historian is the scholar who engages in this process. Not every historical event is included in a narrative, as the historian's conceptual framework shapes both the selection and interpretation of events. Although ancient societies didn't practice historiography in the same way, they still valued historical time and passed down stories through cave paintings, storytelling, songs, and ballads. These are now seen as sources for modern historiography.

🔬 Characteristics of Modern Historiography

Modern historiography is characterized by four main principles. First, its method is based on scientific principles. Second, the questions it addresses are anthropocentric, focusing on human deeds from a particular historical period without connecting them to divine intervention. Third, these questions are answered with reliable evidence. Finally, it offers a graph of humanity’s progress through past actions. Modern historiography's roots can be traced back to ancient Greek writings, particularly the works of Herodotus, the Greek historian of the 5th century BCE, who introduced the term 'history.'

Keywords

💡Historiography

Historiography refers to the writing of history through critical examination of sources and interpretation of historical narratives. In the video, it is presented as the scholarly practice of writing historical accounts based on rigorous methods, distinguishing it from simple storytelling. It emphasizes the analysis and conceptual frameworks used by historians.

💡Historical Research

Historical research is the method by which historians study and analyze past events. It involves the critical examination of historical sources to construct a narrative. In the video, it is highlighted as a foundational aspect of historiography, requiring careful scrutiny of evidence to understand historical phenomena.

💡Historical Sources

Historical sources are the documents, artifacts, and other records that historians use to gather information about the past. The video emphasizes the importance of critically examining these sources, as they form the basis of historical research and narrative construction.

💡Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework is the underlying set of ideas and assumptions that guide a historian's interpretation of historical events. In the video, it is noted that a historian’s choice of framework shapes how they select and present events, affecting the narrative style and focus of their historiography.

💡Ancient Societies

Ancient societies refer to early civilizations that did not have a formal tradition of historiography. The video mentions that while these societies may not have had written historical accounts, they still preserved knowledge of their past through other means like storytelling and art, indicating an awareness of historical time.

💡Modern Historiography

Modern historiography refers to the practice of writing history using scientific methods, characterized by evidence-based inquiry. The video outlines its four main characteristics: asking relevant questions, focusing on human deeds, supporting answers with evidence, and presenting history as a journey of human progress.

💡Scientific Principles

In the context of modern historiography, scientific principles refer to the structured and evidence-based approach historians use to study the past. The video highlights how this method differs from ancient practices, stressing that modern historians rely on facts and logical analysis rather than myths or divine interpretations.

💡Herodotus

Herodotus, known as the 'Father of History,' was a Greek historian from the 5th century BCE. The video credits him with originating the term 'history' and setting a precedent for systematic historical writing, marking the beginning of a more analytical approach to understanding past events.

💡Cave Paintings

Cave paintings are an example of how ancient people recorded events and passed down stories before formal historiography existed. The video refers to them as traditional means of preserving history, showing how early societies used various forms of art to communicate their understanding of the past.

💡Anthropocentric Questions

Anthropocentric questions are inquiries centered on human actions and experiences. The video mentions that modern historiography focuses on such questions, as opposed to exploring connections between divine and human deeds, thereby emphasizing the human-centric approach to understanding history.

Highlights

Historiography refers to the writing of critical historical narratives.

A historian interprets historical events based on the conceptual framework they adopt.

Historiography was not prevalent in ancient societies but they were still aware of historical time.

Ancient people passed down stories of ancestors through cave paintings, storytelling, songs, and ballads.

These traditional means of passing down stories are considered sources of history in modern historiography.

Modern historiography follows scientific principles and begins by forming relevant questions.

Questions in modern historiography are anthropocentric, focusing on human deeds in ancient societies.

Modern historiography does not suggest an interrelation between divine and human deeds.

Answers in modern historiography are supported by reliable evidence.

Modern historiography presents a timeline of mankind’s journey based on past human deeds.

The roots of modern historiography can be traced back to ancient Greek historical writings.

The word 'history' originated from Greek, used by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE.

Herodotus is regarded as the 'Father of History' for his work titled 'The Histories.'

Ancient historical storytelling methods are still valuable as sources in modern historiography.

Modern historiography avoids linking human actions with divine intervention, focusing solely on human activity.

Transcripts

tradition of historiography we have

learnt about the historical research

method critically examining the

historical sources and writing the

historical narrative the writing of

critical historical narrative is known

as historiography a scholar who writes

such a narrative is a historian the

historian cannot include every past

event in his narrative the inclusion and

interpretation of historical events by

the historian often depends on the

conceptual framework adopted by him his

style of writing is determined by that

conceptual framework the tradition of

writing historical narrative that is

historiography was not prevalent in the

ancient societies of the world however

that does not mean that they were not

aware of the historical time or were not

eager to know about it ancient people

also felt the need of passing on the

stories of the life and Vala of the

ancestors to the next generation ancient

communities all over the world used

various means like cave paintings

storytelling singing songs and ballads

etc for this purpose these traditional

means are looked upon as the sources of

history in the modern historiography

modern historiography four main

characteristics of modern historiography

one its method is based on scientific

principles it begins with the formation

of relevant questions to these questions

our anthropocentric it means that these

questions are about the deeds of the

members of ancient human societies of a

particular period history does not

suggest any interrelation between the

divine and human deeds three answers to

these questions are supported by

reliable evidence

for history presents a graph of

mankind's journey with the help of past

human deeds it is said that the modern

historiography with above

characteristics has its roots in the

ancient Greek historical writings

history is originally a Greek term

Herodotus the Greek historian of the

fifth century BCE used it first for his

book entitled the histories