What History Was, Is, and Will Be: Crash Course European History #50

Summary

In this episode of Crash Course European History, John Green reflects on the nature of historical study, from its early focus on divine acts and monarchical events to the modern emphasis on social, cultural, and everyday life. He discusses the evolution of history's role in nation-building, the importance of diverse perspectives, and the challenges of bias and objectivity. Green highlights the significance of understanding history as a dynamic, global narrative that shapes our present and future.

Takeaways

• 📚 The study of history has evolved from focusing on divine intervention and monarchical events to include a broader range of human experiences.
• 🗣️ Svetlana Alexievich's oral history approach emphasizes the importance of individual memories and narratives, shifting the historical focus from elite to everyday people.
• 🏛️ Early historians concentrated on significant political events and royal genealogies, viewing history as a record of God's and monarch's actions.
• 🌐 The French Revolution and nation-building period led to history being seen as objective and foundational to the legitimacy of emerging nation-states.
• 🏫 The professionalization of history in the 19th century led to the development of teaching methods like the seminar, which emphasized the analysis of documents for objective truth.
• 👩‍🏫 Despite professional historians' focus on 'important' topics, amateur historians contributed significantly by exploring everyday life, village customs, and the experiences of ordinary people.
• 👶 The recognition of previously overlooked groups, such as children and the working class, enriched historical narratives and highlighted the importance of social and cultural history.
• 🌟 The concept of power in history has transformed from a top-down model to a more participatory and societally distributed one, acknowledging the influence of individuals within systems.
• 🔄 Revisionism in history acknowledges the need to update historical narratives with new evidence and perspectives, challenging earlier interpretations and biases.
• 🌐 Understanding global interconnectedness is crucial for historical study, as it recognizes the impact of trade, empire, migration, and cultural exchange on shaping histories.
• 🔍 Current historical practice emphasizes the importance of multiple sources, the recognition of bias, and the pursuit of a balanced and truthful account of the past.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the video script discussing history?

The main theme of the video script is the evolution of the study of history, from its beginnings to the present day, focusing on how it has changed and the various ways it is studied now, including the importance of understanding history from a broader range of perspectives.

What is an 'oral history' and how does it differ from traditional historical study?

An 'oral history' is a method of studying the past that relies on people's spoken words and memories instead of just written records. It differs from traditional historical study by focusing on personal narratives and experiences, often of ordinary people, rather than just the actions of political leaders or major events.

How did the study of history initially focus on God's actions and monarchs?

Initially, history was viewed as a calendar showing significant events like plagues or weather disasters, which were seen as evidence of God's work. It later evolved to focus on the reigns of monarchs and royal genealogies, as these were considered the most important events shaping human history.

What role did the French Revolution and the age of nation-building play in shaping the study of history?

The French Revolution and the age of nation-building led to history being seen as an objective study based on government records and as a foundation for the growing nation-states of the 19th century. It helped legitimize these new nations by creating a narrative of their formation and development.

Why did the seminar method of teaching history develop in universities?

The seminar method developed to train students in the skills of deciphering, debating, and scrutinizing documents, allowing them to find the true and objective meaning about the workings of politics and government, thus upholding the standards of truth and objectivity in historical research.

How did the role of women in historical study change over time?

Initially, women were often excluded from studying history, especially in the seminar method. However, as the 19th century progressed, amateur historians like the Strickland sisters began to write about a range of topics, including the lives of ordinary people and domestic life, which eventually influenced professional historians and broadened the scope of historical study.

What does the term 'alltagsgeschichte' refer to in the context of history?

The term 'alltagsgeschichte' refers to the study of everyday life as a part of history. It is a German term that encapsulates the idea of making daily life and the experiences of ordinary people central to historical narratives.

How has the understanding of power in historical study evolved?

The understanding of power in historical study has evolved from being seen as the direct force exerted by rulers, to a more participatory concept where power flows through society and individuals, including the influence of systems and the actions of ordinary citizens.

What is the significance of 'revisionism' in the study of history?

Revisionism in the study of history is significant as it involves the process of re-evaluating and re-writing historical narratives based on new research, evidence, or perspectives. It is crucial for achieving historical accuracy and acknowledging previously overlooked or ignored aspects of the past.

Why is it important for historians to be aware of their own biases when studying history?

It is important for historians to be aware of their own biases because these can influence the selection and interpretation of evidence, shaping the historical narrative. Recognizing and acknowledging bias helps to maintain the integrity and objectivity of historical research.

How does the script suggest that the study of history should be approached today?

The script suggests that the study of history today should be approached with an understanding that history is always a work in progress, relying on multiple evidentiary sources, being mindful of bias, and recognizing the participatory nature of power in shaping historical events.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Evolution of Historical Study

This paragraph delves into the origins and evolution of history as a discipline. It starts with the concept of history as a calendar of divine events and transitions to the focus on monarchs and royal genealogies. The paragraph highlights the shift from God-centered history to a more secular approach, emphasizing political events and the development of nation-states. It mentions the influence of the French Revolution and the importance of history in legitimizing new political entities. The role of professional historians and the seminar method in Germany are also discussed, illustrating the academic rigor and the move towards objectivity in historical research.

05:00

🌟 The Broadening Scope of Historical Interests

The second paragraph explores the expansion of historical interest beyond the traditional focus on political and military leaders. It discusses the contributions of amateur historians who studied everyday life, village customs, and the experiences of ordinary people. The paragraph also touches on the professionalization of history and the development of social and cultural history, which includes the study of emotions, childhood, and the lives of marginalized groups. The importance of understanding power dynamics in society and the participatory nature of modern power is emphasized, highlighting the interconnectedness of global history and the need for a more inclusive historical narrative.

10:03

🌐 Globalization and Revisionism in Historical Narratives

The final paragraph examines the impact of globalization on historical narratives and the process of revisionism. It discusses the need to include the global context in the study of history, acknowledging the interconnectedness of human societies and the influence of external forces such as microbes and natural disasters. The paragraph also addresses the rewriting of national histories to include colonial pasts and the experiences of marginalized groups in major historical events. The importance of evidence-based historical interpretations is stressed, alongside the recognition of biases and the pursuit of a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the past.

Keywords

💡Oral History

Oral history is a method of studying the past that relies on spoken recollections and memories of people rather than written records. It is significant in the video as it represents a shift in historical research, allowing for a more inclusive and personal perspective on historical events. The script mentions Svetlana Alexievich's work as an example, where she valued personal memories as markers of historical importance, such as reactions to the Chernobyl disaster or life under Stalin's regime.

💡Objectivity

Objectivity in history refers to the idea that historical accounts should be based on evidence and free from personal bias. The video discusses how history was once considered objective, relying on records found in government archives. This concept is tied to the theme of the video, which is the evolution of historical study and the recognition that complete objectivity may be unattainable due to inherent biases in historical records and interpretation.

💡Nation-States

Nation-states are political entities defined by a shared identity and territory. The script discusses the role of history in legitimizing and defining nation-states, especially in the 19th century when the concept was taking shape. History was used to create a narrative that bound people together and provided a factual basis for the authority of the state, as opposed to divine right.

💡Professional Historians

Professional historians are individuals who have studied history academically and often teach or conduct research in the field. The video mentions the rise of professional historians in universities, who adhered to strict standards of truth and objectivity. They developed methods like the seminar to teach students how to critically analyze historical documents and understand the workings of politics and government.

💡Revisionism

Revisionism in historical study refers to the process of re-evaluating and reinterpreting historical events or narratives, often in light of new evidence or perspectives. The video highlights revisionism as a crucial part of achieving historical accuracy, as it allows historians to correct oversights and incorporate previously ignored truths into the narrative of the past.

💡Social and Cultural History

Social and cultural history is a branch of historical study that focuses on the experiences and cultural expressions of groups and individuals, rather than just political and military events. The video emphasizes the expansion of history to include social and cultural aspects, such as the work of Philippe Arias on childhood and the writings of E.P. Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm on working-class religion.

💡Everyday Life

Everyday life, as a concept in the video, refers to the ordinary, day-to-day experiences of people, which have become a significant area of historical study. The script mentions the work of German historians who developed 'alltagsgeschichte', or the history of everyday life, to understand how historical changes affected the lives of common people.

💡Power

Power, in the context of the video, is discussed in its various forms, including direct force exerted by rulers and the participatory power of citizens in modern society. The video challenges traditional views of power and suggests that power is not only held by the rich and powerful but is also expressed through the actions of individuals within societal systems.

💡Globalization

Globalization is the process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries. The video discusses how the study of history, especially European history, must consider global connections, such as trade, empire, migration, and cultural exchange, to understand the full scope of historical events and their impacts.

💡Bias

Bias refers to a preference or inclination, often unconscious, towards a particular perspective or interpretation. The video acknowledges the presence of bias in historical research and writing, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and addressing these biases to improve the understanding of history. It also points out that being aware of one's own biases is a key aspect of the historical study.

💡Pandemic

A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. The video uses the current global disease pandemic as an example of how historical forces, such as microbes, can have a profound impact on human history and society, and how power and systems function unevenly and unjustly in such crises.

Highlights

The study of history has evolved from focusing on God's actions and monarchs to considering the broader experiences of ordinary people.

Svetlana Alexievich's oral history approach values personal memories as historical evidence, shifting the narrative from powerful figures to everyday experiences.

Historically, events like plagues were seen as God's work, with history serving as a calendar of divine actions.

The French Revolution and nation-building period led to history being seen as objective and foundational to legitimizing new nation-states.

19th-century historians professionalized the study of history, focusing on political events and the legitimization of nation-states.

The seminar method, developed in Germany, involved students in the critical analysis of historical documents to understand politics and government.

Amateur historians of the 19th century explored topics like village customs and domestic life, broadening the scope of historical interest.

The recognition that ordinary people's lives and choices drive historical change has gradually been integrated into historical studies.

Lucy Maynard Salmon's work on domestic servants and everyday life used newspapers as evidence, challenging traditional historical focus.

History's understanding has expanded to include the study of large groups of people and their collective actions, not just individual geniuses.

Philippe Arias' "Centuries of Childhood" challenged assumptions about the history of family values and childhood.

Social and cultural history gained prominence with works like E.P. Thompson's on working-class religion and Eugene Genovese's on slavery.

The concept of power in history has shifted from direct force to participatory influence, including public protest and social systems.

Globalization and interconnectedness are recognized as integral to historical study, with revisions like including colonial histories in national narratives.

Revisionism in history acknowledges the discovery of new facts and the need to correct previous narratives to achieve accuracy.

The importance of history is highlighted by its influence on present understanding and future imagination, as well as by attempts to manipulate historical narratives.

Current historical practice emphasizes evidence, truthfulness, and awareness of bias, aligning with the values of modern lawful societies.

History is acknowledged as a work in progress, with the goal of improving understanding by expanding and shifting perspectives.

Transcripts

Hi, I'm John Green and this is Crash Course European history and we've done it!

We've reached the end of history or I guess I should say we've reached the present day,

and what a day it is. So today we want to look back on this course to examine history itself.

How did the study of history begin, how has it changed and how will it continue to evolve? And why does it all matter?

So last time we mentioned a book by Nobel prize winner Svetlana Alexievich called an oral history,

which shows a new-ish way of studying the past.

New-ish because it depended on [the] evidence of people's spoken words

and on their memories instead of just written records.

Alexievich valued memories- sad, opinionated, defiant or nostalgic-

as markers of what was historically important.

For example;

how did ordinary people react to events like the Chernobyl disaster or, say, Stalin's regime?

Instead of making Stalin and the people close to him the center of the story,

Alexievich centered the story elsewhere .

and in doing so she showed what life felt like for a much broader range of people

A woman recalled her childhood of intense poverty, living in a mud hut and having for

companions the interesting bugs that crept along the walls.

History hadn't always taken bugs and desperately poor people's lives as its subjects.

Like as you may remember when Crash Course European history began

the hundred or so years war and the Bubonic plague were killing off people

And in those days people noted big events such as

plague or weather disasters because they were seen as evidence of God's work,

and so, back then, history was kind of a calendar that showed what God was doing to us and when.

But not nearly enough about the why!

Why?

Anyway, remember when plagues were a big driver of human history? Stan, can we roll the tape back to 2012?

If some superbug shows up tomorrow and it travels through all these global trade routes

and kills every living human then

globalization will have been very bad for human history.

Yeah, great. Thanks, Stan. If I knew it was coming, why wasn't I prepared?

Right, so away from my existential crisis and back to history.

So historians started out noting what God was doing to us and when and then began

noting the big events of a monarch's reign and royal genealogy.

Which increasingly became the motto of what history should be

a record of what a monarch had caused to happen,

Alongside records of what God had caused to happen.

For generations historians in Europe followed this idea of noting big,

political events and European historians set many of the standards

for doing history that are still in practice today around the world.

And then from around the time of the french revolution and the age of

nation building, history started to lay down several claims about

why we should study history and why history was so important. First history was said to be

objective- based on records found in government archives. Second,

it was an important foundation to the growing nation-states taking shape in the 19th century.

Like imagine that you're a newborn baby nation,

you need to find ways to legitimize yourself to define for instance what it means to be

"French"

And why "France" is a real and legitimate idea. And part of how nations did this was by studying,

and in some ways creating, French history.

The idea was that the nation-state could be

demonstrably truthful because it relied on official documents

about how it came into being and how it replaced absolute monarchs.

So instead of getting its authority solely from God as absolute monarchies had,

the state's authority would come from

objective history, showing the factual historical ties that bound to people together.

That's why in the United States, students study American history

and in France, students study French history;

and alongside studying and legitimizing

the nation-state, historical teaching and writing became a profession.

Increasingly attached to universities and upholding strict standards of truth and objectivity

and these professional historians teaching in universities

and doing research in government church or other archives

devised the seminar method in which they presented documents for their students

to decipher and debate and scrutinize

so that those students could find the true and objective meaning about the workings of politics and government.

The seminar method was most developed in Germany and took place in seminar rooms.

You know, wood panels, fancy fireplaces

the rooms they put in the college brochures and

then you get to the actual college and it's just a bunch of cinder blocks.

Professors sometimes even locked those rooms to keep out the public,

especially women, who might be interested in history

but weren't seen as worthy or capable of studying

the grand formation of nations or the deeds of national leaders.

And yet all the while in the 19th century, there were amateur historians

studying a range of quite different matters,

they wrote about village customs, domestic life, and the work-life of ordinary people like

blacksmiths, or shoemakers or farmers.

In England, the Strickland sisters

wrote hugely popular histories and much-reprinted biographies

of queens and princesses from the middle ages down to their own 19th century.

And so at times, it was amateurs working outside the university system

who brought professional historians into the 20th century.

But also as the industry developed and working-class men and farmers,

and eventually women got the right to vote,

history slowly came to understand that those people's lives were also

noteworthy, and that in fact, they were driving much

historical change not just through their votes, but also through their other choices.

From how women spent money to what kinds of seeds farmers used in their fields.

Let's go to the thought bubble.

In 1897 in the United States, Lucy Maynard Salmon,

a professor at Vassar College, wrote a history of domestic servants and then

Histories of kitchens and cookbooks and the historic sites a pedestrian might see in an ordinary town

she used newspapers as evidence. Some historians found her work unworthy

of her talents as her first book had been a

prize-winning study of an important topic, "The Appointing Powers of the U.S. Presidents".

To them, Salmon seemed to have fallen

that was because the history considered most important,

, which professors and teachers researched and taught, was about treaties and

alliances and the much-loved topic of warfare.

But in this way of teaching history, much was being lost.

War, for instance, wasn't only about generals and their planning.

As Lewis Morton, a famed military historian at Dartmouth College said to his graduate

class, "Anyone can draw a battle plan and its execution." and on the spot

he drew several on the blackboard that students suggested.

"But the real history of war is about the involvement of

society at home and on the fronts, and the policies needed to pursue the war itself."

Thanks, thought bubble.

And so over time history became less a study of individual great geniuses

and the great genius of their battle plans

And more a study of large groups of people working together.

Because in the end

generals without soldiers don't get a ton accomplished.

All right, let's move on to another long ignored kind of person in history: children

But that would change. In 1960, French historian, Philippe Arias produced his classic,

"Centuries of Childhood"

Which argued that love was not necessarily a family value before modern times.

Much of Arya's work is now refuted

But its emphasis on emotion and changing moral values and childhood was very significant.

Meanwhile, notable English historians like E.P. Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm

began writing about working-class religion in 1963.

Social and cultural history expanded in the U.S as well,

where Eugene Genovese wrote "Roll Jordan Roll- The World the Slaves Made" which

re-centered historical narratives about slavery

In 1975, Amero-Canadian author Natalie Zeamon Davis presented a picture of the

Charivari- an event in which ordinary people turned the world upside down through social mockery.

Cross-dressing and obscenity. German historians proceeded to

make the study of everyday life not only into historical narratives

But also into a theory of history, complete with a magical German word to describe it-

alltagsgeschichte

I'll remind you by the way that mispronouncing things, especially German things, is my thing

But in all these cases we see history expanding beyond the battlefield or the deeds of the rich and powerful.

Now, some might protest that history should be about the powerful

But even notions of power have changed. In older historical understandings,

power involved the direct force of a king or other ruler on a person or group. Like, think about the command

"Off with his head". I mean that's a real statement of power

If you can say the words, "off with his head" and then someone's head is removed from their body,

that's obviously power.

But it's not the only kind of power, right?

and in modern times, power is often seen as participatory and

moving through society and political power is often seen as participatory, too.

Not just in the form of voting, but also public protest

We're not necessarily powerful in the way royalty once was, but instead as part of a modern

society, power flows through us as we act as citizens or soldiers or patients or

Skateboarders or shoppers or viewers or anything else

we each express our power by participating in systems that in turn have power over us. Whether that's

systems of criminal justice or

Transportation systems. It's critical to understand, however,

that the way those systems function and the way that power flows- is uneven

and unjust. I'm speaking to you amid a global disease pandemic that has reminded us that it's an

Expression of human power to leave the house and also an expression of human power to stay inside

Because how we interact with each other, and right now whether we physically interact with each other,

shapes the way we all end up living.

Or indeed whether we all end up living

So in this new understanding of power flowing through systems and individuals,

Power operates among everyone, and in order to understand the story of humans in the world,

We need to look at more than just political and military leaders.

We've also learned that we can't understand human history without understanding

the forces that act on our history from the outside whether that be

microbes- the most underrated historical force of all time,

or natural disasters. And the history of every community and every region has long been a global history because

For centuries humans have been connected to globalized power systems

in the obvious form of trade and empire and migration and warfare

But also in less obvious movements of world religions cultures diseases

foodways and communication systems

So studying European history

for example, necessitates understanding the world

because Europeans migrated and traded and fought and learned from and with people all over.

For example, the history of France until recently appeared in books as the history of this hexagon

Despite France's involvement with the rest of the world and despite the multi-ethnic nature of the French nation

Now historians are rewriting the history of France to include its colonies and its colonial past

They're also rewriting the histories of world war I and world war II to give

More attention to the horrific facts of those war's eastern fronts and to the experiences of colonial troops

We call this process Revisionism.

As new facts are pointed out through research and as historians become aware

that they have ignored certain truths

they revise the narrative of the past. Making revision a crucial part of achieving historical accuracy

Now it's worth noting that some people provide historical interpretations

that do not accord with the facts. For example,

the belief that Lenin was a sweetheart and then Stalin came along and ruined everything.

Constructing Lenin as some kind of idealistic pacifist

just goes against historical facts.

But humans are sometimes committed less to evidence than to ideology

They may want to hold up the idea of the good in Bolshevik communism

That ideology, that Bolshevik communism was good, then creates the belief

that Stalin's murderous regime perverted Lenin's wholesome communism.

The same kind of loyalty to ideology has been used to minimize or deny the downsides of

Capitalism, or to argue that colonialism was good for the colonized.

But the evidence contradicts all those beliefs. In fact, one way we know that history is important is that

interest groups and legislators often demand textbooks be revised to reflect certain versions of the past

Including versions that do not line up with what we know to be true. The way we understand the past

shapes the way we understand the present and the way we imagine the future.

So I think William Faulkner really was right

when he famously wrote that the past is never dead, it's not even past.

Current historical practice seeks to acknowledge the power of ideology and partisanship

as well as the bias that exists in official documents. So instead current historians try to rely on multiple

evidentiary sources to ascertain truth what actually happened as Leopold von Ranke described history's goal.

and so for current historians and for all students of history, evidence, truthfulness and mindfulness of bias

in our own writing and research,

Mirror the most important values of lawful societies in our age. One thing we try to remember around here,

thinking you lack bias, is one sure sign that you not only have it, but that you aren't aware that you have it.

So paradoxically, the quest for factual truth must exist alongside the recognition of

the inescapability of bias.

As we've discussed throughout this series, so much depends on individual perspective.

History can't eliminate those biases and it can't achieve some kind of factual perfection,

but it can improve our understanding of the human endeavor by helping us to

shift and expand our perspectives

So history is always a work in progress

Thank you for being here with us and for learning with us

Here in the middle of history.

Our crash course in European history has been filmed in the Jaden Smith studios here in Indianapolis.

Huge thanks to this series writer, Bonnie Smith

And curriculum consultant Kathy Keller.

Meredith Danko is our editorial director

Zulejo Razak and Nikki Hua supervised the script.

Stan Mueller shoots and edits the show.

The amazing team at Thought Cafe makes the animation.

Thanks especially to Cody Brown

and thanks to all of you for being here with us and learning with us. As they say in my hometown,

Don't Forget to be Awesome.