INTRODUÇÃO À HISTÓRIA (I) - Aula 1 - História Geral

Summary

In this lecture, General Félix compares two approaches to studying history: the traditional view and the new history. The traditional view, dominant in the 19th century, focuses on narrating historical facts, emphasizing great figures and written documents. In contrast, the new history, developed in the 20th century, advocates for a critical, analytical approach that explores human subjectivity, everyday life, and a wide range of sources, including oral testimonies, material remnants, and visual records. This shift moves beyond just recounting events to understanding the broader social, cultural, and human context of the past.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video discusses how historians study the past and contrasts two major approaches: the traditional view and the new history.
• 😀 The traditional view, emerging in the 19th century, focuses on recounting historical events and facts without much interpretation.
• 😀 According to the traditional view, history should narrate the actions of great men, such as kings, generals, and political leaders.
• 😀 Historians using the traditional approach rely on written documents like letters, books, and laws as the primary sources for studying history.
• 😀 The traditional view of history has been increasingly criticized for being too narrow, as it ignores broader societal, cultural, and everyday aspects of the past.
• 😀 The new history emerged in the 1920s and rejects the idea of simply narrating facts. It focuses on problematizing and critically analyzing past events.
• 😀 The new history emphasizes the subjectivity of human actions and how historians should understand human behavior within its cultural and social context.
• 😀 Key figures in the new history, such as Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre, argued that history should encompass all aspects of human life, not just the actions of great individuals.
• 😀 The new history encourages historians to use diverse sources, including oral histories, material objects (like artifacts), and visual documents (like photos and paintings), in addition to written texts.
• 😀 Marc Bloch's metaphor of the 'ogre of legend' suggests that historians should seek out every trace of human action in the past, treating it with the same intensity as a predator seeking its prey.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the traditional view of history?

The traditional view of history focuses on narrating the facts of historical events and emphasizing the actions of great figures, such as heroes and leaders, without necessarily analyzing the deeper causes or consequences.

Who is the historian associated with the traditional view of history and what did he believe?

The historian associated with the traditional view of history is Fustel de Coulanges. He believed that historical facts speak for themselves and that history should simply recount these facts without subjective interpretation.

What does the traditional view of history emphasize in terms of sources?

The traditional view of history emphasizes the use of written documents, such as letters, laws, and books, as the primary sources for studying the past. These sources are considered reliable and objective.

How does the new history approach differ from the traditional view?

The new history approach, which emerged in the 1920s, focuses on analyzing and critiquing the past. Instead of just narrating historical events, historians using the new history seek to understand the underlying causes, social contexts, and human behaviors behind those events.

Who were the main founders of the new history approach?

The main founders of the new history approach were historians Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre.

What is the key difference between the historical perspectives on 'heroes' in the traditional and new history views?

In the traditional view, history focuses on the actions and stories of great heroes and leaders. In contrast, the new history focuses on everyday people, their behaviors, and broader societal issues, beyond just the actions of heroes.

According to Marc Bloch, what should historians focus on when studying the past?

Marc Bloch believed that historians should focus on all aspects of human life and behavior, not just major historical events or figures. He emphasized that historians should seek to understand the 'human scent' in the past by exploring all types of traces left by people.

How does the new history view the role of human subjectivity in historical analysis?

The new history recognizes that human beings are inherently subjective and that historical events should be analyzed with this understanding. It encourages questioning the past and examining it from multiple perspectives to gain a deeper insight into human motivations and actions.

What types of sources do historians using the new history approach utilize?

Historians using the new history approach utilize a variety of sources, including not only written documents but also oral traditions, material culture (like artifacts and monuments), and visual sources (such as photographs and paintings).

Why does the new history approach criticize the traditional reliance on written documents as the sole source of historical study?

The new history approach criticizes the traditional reliance on written documents because it believes that focusing only on these sources excludes other valuable forms of evidence, such as oral histories, material culture, and visual records, which can provide a more holistic understanding of the past.