HISTORICAL THINKING CONCEPTS

Historical Significance Primary Source Evidence

Continuity & Change Cause and Consequence

Historical Perspective Ethical Dimension

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

• Does the event have serious, long-lasting consequences?

• How many people have been affected?

• Does the event reveal or shed light on long-lasting, or emerging issues?

EVIDENCE• #1 Question… What is the artifact?

• Where and when was the artifact created? (circumstances / surroundings)

• What was the author’s purpose?

• What was the author able to observe or experience?

• What is revealed about the author’s values / worldview?

• What evidence is provided about historical setting?

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE• Continuity and change are

interrelated (relate to one another)

• Change is a continuous process, but there are turning points

• Change does not always signal progress

• Developing a chronology can assist greatly

• Organizing history into specific periods can help organize your understanding of continuity and change

CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE

• Causes are often numerous and layered. They may involve long-term conditions and short-term actions

• Actions may very well result in unintended consequences

• We are constantly shaping and responding to conditions, which are a result of earlier human actions

• Two very common focuses are political and economical

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE• How did people think and feel at

the time?

• Understanding the diversity of perspectives is key to understanding the event

• When taking a historical perspective, you will not necessarily agree. It simply means that you are trying to understand them

ETHICAL DIMENSION• Studying and learning from

the past can help think about ethical dilemmas today

• You must be careful not to impose today’s standards on past actions, when assessing a conflict

• Often helps us to honour a debt of memory, clarify whether apologies are in order, or to make amends