Why+History

Let’s look at two very important questions before we begin our study this year.

What is History?

 Why do we study it?

You've tried to answer these two questions on your own, now we'll look at some explanations.

To many, history is boring and hard to "get into." Yet many people talk about "making history" and refer to things that happen as "history in the making." Or they talk about the "history" of a relationship, idea, business or family. History, therefore, must be important to people.  What is History?  There are probably as many answers to this question as there are students taking this course! Regardless of our opinions about history and our reasons for taking it, history is important.

a) It can be defined as a social science that tries to recreate and explain in a logical manner the daily lives of women and men throughout the ages.

b) To accomplish this task, historians must use logic and be aware of certain things, such as:  - the difference between facts and opinions  - people's values  - people's motivation for doing what they do  - people's responsibilities to others in society  - the causes of historical events

Furthermore, historians must learn certain skills or acquire certain abilities in order to be good at what they do. They must be able to:  - record material accurately <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - express their ideas clearly in written form <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - use information gained from maps <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - use facts to back up a point of view <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - read accurately to get information on a topic <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - use their own imaginations to see what it would have been like to have lived at another time

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Why do we study History? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> This course centres on the history of Canada since 1914. It was a time of rapid change and the transformation from a self-government British colony to the independent country we are today. The goal is to help us understand why things in Canada are the way they are today – the road we traveled to get to where we are. Events of the past impact on the present and even set the course for the future. We can learn from the past - so that we can make good decisions for the future. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> So history is important because it helps us understand the past in order to make good decisions for the future – and hopefully avoid the mistakes of the past.