Chapter 1 Historiography Development in the West
Question 1.
(A) Choose the correct option from the given options and complete the statement.
(1) It may be said that …….. was the founder of modern historiography.
(a) Voltaire
(b) Rene Descartes
(c) Leopold Ranke
(d) Karl Marx
Answer:
(a) Voltaire
(2) ………… wrote the book entitled ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’.
(a) Karl Marx
(b) Michel Foucault
(c) Lucien Febvre
(d) Voltaire
Answer:
(b) Michel Foucault
(B) Identify and write the wrong pair in the following set.
(1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel – ‘Reason in History’
(2) Leopold von Ranké – ‘The theory and Practice of History’
(3) Herodotus – ‘The Histories’
(4) Karl Marx – ‘Discourse on the Method’
Answer:
(1) Right pair: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel – ‘Reason in History’
(2) Right pair: Leopold von Ranké – ‘The theory and Practice of History’
(3) Right pair: Herodotus – ‘The Histories’
(4) Wrong pair: Karl Marx – Discourse on the Method.
Question 2.
Explain the following concepts.
(1) Dialectics
Answer:
- In order to understand the true nature of an event, one needs to know its opposite for e.g. True — False, Good — Bad, etc.
- A German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel had put forward this method of analysis of history.
- A theory called ‘Thesis’ is proposed at the beginning. It is followed by another theory called Antithesis’ which is, contrary to ‘Thesis’.
- After a thorough logical discussion of both new thesis is proposed having gist of both (Thesis and Antithesis).
- This process of orriving at a new thesis is called Synthesis.
- This method of analysis of history which is based on opposites is known as ‘Dialectics’.
(2) Annales School
Answer:
- At the dawn of the twentieth century, the writing ¿f history got a new direction.
- Along with political events, kings, great leaders, the study of climate, local people, agriculture, trade, technology, means of communication, social divisions and their collective psychology of a group was also considered important in the study of history.
- This new school of thought is known as Annales School. Annales School was started by French historians.
Question 3.
Explain the following with its reason.
(1) Historical research was driven to focus in depth on various aspects of women’s life.
Answer:
- Initially, there was a lot of dominance of male perspective on historical writing. Simone de Beauvoir, a French scholar, insisted on inclusion of women perspective in historiography.
- She emphasised on the inclusion of women in the process of writing history.
- She insisted on rethinking of the male dominated perspective of history.
- Because of her efforts historical research was driven to focus in depth on various aspects of women’s lives their employment, their role in trade unions, institution working for their cause, and their family life.
(2) Foucault called his method, ‘the archaeology of knowledge’.
Answer:
- According to Michel Foucault, the prevailing method of arranging historical events in a chronological order was not right.
- He threw light on the fact that archaeology does not strive to reach the ultimate historical truth.
- It attempts to explain various transitions in the past.
- Foucault gave more importance for explaining the transitions in history. Hence, his method is called ‘the archaeology of knowledge’.
Question 4.
Complete the concept chart.
Answer:
Question 5.
Answer the following in detail.
(1) Explain Karl Marx’s ‘Class Theory’.
Answer:
In the latter part of nineteenth century, German thinker, Karl Marx put forward ‘Class Theory’ in his book ‘Das Kapital’.
According to him:
- History i not about abstract ideas but living people. The fullillment of basic needs of people depends on the nature of prevalent means of production and the ownership.
- All the different strata of the society do not get equal access to these means of production which causes the division of the society into classes. It rešults into class struggle.
- The class which owns means of production $ economically exploits the rest of the classes. Human history, according to him, is the history of class struggle.
(2) What are the four characteristics of modern historiography?
Answer:
The following are the four characteristics of modern historiography:
- Its method is based on scientific principles and begins with formation of relevant questions.
- These questions are anthropocentric i.e. they are about ancient human societies and their deeds in that period of time. No interrelation between the divine and human needs is suggested.
- Answers to these questions are supported by reliable evidence and they are presented in a logical order.
- History presents a graph of man’s progress with the help of his deeds in the past.
(3) What is feminist historiography?
Answer:
- Feminist historiography means writing history with women perspective. There was a lot of dominance of male perspective on historical writing.
- Simone de Beauvoir, a French scholar, insisted on rethinking on the male dominated perspective and including the women’s perspective in historiography.
- The idea of feminist historiography was accepted.
- Because of her efforts various aspects of women’s lives like their employment, their role in trade unions and their family life became part of historiography.
(4) Explain Leopold von Ranké’s perspective of history?
Answer:
Leopold’s view on ways to write history throws light on his perspective of history:
- He spoke about the critical method of historical research. He gave importance to information gathered through original documents.
- He also stated that all types of original documents related to the historical event should be examined in detail and with great care.
- He believed that with this method it was possible to reach the historical truth. He was critical of imagination in narration of history.
Historiography : Development In The West Questions And Answers Pdf Project
Obtain detailed information on your favourite subject and write its history. For example :
– History of Pen
– History of Printing technology
– History of Computers
Answer:
Memory Map
Question 6.
Choose the correct option from the given options and complete the sentences:
(a) A scholar who writes critical historical narratives is known as ………………………… .
(a) an archaeologist
(b) a historian
(c) a social scientist
(d) a language expert
Answer:
(b) a historian
(b) The earliest inscription in the world is displayed at Louvre museum in ………………………… .
(a) England
(b) France
(c) Germany
(d) Portugal
Answer:
(b) France
(c) The tradition of recording historical events can be traced back to ………………………… civilization in Mesopotamia.
(a) Sumer
(b) Egyptian
(c) Arab
(d) Mohenjodaro
Answer:
(a) Sumer
(d) The tradition of modern historiography has its roots in the writings of ………………….. historiAnswer:
(a) Roman
(b) Greek
(c) German
(d) French
Answer:
(b) Greek
(e) ………………….., a Greek historian of the fifth century B.C.E., had used the term ‘History’ for the first time for his book entitled, ‘The Histories’.
(a) Leopold Ranke
(b) Georg Hegel
(c) Michel Foucault
(d) Herodotus
Answer:
(d) Herodotus
(f) In 1737 C.E., the ………………….. university in Germany had an independent department for history.
(a) Oxford
(b) Cambridge
(c) Gottingen
(d) Stanford
Answer:
(c) Gottingen
(g) Historiography of the nineteenth century was greatly influenced by the thoughts of …………………..
(a) Karl Marx
(b) Voltaire
(c) Georg Hegel
(d) Leopold von Ranke
Answer:
(d) Leopold von Ranke
(h) A new school of historiography arose in France known as ………………….. school.
(a) Translation
(b) Annales
(c) Nationalism
(d) Communist
Answer:
(b) Annales
(i) The method of analysis which is based on opposites is known as …………………. .
(a) Numismatics
(b) Arithmetic
(c) Polynomial
(d) Dialectics
Answer:
(d) Dialectics
(j) ………………….. considered subjects like psychological disorders, science of medicine, prison administration for historical analysis.
(a) Michel Foucault
(b) Leopold Ranke
(c) Karl Marx
(d) Voltaire
Answer:
(a) Michel Foucault
(k) After 1990, ………………….. were considered as an independent social class.
(a) labourers
(b) women
(c) men
(d) farmers
Answer:
(b) women
(l) According to ………………….., historical realities should be presented in a logical manner.
(a) Georg Hegel
(b) Voltaire
(c) Simone de Beauvoir
(d) Herodotus
Answer:
(a) Georg Hegel
(m) According to ………………….., one should never accept anything as the truth till all the doubts are solved.
(a) Rene Descartes
(b) Karl Marx
(c) Voltaire
(d) Herodotus
Answer:
(a) Rene Descartes.
Question 7.
Identify the wrong pair in the following and write it:
(1)
Thinker | Book |
(1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel | (a) Reason in History |
(2) Leopold von Ranke | (b) The Theory and Practice of History |
(3) Herodotus | (c) The Histories |
(4) Karl Marx | (d) Discourse on the Method |
Answer:
Wrong pair: Karl Marx – Discourse on the Method.
(2)
Historian | Country |
(1) Herodotus | Greece |
(2) Simone de Beauvoir | Germany |
(3) Michel Foucault | France |
(4) Rene Descartes | France |
Answer:
Wrong pair: Simone de Beauvoir Germany.
(3)
Thoughts/Opinion | Historian |
(1) All aspects of human life is important in the historiography | Voltaire |
(2) He criticized imaginative narration. | Leopold von Ranke |
(3) History is not about abstract ideas but about living people. | Rene Descartes |
(4) Emphasized the rethinking of the male-dominated perspective of history. | Simone de Beauvoir |
Answer:
Wrong pair: History is not about abstract ideas but about living people – René Descartes.
Question 8.
Complete the concept chart
Answer:
Answer:
Question 9.
Prepare a flow chart on the given topic:
Stages of historiography
Answer:
Question 10.
Write short notes:
(1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel:
Answer:
- Georg Hegel was a German philosopher.
- He was of the view that the historical realities should be presented in a logical manner. According to him, Timelme was indicative of progress.
- He believed that presentation of history is bound to change as time passes because new evidence surfaces.
- His philosophy convinced many scholars that historical methods were not of lesser quality, though they differed from the scientific method.
- His lectures and articles are published in a book called ‘Encyclopaedia of Philosophical Sciences’.
- His book ‘Reason in History’ is well known. He devised a method of analysis based on opposites known as Dialectics’.
(2) Karl Marx:
Answer:
- Karl Marx was a German thinker in the nineteenth century. He wrote the world famous treatise Das Kapital’. According to him, history was not about abstract ideas but about living people.
- He believed that human relationships are shaped by the fundamental needs of people and the ownership of prevalent ineczns of production to meet those needs.
- He stated that unequal accessibility to the means of production creates à division in socièty leading to class struggle. His theory of class struggle is considered significant all over the world.
- According to Marx, human history is the history of class struggle because the class which owns the means of production economically exploits the rest of the classes.
(3) Michel Foucault:
Answer:
- Michel Foucault was a twentieth century historian from France.
- He wrote the book ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’.
- In this book, he insisted that the prevailing practice of arranging historical events in a chronological order is not right.
- He gave importance to explaining the transitions that took place in history.
- He acknowledged the role of subjects such as science of medicine, psychological disorders, prison.
- Administration in historical analysis. This was not acknowledged by earlier historiAnswer:
(4) Leopold von Ranke:
Answer:
- Leopold von Ranke, a German philosopher, laid emphasis on utmost importance of information gathered through original documents.
- In order to reach historical truth, it was necessary to examine all documents related to historical event. He critcised the imaginative narration of history.
- Collection of his articles are published in two books, entitled ‘The Theory and Practice of History’ and ‘The Secret of World History’.
- Ranke had great influence on historiography of nineteenth century.
Question 11.
Give reasons:
(a) In historical research, it may not be possible to use the method of experiments and observation.
Answer:
- In physical and natural sciences, experiment and observation method is used to establish laws that remain true irrespective of the time and space.
- These laws can be tested and proved again and again.
- In historical research, the events had already taken place in the past and we were not present in the historical time and space.
- Moreover, these events cannot be recreated in the present time and space. Hence, experiment and observation method may not be used in historical research.
(b) Historiography in the 18th century gave importance to objectivity in history.
Answer:
- A remarkable progress was achieved in the fields of Philosophy and Science till the eighteenth century in Europe.
- It was believed that by applying scientific methods it was possible to study social and historical truths.
- In the later period, history and historiography witnessed a lot of philosophical discussion.
- This eliminated the imaginative and divine context in history and gave importance to objectivity.
Question 12.
Answer the following in 25-30 words:
(a) What is Historiography?
Answer:
- The writing of critical historical narrative is called Historiography. A person who writes it is known as ‘Historian’. The following steps are helpful in writing historical narrative:
- Information related to history is collected and analyzed.
- The various sources are critically examined to understand the references regarding time and space in the given information as well as the conceptual framework used.
- After examining the references of historical information, relevant questions related to these historical references are framed and hypotheseis are formulated.
- In short, writing of critical historical narrative by following this method is known as historiography.
(b) What did Rene Descartes insist upon?
Answer:
French Philosopher Rene Descartes insisted on the following in writing historiography:
- ‘Never to accept anything as true till all grounds of doubt are excluded’.
- Hence, the reliability of a source like historical documents should be verified by critically examining them while writing history.
(c) Why is Voltaire said to be the founder of modern historiography?
Answer:
Voltaire, a french scholar, opined that it was important to consider the following aspects while writing history:
- objective truth and chronology of events;
- prevalent social traditions, agriculture, trade and economic system. It was because of his view that all aspects of human life was considered for history writing. Therefore, he is said to be the founder of modern historiography.
(d) What are the objectives of writing history?
Answer:
History is researched and written down with following objectives:
- To analyse the events in the past.
- To verify information about the historical events and their interconnections.
- To study in detail and remove imaginative element and bring forth the truth.
- To put the past events in chronological order.
(e) What progress was achieved in historiography in the eighteenth century?
Answer:
The following progress was achieved in historiography in the eighteenth century:
- Scientific methods were applied to study social and historical truths.
- Philosophical discourses revolving around divine phenomena were given less importance.
- Philosophical discussions focused more on the objectivity in history and historiography.
- Since the universities got an independent department of history, they became centres of historical studies.
Question 13.
Head the given passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
(a) Who is called a Historian?
Answer:
A scholar who writes critical historical narratives is called a Historian.
(b) Complete the concept chart.
Factors which determined historian’s
Answer:
Factors which determined historian’s
(c) How did the people in ancient societies preserve the events in the past?
Answer:
The ancient people preserved the events in the past so that they can pass them to the next generation. They used various means to do this:
- Narrating the stories of valour of ancestors to the next generation.
- Stories of their life preserved through cave paintings.
- Adopting story telling technique.
- Singing songs and ballads to impress events upon the minds of the new generation.
Question 14.
Answer the following questions in detail:
(a) Which experts do we need in order to prove the reliability of historical documents?
Answer:
The following experts are required to prove the reliability of historical documents:
- Language expert who can decipher the language and meaning of the document or the script on the inscription.
- One who can recognise the type of paper used and the period in which it was used.
- One who can understand the lettering style and the writing style of the author.
- Expert who has knowledge of different seals, i.e. stamps of authority used by the rulers.
- Historian who can interpret and do a comparative study of the references given in the document.
(b) Write Hegel’s view on history.
Answer:
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher.
- He was of the view that the historical realities should be presented in a logical manner.
- He believed that presentation of history is bound to change as time passes because new evidence surfaces.
- He proposed a method of analysis based on opposites known as ‘Dialectics’.
- Hegel’s philosophy convinced many scholars that historical methods were not of lesser quality, though they differed from scientific methods.
- His lectures and articles are published in a book called ‘Encyclopaedia of Philosophical Sciences’. His book ‘Reason in History’ is well known.
Question 15.
Observe the inscription in the picture and write information it:
Answer:
- A fragment of the earliest inscription is shown in the above picture. It dates back to 4500 BCE.
- It is displayed at the Louvre museum in France.
- The inscriptions have names of Sumerian kings and stories of battles fought by them.
- It shows a forward marching file of soldiers holding shields and spears. The General is in the front.
Brain Teaser
Hints:
Down:- He used the word ‘History’ for the first time
- He wrote the book ‘Discourse on the Method’
- Presented Theory of ‘Dialectics’
- He called his method ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’
Across:
- founder of modern historiography
- Criticised imaginative narration of history. Articles published in ‘The Secret of World History’
- Her writings helped in establishing the fundamentals of feminism
-
He wrote ‘Das Kapital’
