Reflective Essay: How possible is it to know the past?
I have chosen the question ‘How possible is it to know the past?’ as I find the idea of no one fully being able to understand the past extremely compelling. The concept of being able to understand the past to full capacity is critical when it comes to historical research. Firstly, in order to decide whether or not we are able to know the past we need to delve into what ‘history’ actually is. History as a blanket term is a critical analysis of the past that consists of evidence of past civilisations and their ways of life. From existing/surviving documentation of past generations we can derive knowledge that details information about our ancestors such as their ways of life, hardships, environmental changes and much more. The main argument of this essay is that no matter how far we delve into the past, everything that we discover is a vague interpretation of what was real at the time. In order to express this argument, in this essay I will discuss the works of multiple famous historians in order to convey why I believe that the our perception of the past is merely an interpretation rather than complete fact.
In this essay I will discuss the techniques and skills that I have learned during my time studying the course The Historian’s Toolkit. In order to do this I will be referring to the 2014 Benchmark Statement for History. Firstly I will delve into how The Historian’s Toolkit has helped me to realise that it is almost impossible to fully know the past exactly as it was. The Benchmark Statement, Section 3, claims that as an historian it is crucial to have:
“The ability to understand how people have existed, acted and thought in the always different context of the past. History often involves encountering and sensing the past’s otherness and learning to understand unfamiliar structures, cultures and belief systems. These forms of understanding also shed important light on the influence which the past has on the present.” Through my studies and readings that I have done over the semester it has became significantly clearer to me just how relevant history is in modern, everyday life. As our impression of the past is ever changing and according to Carr (1961) “mere fact of the past is transformed into a fact of history”
It is clearer to me now how things that have happened in the past effect future generations both direct and indirectly as we learn from out ancestors’ mistakes and work to create different solutions to those that had failed in the past. The idea of reworking past techniques is derivative of Geoffrey Elton within his 1967 book The Practise of History were he claims to believe that history should be reflective of modern struggles eg war and takes the solutions used in the past to create new ones that will be more effective. Upon starting The Historian’s Toolkit my views on history were that most of what we are taught is entirely fact, this course has helped broaden my critical mind and views and taught me that in fact it is very easy for historian’s to manipulate what we know about the past so that it fits their own theories and ideas.
Documenting the past is crucial when it comes to history as without documentation then the concept of history as a whole would be flawed. The Historian’s Toolkit has taught me how to document my work effectively and as accurately as possible. Within section 3 of the 2014 Benchmark Statement it states that as an historian you must have the “ability to gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information; and familiarity with appropriate means of identifying, finding, retrieving, sorting and exchanging information”. Throughout the course this semester I have gained this skill and will carry it forward not only in history but in other parts of my degree also. I will employ this skill in the form of effective note taking and essay writing as well as having presentations, both audio and visual.
Darnton is a relevant example for demonstrating this skill as he documented the French Revolution of 1789 in his book The Great Cat Massacre. Darnton states that “[workers] ran errands all day while dodging insults… and abuse from they master, and received nothing but slops to eat.” Without Darnton’s detailed descriptions of the ongoings during the French Revolution we as modern historians would not have as much information of the event as we do now. This is why documentation is one of the fundamental aspects of history as without it everything truly would be more of an interpretation that it already is. This is because, documentation can be bias already either by accident or purposely by the author, for example the audio interviews presented to us by the Old Bailey’s Trials can be bias due to interviewees answering things from their own perspective rather than fact. With this and historians trying to twist the information presented to them by historical documentation it is extremely difficult to fully know the past.
The Historian’s Toolkit has helped me further develop my critical thinking skills. As stated in the Benchmark Statement:
“The understanding of the problems inherent in the historical record itself; awareness of a range of viewpoints and ways to cope with this; appreciation of the range of problems involved in the interpretation of complex, ambiguous, conflicting and often incomplete material; comprehension of the limitations of knowledge and the dangers of simplistic explanations, providing an enhanced ability to critically analyse broader historical claims in public life.”
Critical thinking is a necessary skill to have as an historian as without it you will not be able to determine which documents are worth any significant value to you and whether or not they are academic, reputable sources. For example, it is very easy to find sources and documents which do not tell the full story and only tell with fits their agenda. Cannadine supports this statement when writing in reference to Carr he states that: “Diligent research and factual accuracy were necessary conditions in …becoming a historian” When taking the works of Hoppit and Craft into account and their writings on the Industrial Revolution, neither historians mentions anything about labouring females or children, individuals whom had multiple occupations as well as those involved in voluntary and domestic work. This tells us that the documents aren’t fully accurate and do not give us a truthful insight into the previous generations due to their lack of data. Therefor it is extremely important to have sharp critical thinking skills in order to be able to find data that gives you the most detailed insights into what you are looking for. The Historian’s Toolkit has given me the necessary skills and resources to implement this.
To conclude, The Historian’s Toolkit has helped me grow more as an historian and has influenced the development of my skills as discussed previously. Overall, it is not possible to fully know the past as there are an abundance of holes in our historical knowledge that lead us to the interpretation of past events based upon the surviving data that we have from the time period. Future generations however may have an easier time learning about the present generation due to the increasing technological advances and us having the ability to store infinite amounts of data online through multiple formats e.g writing, audio, video etc. As time goes on our views of the past may become more accurate as more and more future historians will be weighing in and offering new ideas but as of right now, our perception of the past is flawed and merely just the interpretation of current and past historians.
Essay Plan (DRAFT)
Title:
How possible is it to know the past?
Introduction:
- no one fully being able to understand the past extremely compelling
- being able to understand is critical when it comes to historical research
- what ‘history’ actually is – History is a blanket term – critical analysis of the past
- documentation of past generations details information about our their ways of life, hardships, environmental changes etc
- argument = no matter how far we delve everything is a vague interpretation
- convey belief that our perception is interpretation rather than fact
Indication of Content:
Primary source
(1) Robert Darnton, ‘Workers Revolt: The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Séverin’ in The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1985), ‘Introduction,’ and 79-104 (e-reserve).
2. Secondary source(s)
(1) Alun Munslow, ‘Book Review (Reappraisal)’, review of What is History, by E. H. Carr, in History in Focus: The Guide to Historical Resources, no. 2 (Autumn 2001). www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Whatishistory/carr1.html
(2) David Cannadine, ed., What is History Now? (Houndsmill: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) (e-book), including Richard J. Evans, ‘Prologue,’ 1-18.
(3) Julian Hoppitt, ‘Counting the industrial revolution’, Economic History Review, 43:2 (1990), pp. 173-93
(4) Crafts, N.F.R. and C. K. Harley, ‘Output Growth and the British Industrial Revolution: A Restatement of the Crafts-Harley View’, Economic History Review, 45:4 (1992), pp. 703-30
3. Non-textual Source
(1) https://www.oldbaileyonline.org
Main Body 1 – wider thinking
- “The ability to understand how people have existed, acted and thought in the always different context of the past. History often involves encountering and sensing the past’s otherness and learning to understand unfamiliar structures, cultures and belief systems. These forms of understanding also shed important light on the influence which the past has on the present.” (benchmark statement)
- “mere fact of the past is transformed into a fact of history” (Carr)
- Actions have opposite and equal reactions – valid in terms of past mistakes
- Reflect upon how The Historian’s Toolkit has developed my wider thinking
Main Body 2 – documentation
- “[workers] ran errands all day while dodging insults… and abuse from they master, and received nothing but slops to eat.” (Darnton)
- Documenting the past – crucial for historical records and understanding
- Connection to effective note taking and essay writing skills
- “ability to gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information; and familiarity with appropriate means of identifying, finding, retrieving, sorting and exchanging information” (benchmark statement)
Main Body 3 – critical thinking
- “Diligent research and factual accuracy were necessary conditions in …becoming a historian” (Cannadine)
- “the historian should look at the wider forces in history, at economic change, industrialisation, class information and class conflict” (Cannadine)
- “The understanding of the problems inherent in the historical record itself; awareness of a range of viewpoints and ways to cope with this; appreciation of the range of problems involved in the interpretation of complex, ambiguous, conflicting and often incomplete material; comprehension of the limitations of knowledge and the dangers of simplistic explanations, providing an enhanced ability to critically analyse broader historical claims in public life.” (Benchmark Statement)
- Discuss how documentation can leave out subsections – lead to inaccuracy about the past
- Developed critical thinking skills
- Discuss Hoppit and Craft – no inclusion of female or children during industrial revolution
Conclusion
- Helped me become a better equipped historian
- Information presented is interpreted how we feel suits
- It is almost impossible to fully know the past
- Future generations looking back on us might find it easier due to advances in technology
...(download the rest of the essay above)