FEATURES OF HISTORY

 History covers diverse areas like institutions,individuals, a group of people,symbols or monuments,nations and so on. it have different features which makes it unique. The following are features  of history:

1. OBJECTIVITY : History provides objective account of an event. It allows for an unbiased/ neutral interpretation of ideas which is stated orally or written in documents or in-scripted on metals, or stated orally. The father of objectivity history was LEOPOLD VON RANKE. He was a German historian  and history professor whose approach was mainly on the using the primary sources of history like eye witness account, diaries, for history analysis and  eliminate personal biased ideas in analyzing historical events.His concept was also placed in a way that knowledge of the past should be studied scientifically than gathering of unverified facts / imaginations with regards to historical events.

2. FREEWILL: This ensures that events of history should be written/ discussed without fear  and freely. Freewill is very important because it enables historians to  decide necessary actions to take in matters regarding history without any external or internal influence and to chose the possible actions / measures that are very important.

3.DETERMINISM: This entails that present actions or events of history is predetermined by past occurrences. This is to say that before an action has taken place in the present there must have been previous causes or occurrence in the past which will enable one to find or proffer proactive or reactive solutions using some of the notable causes from previous occurrence.

 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HISTORY AND STORY .

The following are differences between story telling and history:

1. History can be based on specific eras or period of time.

2. History is made up of factual events while stories  can be fabricated.

3. Stories are read for entertainment while History is used for study / research.

4.  Stories make use of literal devices in writing or narration than when writing historical accounts.

5.Anyone can write a story and interpret it, but not every one can write or interpret history.

CAREERS IN HISTORY

 Career is  a job or profession one takes which he or she is highly trained for either through education and other  means of knowledge acquisition. According to Oxford advanced dictionary, career is  defined as `series of jobs that a person has in a particular area of work`. The study of history provides several  pathways to numerous careers to which one can go in to after  education  or any form of special training  as regards to history. The following are careers  one can go for in history:

1. Historian: Historians are people who study and specializes on certain or chosen area of history.They write or document events for future purposes. They are researchers of history. They are intellectuals who provide judgements, interpretations, and facts regarding history. They help to provide proactive steps / solutions to issues of the present by citing statistics and previous occurrence which is in line with what is at hand.

2. History Educator/Teacher/ Instructor: An educator in history, is someone who is trained or skilled and have the right certification to impact the knowledge of history or historical events  to students irrespective  ages which must be in line with school curriculum in private and public institution of learning, which can be elementary or advanced. They can do this using maps, organizing excursions to historical sites or events to honor an important historical personality,photographs and other illustrative ways like using story format for a quicker understanding.

3. Researcher: A researcher is a person that does an in depth  search,background study and gives detailed results about something or issue. A researcher in history unravel and discovers hidden information and gives data for analysis when needed.

 
4. A Museum curator: One can chose a career in becoming a museum curator. A museum curator is someone that works in a museum, and takes care, understands and can build collections in a museum . He or she can describe or provide historical knowledge of artifacts to people when they visit a museum.He or she keeps records or inventories of what any historical item that comes in or goes out of the museum.

Other career pathways one can be or embark on after education or training are : becoming a business consultant, a lawyer, policy maker an anthropologist,an archeologist a librarian, a writer or proof reader of historical documents.

CHECK NEXT POST : FEATURES OF HISTORY AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HISTORY AND STORY.

HOW TO ACCESS SOURCES OF HISTORY.

 Sources of history can be accessed anywhere even at any time.The following are ways one can access sources of history to acquire knowledge or to gather resources for research.

1. Museums: Museums are places where collections of historical objects are preserved and displayed. These objects can be in form of artifacts or antiques which have natural , scientific  or even historical attachments. A museum can be small or large  and can be categorized into the following: Art museum( this can be in form of an  art gallery where paintings, sculptures are kept or displayed),general museums,and science and technology museums.

                                                            AN ART MUSEUM.

2. Library:  A library contain collections of books and documents which are handwritten or printed which are stored for different purposes. These books contains information on diverse angles which is paramount for studies, references and serve as resources for research.  A library can be a general library, a historical library or even a cultural library. One can assess the sources of history either primary, secondary or tertiary in libraries irrespective where one is.

                                                        A LIBRARY SHOWING BOOKS.

3.Exhibition: Exhibitions allow for historical materials to be displayed and promoted to a larger audience. Here, people who are interested in historical materials are allowed to have a feel of the materials  to study or to purchase them .  These materials can be materials from excavations, painting, even ancient metal works.They are very expensive to purchase.

4.Festivals are means whereby people can access sources of history. People are brought together to access and discuss ancient  historical events  and  cultural heritage and indulge in different cultural  activities. Examples of festivals are Egungun festival, New yam festival, Dragon Boat festival( China), Kungum festival (Ghana) and so on. Festivals are special events which are celebrated worldwide, for specific cultural reasons.

NEXT POST: CAREERS IN HISTORY.

SOURCES OF HISTORY

 Sources of history is defined as the various ways through which historical evidences or information are discovered, preserved and transmitted from one generation to another generation.They are categorized into three namely: Primary sources, Secondary sources and Tertiary sources.

1.PRIMARY SOURCES:These  are historical materials that are original and contain undiluted information about any historical occurrence. It is first hand and usually accurate. Examples of primary sources of history are:

a. Eye witness/in person account: A person that is present on the scene of any event can give a detailed account orally  like oral tradition or in a written form like in letters, autobiographies,diaries or scrap books, by writing his or her experiences which can be used for future purposes, like for research or any educational purpose.

 b.Archeology: Archeology is also a primary source of history.Archaeology is another primary source for a historian, which is done through excavation  of materials or dug up materials. Archeology is the discovery of material culture in form of artifacts,relics, inscriptions( epigraphs)inscribed in stones and metals, or remains of ancient  cultural architectural landscapes or sites, which are modified and analyzed to acquire information about people that lived in the past or ancient civilization like Nok culture. An Archeologist evacuates, analyze, investigates, and documents archeological sites.There are types of archeologists:classical archeologists,underwater archeologists,prehistoric archeologists and so on.

 

These primary sources are highly informative, reliable and authentic, although they are sometimes expensive  and time consuming to obtain due to costs involved in sorting or finding them. Also, there might be challenges in translation of inscriptions especially when they are written in ancient languages which might look like noise . When first hand historical materials especially documents are not kept properly, they might be damaged by rain, disasters,or pest infestation.

SECONDARY SOURCES OF HISTORY: These are sources of history created out of a primary source. They discuss and interpret a first hand source of history and give new ideas from the primary source or discuss them on new angles/ topics. 

They can be found in textbooks, government publications, biographies, and internet. Secondary sources are easy to use, faster to obtain, and less expensive,but are biased, distorted or may contain some personal additions which are not necessary to the subject matter being interpreted. one can feel bored when faced with bulky data  to read/ collate just to make up a secondary source. 

TERTIARY SOURCE OF HISTORY: These are made up of supplementary materials for history, collected and organized to give a clear and concise understanding of the secondary and primary sources of history. They can be summaries of what is being discussed which may birth new theories or concepts, very available to use and easy to collect or analyze. Tertiary sources of history include:bibliography,Wikipedia,abstracts, students projects and so on.

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY.

History give ideas about cultures, identity, understanding human behaviors and different human societies, as well as past and future events. Having stated the definition of history and highlighted a brief origin of history in the previous post, let`s delve into the importance of history to individuals , groups, the society, as a resource for research even as a discipline or subject in schools/ institutions.

1. HISTORY PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM PAST ERRORS/  EXPERIENCES: History allows one to study about the occurrences in the past so as to set necessary plans and prevent avoidable errors as regards to what must have happened in the past from occurring in the future. Mistakes from politics and governance, issues regarding different angles like land and resources management,marriage , cultural differences  can be corrected/ avoided  and maintained through the use of past historical records.

2.HISTORY  EDUCATES ONE ON DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF LIFE AND CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES: Before this present time, numerous societies like the Nomadic society  , and Agrarian society existed .History allows one to have the glimpse which paints an imagination  and bringing to light  the different changes that happened  and how they evolved from the ancient time to this present time, the behavioral traits,way of thoughts as it promotes different mode of thinking, as well as means of survival of these societies.It also show the effects of change  and understanding the society properly.

 3.  HISTORY IS A RESOURCE FOR RESEARCH: The knowledge of history or gained from history is vital for research purposes. Researchers take ideas from detailed accounts of history to provide answers to angles where their research is focused on.History provides interpretations and essential data to research. It also allows for one to ask questions which can also be formed as topics to be researched on.

4. THE USE OF HISTORY IS IMPORTANT IN MAKING POLICIES:Policy is a base for decision making for any organization or institution .History provides the narratives ,sharpens  cognitive skills,filters the challenges and proffer solutions  thus making policy making less cumbersome. Different institutions making use of ideas of history  after historical analysis to know what is current,the effect of previous policies and make strategic and futuristic plans in setting policies beneficial to their organization.

5. HISTORY IS OFTEN POLITICIZED BY STATE ACTORS TO ACHIEVE THEIR DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES: History is often embedded in politics by some state actors either to prove a point about an issue or to escalate or settle conflicting areas, to develop good relationship between states, or for the development of constitutions and political movements.It helps us to understand the origin and dynamics of some conflicts in the global setting.

6. Students study history for diverse reasons. it helps to develop and groom research , analytical and communicative skills, to know more about our existence and environments,even to have a career as regards to history where one can play crucial roles as an academic researcher,diplomat, in non governmental institutions,museum archivist,and so on.

7.History provides adequate statistics needed for natioanl development and helps with future predictions in the society.