OGC TOK: History

Knowledge Questions about History

Scope

• Is it possible to have knowledge of the past?
  • What is History for? video
• Are all areas of knowledge concerned with knowledge of the past to some extent?
• What counts as a fact in history?
  • History in the IB

Perspectives

• How might the existence of different historical perspectives be beneficial to historical knowledge?
  • E.H. Carr
  • R. G. Collingwood, via Philpot
  • Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton
• Can the historian be free of bias in the selection and interpretation of material?
• Are we more prone to particular cognitive biases (such as hindsight bias) in some disciplines and areas of knowledge rather than others?

Methods & Tools

• What is unique about the methodology of history compared to other areas of knowledge?
  • Primary vs. Secondary Sources, video
• Is there less emphasis on collaborative research in history than there is between researchers in other areas of knowledge?
  • The Fundamentals of History by Prof. Arthur Marwick
• How do the methods and conventions of historians themselves change over time?

Ethics

• Should terms such as “atrocity” or “hero” be used when writing about history, or should value judgments be avoided?
• On what criteria could we decide whether people in the past have a right to privacy in the present?
  • What Japanese History Leaves Out, via BBC
• Do historians have an ethical obligation not to ignore contradictory evidence?

Want more questions? See HERE via the IBO

Key Concepts in History

Nature of History

• Is there an accepted ‘historical method’ of producing knowledge about the past?
  • Methodology of Historiography, via Britannica
  • Why Study History through Primary Sources? via Fordham University

What History IS, WAS, and WILL be

• What is a historical explanation and on what criteria could such explanations be evaluated?
  • European History, video via Crash Course
  • What is History: The Great Debate, article via History Today
  • The Value of Studying History, via History Today

Perspective

•  If it is difficult to establish proof in history, or are all versions are equally acceptable?    
• Is it inevitable that historians will be affected by their own cultural context?  
• How do we decide?
  • History According to EH Carr, article via The Statesman
  • Russian Revolution Historiography, via Alpha History

Vocabulary & Terminology

Details via the IBO