AoKs: History I

What is History?
Herodotus (484 BC–425 BC, Halicarnassus)
• After watching this short Ted video on Herodotus as the “father of history”, take 10
minutes to individually consider these questions1 . We’ll then discuss them as a group:

1. What is the difference between considering history as a recording of all past events or
considering it as an interpretative AOK that tries to find causes of why things
happened?
2. To what extent does a historian’s own cultural context affect them when producing
knowledge?
3. Why is it important to record different versions of the same event?
4. What different types of evidence were collected by Herodotus and how do you think
they are important for the production of knowledge in history nowadays?
5. ‘History has always suffered from the partiality and mistakes of historians’. What does
this imply for our current historical knowledge?
6. To which extent do you agree with the following statement, “The historical method
provides a process whereby individuals can evaluate evidence, reflect on the
credibility and reliability of claims and develop their own evidence-based claims”.

• Now, consider “what happened” on 30 December 1890, at a Native American

encampment on the Wounded Knee river banks (South Dakota, USA)2 :

1 Adapted from Kognity

2 From Henly, C. P & Sprague, J. (2020), Theory of Knowledge, Hodder Education, pp. 367-369

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Now, obviously these texts and images relate both to the same event, but:
• What are the differences?
• What are the differences in the facts and details provided?

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• Do you think some are more or less reliable than others?
• What knowledge-related challenges do you think these similarities and differences
between these sources raise? Make a list and keep the list in mind as we go through the
History AoK

RELEVANT KQs to keep in mind:

- Is it possible to have knowledge of the past?
- Do other AoKs rely on the choices made by individuals as much as
history? How does this affect the quality of the knowledge produced?
- Is it possible in other AoKs to describe the same phenomenon in such
different ways?
- Do the terms “cause” and “effect” have different meanings in the
sciences, history and mathematics?
- Is it easier to identify a fact in other AoKs than in history?
- Do you think other AoKs impact the ways in which people think of
themselves or self-identify in the same way?

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