CHC 2D: 6 Historical Thinking Concepts

1.) Establish Historical Significance

Q. How do we decide what and whose stories to tell?
Historical significance depends on three criteria:
 How notable the event was at the time?
 How widespread and lasting the consequences of the event were
 How symbolic or representative of historical issues or trends the event were

Remember, what is historically significant to one group of people is not

necessarily significant to others

 Judgments about significance may depend upon who is considering the

event.
For example, people in a particular city, province or country may judge an event
as very important, while people elsewhere may judge it to be unimportant.

2.) Use Primary Source Evidence

Q. What are the causes that are hidden from view?
 Primary sources must be read differently.
 To use them well, we set them in their historical contexts and make inferences
from them to help us understand more about what was going on when they
were created.
 Make sure you check your bias and your personal opinions. Societal views
change over time, and the way things were done then may be very different
than they are done now. Be as neutral as possible.
Examples: letters, journals, photographs etc. (i.e., what is actually captured in the
photograph of a smiling soldier? What isn’t captured? What does it tell us about
the time period?)

3.) Identify Continuity and Change

Q. Does change always mean progress?
Consider the following:
 How have things stayed the same? How have they changed?
 Were the continuities (same) and changes positive or negative?
 How rapid or slow were the changes?
 Did any of the changes mark turning points in the course of history?
Examples: the women’s right to vote (only certain women get the vote in 1917,
most others in 1918; but not all women did); but the attitudes towards women did
not change.

4. Analyze Cause and Consequence

Q. What are the causes that are hidden from view?
 Historical Thinking Concepts are woven together and that (whether you
realize it or not) when you talk about one Concept you are also talking about
another.

When thinking about Cause and Consequence remember that:

 Events have a variety of different and often unappreciated causes
 Causes can be immediate or underlying
 Consequences can be immediate or long-term
 Broad underlying causes are often more important than immediate causes
 People, alone or in groups, can cause events
 Ideas, beliefs (religion, politics), institutions (governments) and others can
cause events
 Consequences can be intended and unintended

Determining the importance of causes:

 Evidence of a causal connection. Is the cause clearly connected with the
event and not just a coincidence? If this factor were removed, how likely is it
that the event would still have occurred?
 Degree of influence. To what extent did the cause contribute to the direction
and intensity of the event or make other causes more or less important?
 What are the intended and unintended consequences?
(Intended consequences are those that were meant to happen. Unintended is
what happens as a result of the event but is unplanned.)

5. Take Historical Perspectives

Q. How can we ever understand the past?
When thinking about historical perspective keep the following in mind:
 Identify the historical values, beliefs and practices of a different time
 Become aware of the differences between our worldview and the worldviews
of the past
 Determine whether presentism* is influencing our interpretation of the time
 Determine whether our interpretation is representative of a number of people
and groups
 Identify the diverse perspectives on any event in the past

*Presentism: uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past
events in terms of modern values and concepts.

6. Understand the Ethical Dimension of Historical

Interpretations
Q. What do historical injustices and sacrifices mean for us
today?
 Taking historical perspective demands that we understand the differences
between our ethical universe and those of bygone societies.
 We should expect to learn something from the past that helps us to face the
ethical issues of today. (or not to repeat the mistakes of the past)