Recently, interest in the past has become more and more frequent. Knowledge of history helps a person to better understand the processes taking place in modern society. To understand the history of the development of individual countries and peoples, it is important to have the idea that the events of distant days and the present are firmly connected with each other.
It is necessary
- - textbooks on history;
- - monographs;
- - documentary sources.
Instructions
Step 1
Understand for yourself the meaning of the term "history" and the subject of this science. The original meaning of the word, which laid the foundation for historical science, goes back to the ancient Greek concepts of "investigate" or "learn". History initially meant establishing the truth of certain facts and events. The subject of historical science is the political, social and economic life of individual states, regions and nationalities.
Step 2
Understand the scientific categories used in historical science. The main categories include historical time, historical space, historical fact, data sources and a methodological approach to the study of past events. All events in the history of mankind have their spatial location, time of course, sequence and cause-and-effect relationships.
Step 3
Explore the concept of historical time. It determines the periodization of the historical process and largely depends on the methodological position taken by the researcher. Several centuries ago, historians calculated historical time under the rule of statesmen. Then scientists began to distinguish several eras: savagery, barbarism and modern civilization. In Soviet historical science, it was customary to divide the history of society into several socio-economic formations.
Step 4
Use appropriate textbooks and literature to study history. To understand the science of the past, you can start by mastering textbooks for schoolchildren and students. Textbooks are good because they provide descriptions of events, adapted and systematized in a special way, which makes the material easier to understand. As you master the basics of science, move on to the study of monographs dedicated to a specific historical period.
Step 5
Do not forget about the primary sources that illuminate the essence of this or that historical event. These can be magazine and newspaper publications related to the period under review, official documents, legislative sources that consolidate the changes that have taken place in society. Familiarization with such documents helps to understand the essence of events on their own, and not through the prism of the views of the authors of monographs.
Step 6
When considering historical events, try to understand for yourself their relationship and cause-and-effect relationships. Often, the events that took place in one state cannot be fully understood without referring to the past of this country or to what was happening at that time in neighboring regions.
