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WHY LEARN HISTORY?

History is what we need to know to understand our country and our world..

Review Questions

2. (a) Define: (i) bias; (ii) propaganda; (iii) prejudice; (iv) stereotype. (b) Why is it crucial that history be free of bias, propaganda and stereotype?

3. Explain in your own words the procedures followed by a historian.

4. "Curiosity is the hallmark of a historian." Why?

5. How can history's "invaluable lessons" assist us in our daily life?

6. Explain: "We are in danger of becoming a nation without a memory."

7. (a) Why are dates important? (b) Explain the metaphor: "Dates are the bones of historical anatomy."

8. Why is it difficult for a historian "to tell it like it really was?"

9. How do biographies enliven history?

10. (a) What is chronology? (b) Why is it an important element of history?

11. What figure of speech is "We are as flies in summer." Explain it.

12. What comprises the "stuff of history"? Give several examples.

13. Why do you think "historical memory is the key to our self-identity"?

14. (a) What are the"gleaming toys of history"? (b) Why do you think Churchill described them in this way?

15. What figure of speech is "When a throng of events is marching abreast, progress must be modified by selection and classification." Explain it. 16. (a) What is a historian's prime task? (b) Why is it often difficult?

17. Explain: (a) "History is exact imagining;"(b)"the past is foreign country."

19. Why is all history contemporary?

20. Different writers produce different books. Is this good or bad? Explain.

21. "In darkness dwells a people which knows not its annals." Why?

22. What if anything is wrong with "history hunting for heroes"?

23. Do you agree or disagree with the statement that "biography is history in its most digestible form"? Give reasons.

24. In order to be a good historian do you believe "it is necessary to have no religion, no country, no profession and no party"? Justify your answer. 25. Do you agree or disagree with the statement by Carlyle that the history of the world is the biographies of great men and women? Defend your answer. 26. "To do justice to a great person, discriminating criticism is always necessary. Gush, however, quenching, is always insipid." Explain.

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