The Role Of A Historian

The job of a historian is to investigate what happened in the past based on the evidence that’s available. Historians often work at universities, libraries, government agencies or some may be freelancers. George Santayana said “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it”, this quote really highlights the importance of historians in today’s society. They help us understand past events and conflicts so we do not repeat them, they guide us away from histories mistakes and towards a better future. A historian reconstructs the past using current evidence; they use sources to find the evidence. There are many different types of sources. Sources can be written, visual or oral. Each source must be judged in relation to what’s

They should have an awareness of a range of viewpoints and how to cope with this; an appreciation of the range of problems involved in interpreting complex, ambiguous, conflicting and often incomplete material is needed; a feeling for the limitations of knowledge and the dangers of simplistic explanations should also be on the top of their minds when deciding to use a source or not.

Historians study from many different times of history. Often they study period history. This is when they chose a specific time in history and specialise in it, for example some historians might specialise in the medieval Ireland period and another historian might specialise in the rule of Stalin in communist Russia. Some historians might choose to study a time in history that’s not commonly talked about, maybe a historical event that happened in their town or city. Other historians chose to study various organisations and establishments like the military or the social history of a certain

History involves encountering and sensing the past 's otherness and learning to understand unfamiliar structures, cultures and belief systems. These forms of understanding shed important light on the influence of the past on the present, understanding the past is key to bettering the future.

Intellectual independence is a necessary skill if you’re a historian. Studying history is not simply a preparation for researching different people and events in history, instead it incorporates general research skills - the ability to set tasks and solve problems. This involves: bibliographic skills; ability to gather, sift, select, organise and synthesise large quantities of evidence; ability to formulate appropriate questions and to provide answers to them using valid and relevant evidence and argument The primary role of a historian is to present the world with their findings. To carry out this task they must take on the role of a narrator. They have to show their information in an organised