Option 1: Can you add to the definition of history that I have provided above, or do you have your own definition of history? Also, when does history begin? What, by contrast, is “prehistory”? How does “pre-history” differ from “history”? Finally, what factors drive history (i.e., causes continuity vs. change over time)?
Option 2: You may have heard that historians are supposed to be objective. Every single historian, however, no matter how objective, writes based on specific premises that he/she takes for granted. These premises influence how a historian writes history. Can you identify any such premises in any of the readings for this unit, whether on the course website or in the textbooks? How could a historian working from different premise(s) have written any of these chapters differently? Finally, what premises drive YOUR approach to studying history?
