Page 157 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat

Previously Covered

In prior sections, we reviewed some basic geography and looked at some of the characteristics of
different regions around the globe. We also touched on how humans interact with their environment and
how this interaction has shaped not only the environment but also human history.

Putting It Together

Studying history is an exercise in related acts. Knowing facts and dates is important, but the most
comprehensive study of history comes when the student is able to view it as a continuum, a web of
interconnected events that look different at every angle.

Putting chronological information into a time line helps visualize events. The era of the Crusades was a
complex period of religious, political, and military conflicts. Organizing such a time period into a format
that allows for more interaction allows students at any level to take a look at an isolated time period in a
new way.

The Third Crusade The Fifth Crusade

1187-1192 1201-1206

1194-1201 1216-1218
The Fourth The Sixth
Crusade Crusade

Any seasoned student of history will tell you, correctly, that time periods are not isolated. Visual aids like
time lines, tables, graphs, maps, and charts all require careful interpretation. When looking at any visual
aid in a historical context, keep these questions (and possibilities) in mind:

• Who created this material? (academic historian, field historian, government, student)
• What was happening in the world when this material was created? (war, economic
decline, economic growth)
• What might cause the personal bias of an author? (religion, cultural background, prior
biased education, employment)

Interpreting even a simple graph in the context of history, geography, civics, or economics requires that
we look at the bias of its creator. A company wishing to ease the fears of its investors might provide
graphs showing long-term profit, leaving out an early period of decline. In the same way, a time line or
graph of a historical event can be presented and read in different ways.

The study of history is inexorably linked to the present, and when studying and reading the information
written by previous historians, you must realize that elements of personal bias and philosophical
assumptions will always come into play. These biases and assumptions have been a factor in every
history book you have ever read, and they came into play within this text. Reading history in the context of
history becomes quickly complex; that’s why it’s important to know your sources. It’s important to be able
to identify sources as primary or secondary sources.