Auxiliary sciences of history

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Auxiliary (or ancillary) sciences of history are scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research. [1] [ page needed ] Many of these areas of study, classification and analysis were originally developed between the 16th and 19th centuries by antiquaries, and would then have been regarded as falling under the broad heading of antiquarianism. [2] "History" was at that time regarded as a largely literary skill. However, with the spread of the principles of empirical source-based history championed by the Göttingen School of History in the late 18th century [3] and later by Leopold von Ranke from the mid-19th century onwards, they have been increasingly regarded as falling within the skill-set of the trained historian. [4] [5]

Auxiliary sciences of history include, but are not limited to: [1]

See also

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Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, and theoretical approaches. Scholars discuss historiography by topic—such as the historiography of the United Kingdom, that of WWII, the British Empire, early Islam, and China—and different approaches and genres, such as political history and social history. Beginning in the nineteenth century, with the development of academic history, there developed a body of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influenced by their own groups and loyalties—such as to their nation state—remains a debated question.

Historian Scholar who deals with the exploration and presentation of history

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is concerned with events preceding written history, the individual is a historian of prehistory. Some historians are recognized by publications or training and experience. "Historian" became a professional occupation in the late nineteenth century as research universities were emerging in Germany and elsewhere.

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Anachronism Chronological inconsistency

An anachronism is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of persons, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type of anachronism is an object misplaced in time, but it may be a verbal expression, a technology, a philosophical idea, a musical style, a material, a plant or animal, a custom, or anything else associated with a particular period that is placed outside its proper temporal domain.

Antiquarian Specialist or aficionado of antiquities or things of the past

An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory."

Leopold von Ranke German historian (1795–1886)

Leopold von Ranke was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. According to Caroline Hoefferle, "Ranke was probably the most important historian to shape [the] historical profession as it emerged in Europe and the United States in the late 19th century". He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of historical documents. Building on the methods of the Göttingen School of History, he was the first to establish a historical seminar. Ranke set the standards for much of later historical writing, introducing such ideas as reliance on primary sources (empiricism), an emphasis on narrative history and especially international politics (Außenpolitik). Ranke also had a great influence on Western historiography. He was ennobled in 1865, with the addition of a "von" to his name.

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A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to the present. Therefore, any work classed as such purportedly attempts to embrace the events of all times and nations in so far as scientific treatment of them is possible.

The Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism that developed in ancient times and have been connected with the study of the Vedas:

  1. Shiksha : phonetics, phonology, pronunciation. This auxiliary discipline has focused on the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, accent, quantity, stress, melody and rules of euphonic combination of words during a Vedic recitation.
  2. Chandas : prosody. This auxiliary discipline has focused on the poetic meters, including those based on fixed number of syllables per verse, and those based on fixed number of morae per verse.
  3. Vyakarana : grammar and linguistic analysis. This auxiliary discipline has focused on the rules of grammar and linguistic analysis to establish the exact form of words and sentences to properly express ideas.
  4. Nirukta : etymology, explanation of words, particularly those that are archaic and have ancient uses with unclear meaning. This auxiliary discipline has focused on linguistic analysis to help establish the proper meaning of the words, given the context they are used in.
  5. Kalpa : ritual instructions. This field focused on standardizing procedures for Vedic rituals, rites of passage rituals associated with major life events such as birth, wedding and death in family, as well as discussing the personal conduct and proper duties of an individual in different stages of his life.
  6. Jyotisha : Auspicious time for rituals, astrology and astronomy. This auxiliary Vedic discipline focused on time keeping.

Source criticism is the process of evaluating an information source, i.e. a document, a person, a speech, a fingerprint, a photo, an observation, or anything used in order to obtain knowledge. In relation to a given purpose, a given information source may be more or less valid, reliable or relevant. Broadly, "source criticism" is the interdisciplinary study of how information sources are evaluated for given tasks.

Positivism Philosophical theory

Positivism is a philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either positive—a posteriori and exclusively derived from experience of natural phenomena and their properties and relations—or true by definition, that is, analytic and tautological. Thus, information derived from sensory experience, as interpreted through reason and logic, forms the exclusive source of all certain knowledge.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to history:

Historism is a philosophical and historiographical theory, founded in 19th-century Germany and especially influential in 19th- and 20th-century Europe. In those times there was not a single natural, humanitarian or philosophical science that would not reflect, in one way or another, the historical type of thought. It pronounces the historicity of humanity and its binding to tradition.

History Study of the past

History is the study of the past. Events before the invention of writing systems are considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers.

Harry Bresslau

Harry Bresslau was a German historian and scholar of state papers and of historical and literary muniments. He was born in Dannenberg/Elbe and died in Heidelberg. He is the father of Ernst Bresslau and his daughter, Helen married the polymath, Albert Schweitzer.

Secondary source Document that discusses information originally presented elsewhere

In scholarship, a secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation or a document created by such a person.

Nationalization of history is the term used in historiography to describe the process of separation of "one's own" history from the common universal history, by way of perceiving, understanding and treating the past that results with construction of history as history of a nation. If national labeling of the past is not treated with great care, it can result in the retrospective nationalization of history and even assigning nonexistent or exaggerating existing national attributes of historical events and persons. Nationalization of history, which began after a period of globalization of history, was not only one of causes, but also element and result of the process of establishment of modern nations.

The historiography of Germany deals with the manner in which historians have depicted, analyzed and debated the History of Germany. It also covers the popular memory of critical historical events, ideas and leaders, as well as the depiction of those events in museums, monuments, reenactments, pageants and historic sites, and the editing of historical documents.

The Göttingen school of history was a group of historians associated with a particular style of historiography located at the University of Göttingen in the late 18th century. This group of historians played an important role in creating a scientific basis for historical research, and were also responsible for coining two fundamental groups of terminologies in scientific racism:

Ranke Library Library Collection

The Ranke Library was Leopold von Ranke's collection of over 21,000 items. It was purchased by the Syracuse University Library on April 22, 1887, which outbid the Prussian government. The purchase dramatically increased the size of Syracuse University Library, making it the third largest library in New York state. The collection was described as "the finest collection of primary source materials ever assembled by one man for the study of western history".

References

  1. 1 2 Drake, Miriam A. (2003). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Dekker Encyclopedias Series. 3. CRC Press. ISBN   0-8247-2079-2.[ page needed ]
  2. Sweet, Rosemary (2004). Antiquaries: the discovery of the past in eighteenth-century Britain. London: Hambledon & London. p. xiv. ISBN   1-85285-309-3.
  3. Ranke, Leopold von (2011). Iggers, Georg G. (ed.). The Theory and Practice of History. Abingdon: Routledge. p. xix. ISBN   978-0-415-78032-2.
  4. Green, Anna; Troup, Kathleen, eds. (1999). The Houses of History: A Critical Reader in Twentieth-Century History and Theory. Manchester University Press. p. 2. ISBN   978-0-7190-5255-2.
  5. Stern, Fritz, ed. (1972). The Varieties of History: From Voltaire to the Present (2nd ed.). New York: Vintage Books. p. 54. ISBN   0-394-71962-X.