TOPIC 1

Meaning of History
 The origin of the word History is associated with the Greek word ‘Historia’ which
means ‘information’ or ‘an enquiry designed to elicit truth’.
 History has many definitions
 "History is a narration of the events which have happened among mankind, including
an account of the rise and fall of nations, as well as of other great changes which have
affected the political and social condition of the human race" (Tosh, 2013).
 According to Collingwood 1994 history is the past as created in the present. The
understanding of the past has to be compatible with the facts; not derived from them
but shaped by them. Facts enter into history selectively and strategically. Collingwood
creates an image that history is not the study of nature but the study of man and that
man differs from nature in having thoughts. Collingwood asserts that the ultimate
historical understanding is the recreation of past thoughts which resulted in those
actions.
 Leff (1967) gives this definition: “History is the totality of human actions and
endeavour”.
 Johnson (1940) sees history as “everything that ever happened
 History is the study of life in society in the past in all its aspect, in relation to present
developments and future hopes.
 It is the story of man in time, an inquiry into the past based on evidence.
 History is the analysis and interpretation of the human past which enables us to study
continuity and changes that are taking place over time. It is an act of both
investigation and imagination that seeks to explain how people have changed over
time. Historians use all forms of evidence to examine, interpret, revisit, and reinterpret
the past. These include not just written documents, but also oral communication and
objects such as buildings, artifacts, photographs, and paintings.
Importance of teaching history in secondary schools
 It welds the society together by creating a spirit of togetherness and interdependence
among people who have a common goal and interest. “Without history a society
scarcely exists” (Perkin: 1970).

 History aims at helping students to understand the present existing social, political,
 religious and economic conditions of the people. Without the knowledge of History,
we cannot have the background of our religion, customs institutions, administration
and so on.
 The teaching of history helps the students to explain the present, to analyze it and to
trace its course. Cause and-effect relationship between the past and the present is
lively presented in the history. History thus helps us to understand the present day
problems both at the national and international level accurately and objectively.
 To promote self-understanding. Everyone has a heritage which is uniquely his, a
combination of racial, national, family and individual traditions which are woven into
his very being. Without enquiry into these historical factors, man will remain a
stranger to himself. Similarly, in the absence of historical study, groups and persons
will fail to comprehend their own identity. Being a key subject, history provides
useful information necessary for understanding the common allusions in daily
reading-names, places, dates and events etc. Thus the knowledge of history is a part of
the self-awareness and realization of our environment.
 To enable the students to assess the values and achievements of their own age: History
provides the youths the standards of reference against which they can measure the
values and achievements of their own age. This enables them to have an enlightened
awareness of the problems of modern communities, political, social and economic.
 To foster national feelings and belonging: An important objective of teaching history
is the emotional and national integration of Kenyan people. Emotional integration is a
feeling of oneness among the people of different cultures, religions, castes and
languages. It is the sharing of certain common objectives, ideals and purposes and
giving them high place over smaller and sectional loyalties. History can play a very
important role in realizing this aim.
 To develop international understanding: The swift growth of means of communication
among various nations has hastened the exchange of ideas and dependence on each
other on various aspects of life. History is one subject that can promote international
understanding in the best possible way. It can destroy prejudices existing among
nations; it can also overplay the fundamental unity and interdependence among
nations and underplay the sources of disunity
The meaning of Government
Some definitions of the term “Government”
  The political and administrative hierarchy of organized state (political Science
Dictionary: 1973)
 The exercise of influence and control through law and coercion over a particular
group of people formed into a state. (Dictionary of Political Thought: 1982).
 The act of ruling; a continuous exercise of authority over the action of Subjects or
inferiors; authoritative direction or regulation; central rule (Oxford English
Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 1989).
 The institutions and processes by which groups and states are regulated (Olumwullah,
in William. R. Ochieng: 1990).
 A ruling or managing, central system governing, the body of people authorized to
administer the laws or to govern a state. (Concise Dictionary 1991). , The political
system by which a ratio of a community is administered or regulated. (The New
Encyclopedia liriltaiuca. Vol. 5: 1993).
The importance of studying Government
The study of government is necessary because:
• lt makes the learners aware of their rights and obligations, thus preparing them to
play an effective role in the society
• It creates awareness in learners on how conflicting interests arising in the society are
regulated in order to maintain law and order.
• It exposes learners to various systems of government and principles, which govern
them. This prepares them for effective participation in the political arena.
• It creates awareness in the learners for the need of an organized system of
government to safeguard against instability (anarchy).

TOPIC 2
NATURE AND SCOPE OF HISTORY
The nature of history is very complex. No one branch of history is more than a single glimpse
of a vast complex of phenomena
History is the study of the present in the light of the past. The present has evolved out of the
past. Modern history enables us to understand how society has come to its present form so
that one may intelligently interpret the sequence of events.
History is the study of man in time. It deals with a series of events and each event occurs at a
given point in time. Human history, in fact, is the process of human development in time.
History deals with man’s struggle through the ages. History is not static. It traces the
fascinating story of how man has developed through the ages, how man has studied to use
and control his environment and how the present institutions have grown out of the past.
Collingwood, too subscribes to this idea through his philosophy that history is nothing but the
re-enactment of past experience and that the subject matter of history is reflective.
Objective record of happenings is also another anchor in history. Every phenomenon is taken
to base the data on its original sources and make them free from subjective interpretation. It
helps in clear understanding of the past and enables us to take well informed decisions. All
aspects of the life of a social group are closely interrelated and historical happenings cover all
these aspects of life, not limited only to the political aspect that had so long dominated
history.
The selected happenings are not merely narrated, the causal relationships between them are
properly unearthed. The tracing of these relationships lead to the development of general laws
that are also compared and contrasted with similar happenings in other social groups to
improve the reliability and validity of these laws. Continuity and coherence are the necessary
requisites of history. History carries the burden of human progress as it is passed down from
generation to generation, from society to society, justifying the essence of continuity.
According to modern concept, history is not confined to one period or country or nation. It
also deals with all aspects of human life-political, social, economic, religious, literary,
aesthetic and physical, giving a clear sense of world unity and world citizenship.
Finally, historical forces are considered to be linear by some and cyclical by others. Those
who hold the linear view of history think it to be a straight line from an unknown past passing
through the known present to the unknown future. According to this view there is close
continuity in history, forward thrust in its movement, never reversing its course, and making
progress as it goes. Those who hold the cyclical view of history think that history moves in a
circle. There is a starting point, and then the upward movement until it reaches the peak then
the downward movement sets in until it touches the lowest point where it disappears. The
process starts all over again, and hence the cyclical view conforms to the organic view of
birth, growth, maturity, decline, downfall and disintegration.

SCOPE OF HISTORY
The scope of History is as vast as its nature; it is the story of man in relation to totality of his
behavior. The scope of history means the breadth, comprehensiveness, variety and extent of
learning experiences, provided by the study. History which was only limited to local saga, has
during the course of time become universal history of mankind, depicting man’s
achievements in every field of life-political, economic, social, cultural, scientific,
technological, religious and artistic etc., and at various levels-local, regional, national, and
international (Frederick, 2011). It starts with the past; makes present its sheet-anchor and
points to the future. Events like wars, revolutions, rise and fall of empires, fortunes and
misfortunes of great empire builders as well as the masses in general are all the subject matter
of history. History is a comprehensive subject and includes-History of Geography, History of
Art, History of Culture, History of Literature, History of Civilization, History of Religion,
History of Mathematics, History of Physics, History of Chemistry, History of Education,
History of Biology, History of Atom, History of Philosophy-in fact history of any and every
social, physical and natural science we are interested in. History today has become an all-
embracing, comprehensive subject with almost limitless extent. In effect, mirroring the ways
in which disciplines construct their own subject matter and methods at least as much as
subject matter and methods construct a discipline (Land, 2010).

LIST OF REFRENCES
Atkinson, R. F. (1978). Knowledge and Explanation in History: An Introduction to the
Philosophy of History. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
Collingwood R.G. (1994). The idea of history, Jan V. D. (eds 2005) New York: USA; Oxford
University Press Inc.
Frederick C. (2011). “Hegel and Ranke: A Re-examination.” In A Companion to Hegel.
Edited by Holgate, S. and Bauer, M. Chi Chester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Land, F. (2010). The Use of History in IS Research: An opportunity missed? Journal of
Information Technology 25(25): 365–394.
Tosh, J. (2013). The Pursuit of History. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Tucker, A. (2011). A Companion To The Philosophy of History and Historiography.(eds)
Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell