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History

History is the systematic study of the human past, analyzing evidence to construct narratives and explain events. It encompasses various branches and methodologies, with debates on its purpose and classification as a social science or humanities discipline. The field has evolved from ancient traditions to a professional academic discipline, integrating perspectives from multiple sources and related fields.

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17 views1 page

History

History is the systematic study of the human past, analyzing evidence to construct narratives and explain events. It encompasses various branches and methodologies, with debates on its purpose and classification as a social science or humanities discipline. The field has evolved from ancient traditions to a professional academic discipline, integrating perspectives from multiple sources and related fields.

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7/31/25, 6:45 PM History - Wikipedia

History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic
discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and
explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as
part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of
history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn
lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term history refers not to an academic field but
to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past.

Historical research relies on primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate
interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity,
content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives of several sources to develop
a coherent narrative. Different schools of thought, such as positivism, the Annales school, Marxism,
and postmodernism, have distinct methodological approaches.

History is a broad discipline encompassing many branches. Some focus on specific time periods,
such as ancient history, while others concentrate on particular geographic regions, such as
the history of Africa. Thematic categorizations include political history, military history, social
history, and economic history. Branches associated with specific research methods and sources
include quantitative history, comparative history, and oral history.

History emerged as a field of inquiry in antiquity to replace myth-infused narratives, with


influential early traditions originating in Greece, China, and later in the Islamic world. Historical
writing evolved throughout the ages and became increasingly professional, particularly during the
19th century, when a rigorous methodology and various academic institutions were established.
History is related to many fields, including historiography, philosophy, education, and politics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History 1/1

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