LESSON 1.8 SkillBuilder: Historical signiýcance
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this SkillBuilder you should be able to explain the signiýcance of historical events and sources.
1.8.1 Tell me How do we evaluate historical signiýcance?
Of all the thousands of events that happen in our lifetime, how do we determine the ones that are signiýcant? For most of us, the events that lead to a positive change are remembered as important. Historians face similar questions when they try to determine which events, ideas, achievement or people have the most impact on history. Asking questions about the impact of an individual, development or cultural achievement can help us to assess its signiýcance in bringing about change. To do this, we must ýrst understand the idea or achievement. When we are trying to evaluate the historical signiýcance of a development, it is important to consider: 1. Who created the source we are analysing and when was it created? 2. What is the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure? 3. Who was affected by the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure? 4. Did the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure lead to any change? 5. What was the scale of the change (was it a big change or a small one)? 6. Who was affected by the change? 7. Which areas of society were affected by the change? 8. Did the change lead to other changes? 1.8.2 Showme The view of the universe shown in SOURCES1 and 2 was developed by Aristotle (384–322 BCE), an ancient Greek thinker, and changed only slightly by Ptolemy, another Greek, in the second century CE. Aristotle’s view was taught in universities in Christian Europe from the twelfth century CE. During the Renaissance era, the Catholic Church still maintained that Aristotle’s explanation was unquestionably true. Aristotle held that Earth stood still at the centre of the universe. Water, air and ýre were shells around the sphere of Earth. Heavenly bodies were believed to be spheres of an element called aether , and they were supposed to rotate in perfect circles around Earth in the following order: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, ýxed stars and a ‘prime mover’ ( Primu Mobile in SOURCE1 ). It was believed that beyond this system there was no wider universe. Study SOURCE1 . The questions for evaluating historical signiýcance have been applied to this source. 1. Who created the source and when was it created? The source was created by Aristotle, an ancient Greek, in the fourth century BCE. 2. What is the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure? The source explains the order of the solar system, with Earth at the centre. This was proposed by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and polymath. 3. Who was affected by the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure? The Catholic Church adopted this explanation of the universe and upheld it as the ofýcial explanation throughout Western Europe. 4. Did the key idea, historical event, movement or ýgure lead to any change? The explanation of the solar system expressed in SOURCE1 was upheld for approximately 2000 years. 5. What was the scale of the change? (Was it a big change or a small one?) There were very few changes to this explanation until Nicolas Copernicus published his model in 1507.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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