Where does history come from? Mostly, from the fact that we live through time. We as individuals, our families, our city, state and nation have a history.
Movements proceed through time. Thus we can speak of the history of art, of science, of philosophy.
So how is history preserved? How can we know about things that took place before we were born? Of course, every family has its stories, and they're passed down from parents to children. Someone has pointed out that history is recorded by the winners. In other words, the people who triumph over others record their exploits. History written by the losers would be a very different story. Women say that history is written by men--though again, that may be a different point.
Recently, history has come to be told through the documents left, not just by leaders, but by common people, even the losers. Ken Burns, in his PBS series The Civil War, popularized that approach using letters from both northern and southern troops, women waiting at home, African Americans, as well as Lincoln, Lee and Grant.
In this issue of my website, I'll present some of the history of my city, Los Angeles; my sister Barbara, the historian in our family, will write about family histories; and we'll look at a couple of approaches to biblical history. I hope you enjoy it. Write me at b.silvey@sbcglobal.net and tell me about your history, your family's history or the study of history in general. |
