Silas Deane
1. Groups of 3 or 4 develop a brief compelling theory as to how Deane died
2. Class discussion questions:
- In "The Strange Death of Silas Deane", the authors offer what the general public considers to be the definition of history and the role of the historian. Do you agree with this definition?
What are some of the potential problems inherent in this view of the role of the historian?
What implications does this definition have for our understanding of the past?
- What does the example of Silas Deane indicate about the study of the past? The historian’s
attempt to reconstruct the past? What does is suggest about the role and function of the
historian?
- If, as Davidson and Lytle state, history is “the act of selecting, analyzing and writing about the
past” (p. xxi), what possible challenges does the historian face in this process? Do you agree
with their definition of history and the role of the historian? How does this compare to what
Wilson has to say about thinking about history?
- Do you agree that historians are more than “couriers to the past”? Why or why not
- What sorts of questions should a historian ask when trying to write history? Why are these
questions important? How do the answers affect a historian’s approach to the past?
- How was history studied in the past?
- How did the study of history change over time? How is the study of history today different
from previous centuries? Why?
3. Write a reflection based on the following prompts:
- What skills do historians need in order to discover “what happened” when investigating an
event?
- How did your group decide what to include and what not to include?
Homework: Read
1. American Pageant pages 30-31 & 43-49
2. AMSCO pages 11-13 & 23-25
No comments:
Post a Comment
Be sure your comment looks and reads as if it were written by a professional.