World History
What is History? An Essay from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. This is a strange little site which has an essay on what history is from the 1911 Britannica. It is a little hard to read but is interesting.
From the site:
The word history is used in two senses. It may mean either the record of events, or events themselves. Originally (see below) limited to inquiry and statement, it was only in comparatively modern times that the meaning of the word was extended to include the phenomena which form or might form their subject. It was perhaps by a somewhat careless transference of ideas that this extension was brought about. Now indeed it is the commoner meaning. We speak of the history of England without reference to any literary narrative. We term kings and statesmen the makers of history, and sometimes say that the historian only records the history which they make. History in this connection is obviotisly not the record, but the thing to be recorded. It is unfortunate that such a double meaning of the word should have grown up, for it is productive of not a little confusion of thought.
History in the wider sense is all that has happened, not merely all the phenomena of human life, but those of the natural world as well. It includes everything that undergoes change; and as modern science has shown that there is nothing absolutely static, therefore the whole universe, and every part of it, has its history. The discovery of ether brought with it a reconstruction of our ideas of the physical universe, transferring the emphasis from the mathematical expression of static relationships to a dynamic conception of a universe in constant transformation; matter in equipoise became energy in gradual readjustment. Solids are solids no longer. The universe is in motion in every particle of every part; rock and metal merely a transition stagc between crystallization and dissolution. This idea of universal activity has in a sense made physics itself a branch of history. It is the same with the other sciencesespecially the biological division, where the doctrine of evolution has induced an atttudc of mind which is distinctly historical.
- The Day The Universe Changed
Ralph Luker is reporting at Cliopatria that James Burke's 1985 series for BBC, "The Day the Universe Changed," is now available on YouTube. Wikipedia notes, "The series' primary focus is on the effect of advances in science and technology on western...
- Britannica Blog
Rod Waldhoff at the Encyclopedia Britannica has been kind enough to point out a new blog to me. It is the Britannica Blog. The blog is described as, "Britannica Blog is a place for smart, lively conversations about a broad range of topics. Art, science,...
- Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide To Normandy 1944
Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944 - The story of the Normandy Invasion through the spoken recollections of veterans who fought it, the newsreels that recorded the events, and written collections of historians who studied the campaign....
- History Of Africa
History of Africa. This is a good outline on the history of Africa from Wikinfo. From the site: The following is an outline of African history, followed by a list of articles about the history of particular places in Africa. The text may be dated...
- Wikinfo | History
Wikinfo | History This is the main history page at Wikinfo. It includes links to many of the categories for history articles at this encyclopedia. From the site: History is often used as a generic term for information about the past, e.g., as in...
World History
What is History? An Essay from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
What is History? An Essay from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. This is a strange little site which has an essay on what history is from the 1911 Britannica. It is a little hard to read but is interesting.
From the site:
The word history is used in two senses. It may mean either the record of events, or events themselves. Originally (see below) limited to inquiry and statement, it was only in comparatively modern times that the meaning of the word was extended to include the phenomena which form or might form their subject. It was perhaps by a somewhat careless transference of ideas that this extension was brought about. Now indeed it is the commoner meaning. We speak of the history of England without reference to any literary narrative. We term kings and statesmen the makers of history, and sometimes say that the historian only records the history which they make. History in this connection is obviotisly not the record, but the thing to be recorded. It is unfortunate that such a double meaning of the word should have grown up, for it is productive of not a little confusion of thought.
History in the wider sense is all that has happened, not merely all the phenomena of human life, but those of the natural world as well. It includes everything that undergoes change; and as modern science has shown that there is nothing absolutely static, therefore the whole universe, and every part of it, has its history. The discovery of ether brought with it a reconstruction of our ideas of the physical universe, transferring the emphasis from the mathematical expression of static relationships to a dynamic conception of a universe in constant transformation; matter in equipoise became energy in gradual readjustment. Solids are solids no longer. The universe is in motion in every particle of every part; rock and metal merely a transition stagc between crystallization and dissolution. This idea of universal activity has in a sense made physics itself a branch of history. It is the same with the other sciencesespecially the biological division, where the doctrine of evolution has induced an atttudc of mind which is distinctly historical.
- The Day The Universe Changed
Ralph Luker is reporting at Cliopatria that James Burke's 1985 series for BBC, "The Day the Universe Changed," is now available on YouTube. Wikipedia notes, "The series' primary focus is on the effect of advances in science and technology on western...
- Britannica Blog
Rod Waldhoff at the Encyclopedia Britannica has been kind enough to point out a new blog to me. It is the Britannica Blog. The blog is described as, "Britannica Blog is a place for smart, lively conversations about a broad range of topics. Art, science,...
- Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide To Normandy 1944
Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944 - The story of the Normandy Invasion through the spoken recollections of veterans who fought it, the newsreels that recorded the events, and written collections of historians who studied the campaign....
- History Of Africa
History of Africa. This is a good outline on the history of Africa from Wikinfo. From the site: The following is an outline of African history, followed by a list of articles about the history of particular places in Africa. The text may be dated...
- Wikinfo | History
Wikinfo | History This is the main history page at Wikinfo. It includes links to many of the categories for history articles at this encyclopedia. From the site: History is often used as a generic term for information about the past, e.g., as in...