A sense of history

Abstract

In this article, we briefly sketch out the four strands of our program of research: the nature of history classes; historical reasoning and thinking in discourse and writing; other dimensions of history; and the thinking, reasoning, and discussion of both students and historians. We then focus on one particular aspect: What is history? We discuss the definitions of history offered by published historians, two high school history teachers, and practicing historians. By contrasting the core elements of what constitutes history for the teachers and the practicing historians, we explicate the similarities and differences that inform their respective practices. We offer a definition of history that synthesizes the two groups; one primarily concerned with teaching the subject and the other primarily concerned with the production of it.