How Do I Study History?

Hannah1994xxx

last edited

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

learner_dancer

Buy more books. Write essays. Good luck!

Reply 2

34253

If you choose a topic that interests you I will be happy to guide you to some good books on the topic. 2 very good books to read regardless is 'War' and 'Power' by Robert Greene.

Reply 3

over 9000!

python38

Hi,

I'm a homeschooled student who's studying World History on my own. So far, I've been going through History: The Definitive Visual Guide, a comprehensive book by DK. My book covers everything from our ancient origins to the modern day. I've currently got up to about the 12th century just by reading so many pages each day. But I also want to supplement this book in some way and learn this subject permanently and in-detail.

Should I practise writing essays on important events/historical figures? Should I try to find some good History sites on the Internet? Or should I borrow some more History books on a particular topic from my local library?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks :smile:

well from experice a degree in ancient history requires far more than an obejective analysis of historical events.

you will need to study hostorical scholars of the time such as polybius and livy and provide your own analysis of primary sources from which our history uis derived.

if you are interesting in studying ancient history i would reccomend reading about the avrious major conflicts rome was involved in such as the punic wars, then move onto important figures in roman time frame such as jugurtha, augustus etc
these basic references will help you understand the period far better when it comes of learning the culture and politics of the era.
also learning latin is important

on another era ...the pelopenssian wars by professor kagan is a fantastic read!

Reply 4

Paul PTS

python38

To be honest, I like reading about pretty much every aspect of History. Apart from "War" and "Power", are there any other really good books (on any History topic) you would recommend?

"The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History"
R.Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy

Reply 5

over 9000!

no it shouldn't be necessary

there was one other book i remembered that may intrest you, probably the best ive read in quite a while.

the peoples history of the united states by howard zinn
quite a large book with a totally different approach but totally worth it!
you wont regret reading it

DK Publishing has some great books, the eyewitness series is my favourite. Currently I own, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Costume, Gorilla, and one more I can't think of at the moment.

I've mentioned this before, but I like the Sex with Kings and Sex with Queens by Elenor Hermman. Kings is better but they're both funny with a constructive look on the private lives of royalty. In Kings she focuses more on the French, and some on British monarchy, but she looks at others. Queens is a little more varied.

Salt: A World History-I haven't read this one through, but it's not a bad book, if anything it'll branch you off into other areas.

Eassys are good, pictures of artifacts if they can stick in your mind, museums if you have access...

Reply 8

The Tingler

python38

^Thanks, the current DK book I have is very good - I read a few a while back and, from what I remember, they're all high quality.

I love going to museums, but I've never visited one since I started studying History properly, so I'm not sure how much I could learn (or supplement what I read from books) from one.

Well, I'm more of a picture person I suppose.

So seeing historic images helps me to apply it to the time I'm studying, if that makes sense.

Reply 9

Cessie

I think its more interesting to stufy specific periods/countries in detail!

Reply 10

crazyspacemonkey

You say that you won't be taking a degree in History, but also state that you'd like to study it to a high level, and mention applying to universities. What are you applying to these universities for? I'm not sure how they work in the US but you may be able to take supplementary courses in History along with whatever you are studying at university, especially if they complement one another.

History is a massive subject, and it is difficult to suggest reading without at least a few topic areas. General histories like the ones that cover centuries or millennia are excellent bases to start - when you read something that is particularly interesting perhaps attempt to find out more about this in more detail.

Really what you need to decide is whether you wish to study History at an academic level, which would require the grasp of such things as essay writing and the interpretation of primary and secondary sources, or to simply have a wide knowledge of the past. For this all you need is some good books and a passion for the subject.

Reply 11

Thorn89

Essay writing is honestly the best way to go. It forces you to approach events logically and see several aspects and facets of something.

Reply 12

34253

python38

To be honest, I like reading about pretty much every aspect of History. Apart from "War" and "Power", are there any other really good books (on any History topic) you would recommend?

I am really sorry for the late reply, I only just realised you'd replied to me!

The best history book i've read, well the most interesting, is 'The Soviet Colossus' by Michael Kort:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=W8ETvpyQ26wC&dq=the+soviet+colossus&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=SmdkSpTcA4KNjAfaqwU&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4

If you read this book from start to end you'll be able to go really deep into Russian history in the future.

Reply 13

Thorn89

Dunno if this has been said, but "What is History?" by Evans is standard lol

Reply 14

fredscarecrow

For the medieval period, you might want to look up Jaques Le Goff - he's an excellent historian [make sure to ge tthe translated version, lol, unless you're fluent in French]
Medieval Civilization and Time, Work and Culture are both fantastic. He's extremely comprehensive, and obviously knows what he's talking about in such good detail. We use him at university, but I wouldn't say his books are necessarily of degree-only standard. Anyone could read and understand them.

Reply 15

Troubled_Student

python38

To be honest, I like reading about pretty much every aspect of History. Apart from "War" and "Power", are there any other really good books (on any History topic) you would recommend?

I would recommend writing essays and studying the causes of the First and Second World War, Nazi Germany and maybe the Cold War. Thats on the GCSE and A-Level syllabi.

Reply 16

Hank Hill

Thorn89

Dunno if this has been said, but "What is History?" by Evans is standard lol

'T-t-troll in the dungeons...'

Reply 17

necessarily benevolent

I'd suggest working from grassroots level, and look at some Ancient Greek/Roman histories like Herodotus, Thucydides, Suetonius, Polybius, Plutarch as well as some epic poetry of Homer, Virgil, Cicero, the plays of Aeschylus etc. This usually works as a good base for primitive history. Maybe diversify by looking at some stuff about tomb hieroglyphs, and cave etchings. With regards to the modern, it would be good to look at some historiography stuff: Carr, Evans, Elton; even decadent postmodernism if you must ( :p:

). I find that once you master these contextual factors then it would make actual historical study a lot easier. You'll know the background of empiricism and source interrogation, you'll understand differences between different historical fragments that have come about over the last century (usurping traditional narrative histories of Macaulay, Ranke, Trevelyan, Acton etc.). Things like social history, cultural history, economic history, the history of the "losers", people's history, quantification history, Marxist history, Annales history etc. You'll also be able to question things like determinism and whether events in the past always had an ultimate goal. These will help inform your own work. For example, if you look at a topic you're interested in, let's say, the English Civil War, then you'd be able to bring in other dimensions and interpretations from a range of perspectives. You could ask counterfactual questions (as long as they're evaluated and justified) i.e. what would have happened if Oliver Cromwell hadn't routed the Royalist cavalry at the Battle of Marston Moor? When actually studying, the best way to take notes is to skimread a range of books, and just write that which would help you answer an essay question (which you've already decided). Studying History by Jeremy Black and Donald MacRaild has a very good final section which lays out the best ways to read and write history, I suggest you look at that.

Reply 18

BeanzMeanzHeinzWard

python38

Get Schama's 'History of Britain' on DVD if you can, also Starkey's 'Monarchy' - you can get these from local libraries. As well as reading, watch as many historical docs as you can, even on subjects you don't particulary enjoy, because you'll deepen your knowledge, and you'll see how things fit together. This is essential when you're trying to link together ideas and concepts at higher levels of education.

You won't be able to ignore themes such as 'War' and 'Power' at 'A' and Degree level, so I suggest including them in your reading.