Can we learn from history?

Description

There are all sorts of clichés about needing to learn from history.  On the other hand, it’s easy to identify meaningful differences between any past situation and a current one, if only that people involved will inevitably have distinct personalities and backgrounds (assuming that no one is a time-traveler, of course!).  In this project, you will try to figure out what insights you might get into a contemporary preoccupation by comparing/contrasting what historical people might have handled an analogous concern. First, pick a preoccupation.  This could be anything, as long as you can see it as also having been a preoccupation (in some sense) of 3 historical people from different periods and/or places. Some obvious possibilities would include the relationship between the powerful/powerless, public health/disease/medical science, the meaning of gender, how sexuality was expressed, the relationship between humans and the environment/nature, or the impact of new technologies on the quality of life.  If you want something less overtly political, you could consider what it was like to occupy a particular social role or pursue a profession(artist, writer, religious leader, scientist, engineer,parent…).Second, you’ll need to think through that preoccupation by considering how 3 historical people would have experienced or dealt with it. You can pick actual historical people or you can create characters(you might not know the name of a 19th-century English factory worker, but you could extrapolate what such a person might have thought/experienced  9based on historical evidence).Try to reflect the breadth of the course through your choices by making each from a different period of time and/or country. Third, read/listen/watch(learnthings!)to figure out what each of the 3 individuals might have had to say about your chosen issue.  You will need to include details/historical examples and use historical information to create convincing characters/representations of historical people. Fourth, decide how you want to present what you’ve learned.  In your conclusion, you must identify similarities and differences among the 3 individuals, as well as an insight that you gained from thinking about your own preoccupation in historical perspective.  Is there anything to be learned about present-day concerns by doing historical research?[You might think of the way that a presenter opens/closes a panel discussion if you have opted not to write a formal essay]You should not feel obliged to conclude that you can learn something.  People make false analogies and draw questionable conclusions about the “lessons of history” all the time! You will need to explain why you do not perceive relevance, though. My expectation is that you will need at least 3 pages (double-spaced, 12-point-font) to demonstrate understanding of the eras/places/types of people that you involve in your discussion, as well as to explain the connections you perceive (or don’t perceive) to the contemporary issue that inspired your historical research. You’ll need at least one substantial paragraph for the conclusion. based on historical evidence).