What have I learned About History and Historical Thinking this Term?

            Throughout this course, I have learned various historic events that led up to the confederation of Canada. However, I have learned that history as a whole has created this very moment, and continues to influence society today. I have learned that thinking historically means to think without bias and to look carefully into the facts rather than just your personal opinion. Overall, my views of history and historical thinking have grown within this term.

            Before coming into this course, I had very little knowledge on major events such as the American revolution, and the role of the British empire in Canadian history. I didn’t realize how crucial the revolution was in Canadian context, as it was the beginning of a divided nation. People were realizing they could become independent from the British empire during their colonization to Canada, which was the beginning of a nationalistic and proud country. Of course, this is a well-known historical event; however, I learned that history isn’t just one event, it is the small events and societal thinking of the time that lead up to that event. History should be viewed in its context, not just as an event.

            Through numerous readings and analyzing historical documents this term, I learned that to successfully analyze and understand history I had to think contextually, or, historically. This type of thinking caused me to ask questions of “why did this event happen?” or “why is this significant for Canadian history”, which forced me to support my analysis or understanding. I came into this course with the notion that I would be reading about specific dates and specific events, be tested on it, and then move on to the next topic; however, I quickly learned that this is not the way thinking or learning about history works. It is critical to take those specific dates and events, and to ask yourself the “why” question because that event happened in relation to other events or previous societal influences.

            I’ve learned that by understanding history and thinking historically, your worldview expands because you learn the context in which things happened, and aren’t viewing historical events in a bias way. History has and will continue to influence society, and it is our job to apply historical thinking to prevent, or promote what did and didn’t benefit society in the past.