Journal Entry #1
In the introduction of the textbook John Belshaw is mainly concerned with giving history students a general overview of what history is and how we can endeavour to study it. Belshaw states that he will cover four main topics to clarify how to study history.
The first point he emphasizes is understanding “What is history?”[1] Belshaw argues that in order to fully understand history it is important to first understand historiography. Which he describes as the “doing (the writing of history) and the reflecting on (the study of history)”[2] Furthermore, he wants to show undergraduates how to properly research history. Belshaw stresses the importance of reliability when researching history. He argues that real historians are “revisionists” [3] that in order to truly call yourself a historian you must be willing to accept the idea that history can be changed or altered if new information is found. Belshaw’s next point is to define the making of histories. In this section he defines to undergraduates the difference between both a “primary source (Original historical resources, such as diaries, letters, and government inquiries)”[4] and “secondary sources (which generally are documents that examine primary documents and provide an interpretation)”[5] In defining these terms he helps students to understand what it is they are researching and whether or not the source is reliable or not. He urges students to ask questions about the source of their research, namely who, where, and when the source was produced. The final point that Belshaw is trying to impart to the student is “the current state of historical writing in Canada”[6]. In this final section he discusses the difficulty of defining exactly what Canadian history is. Is it when Canada was colonized in 1867? If so does that not make Canada a relatively new country to study? The problem Belshaw has with this is it leaves out “the existence of New France”[7] in the 1600’s and if Canadian history is defined by that date than it completely ignores “the Aboriginal, pre-contact experience”[8] From here, he discusses the influence of both the baby boomers and multiculturalists on more modern history. Belshaw concludes this portion of the text with saying that history is fluent and ever changing and just as the historians of the 1970’s changed our view of history so too will new historians that are bringing new and exciting ideas to the field of history.
In conclusion, the first section of reading in this text gives undergraduate students a way of understanding what history is and how to research it. He also helps to define the making of history, and he also aids us in understanding what Canadian history is. What is abundantly clear is that Belshaw is very passionate about helping students achieve their goals within their historical research. Which is exactly what he sets up in the introduction of this textbook.
Works Cited
John Belshaw. Canadian History: Pre-Confederation. Kamloops: BCCampus, 2015.
[1] John Belshaw. Canadian History: Pre-Confederation. (Kamloops:BCCampus 2015) 3.
[2] Belshaw, Canadian History. 3.
[3] Belshaw, Canadian History. 6.
[4] Belshaw, Canadian History. 9.
[5] Belshaw, Canadian History. 9.
[6] Belshaw, Canadian History. 3.
[7] Belshaw. Canadian History. 17.
[8] Belshaw. Canadian History. 17.