Why Investigate Current Events?

Connecting with History Through Current Events

Since the time when human beings invented writing, they have left records of their understanding of the world and of the events in their lives and how they felt about them. By studying the records that previous generations have left, we can find out about the kind of lives they led and how they faced their problems.
Whether it’s through newspapers, magazines, historical novels, or old photographs and stories our grandparents tell we all look into the past from time to time. It’s the job of historians to make a serious and systematic study of the past and attempt to use the knowledge they gain to help explain human nature and contemporary affairs. Your study and research as a student qualify you as an amateur historian. As you read and explore the world around you through the written word consider what history can tell you.

Think & Act Like a Historian

Everything that exists in the present has come out of the past, and no matter how new and unique it seems to be, it carries some of the past with is.

Since everything has a history, using the techniques of historical investigation and your genuine human curiosity you’ll be able to answer most of your questions and make connections to current events using the categories below:

Category 1: “I never knew that.”

KNOWLEDGE

Category 2: “I never thought of that.”

PERCEPTION

Category 3: “I never felt that.”

FEELINGS

Category 4: “I never appreciated that.”

APPRECIATION

Category 5: “I never realized that.”

REALIZATION