As an artist and writer, I am constantly looking for inspiration. What should I make next? What should I write next? Having worked in the history field for over 20 years, I’ve come to realize that I’ll never run out of inspiration if I keep looking to the past. The past helps me create now. The past will help me create in the future. I’ve been infinitely inspired by articles in old newspapers for my…
We’ve been climbing History’s Hierarchy of Purpose and at last we have reached the top – Using the Past to Shape the Future. This is the juicy part, the really fun purpose to which we can intentionally use history. When I start putting my mind to it, I can think of many, many ways to use the past to shape the future. I’ll talk about a number of them over the next several posts, but…
Today’s challenge is meant to give you practice in using history to learn critical thinking skills and examine context around situations and events. Pick a current event, situation or issue and ask, “How did we get here? How did this event, situation or issue arise?” Dig around and do some research to see if you can find one instigating event or a series of events that led to what is happening today. Use “The Ultimate…