HIST212 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Skill, Analytical Engine, W. T. Tutte
18 Apr 2018
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3 lessons about signi cance: de nition: a) impact resulting in change a ects many people, the economy, etc. b) revealing in some way, we say something is signi cant because it tells us something about ourselves. Why do i think this way of assessing signi cance is valid: the signi cance of an event or person can vary over time, place, and social context. When we do history, past historians" perceived signi cance changes, and a ects what gets recorded. History becomes harder because what we"re looking for might now be recorded: what we think is signi cant is constructed . Groups come together and agree on what is signi cant through criteria and consensus. There isn"t a right and wrong, it"s social processes that create signi cance. It doesn"t depend on the actual historical event, or person. It can change multiple times; it is not concrete. They"re nancially successful, we see them as heroes and role models.
