In some of our latest articles we have analyzed different aspects of knowledge construction historical. In this last post we have to reflect on the historical categories of “space”, “change” Y “permanence” and its importance in sharpening our understanding of the history.
old map Colonia del Sacramentodisputed by the Portuguese and Spanish for its strategic location on the Río de la Plata
As we already know the History study the societies human in the past. And of course, these societies inhabited a territory (space) specific. That is why whenever we begin to study a society of the past we must locate it in space and time.
The space It is a very important aspect to study the History. Each territory has its own characteristics that can be decisive in understanding many aspects of a society. For example: what economic production does it carry out, trade routes, population distribution, strategies in wars, etc. In addition, societies transform the space in which they live, adapting it to their needs.
On the other hand, when we study Historythe social change appears frequently. There are many examples of change in a society: a president changes, laws change, control over a territory changes as a result of a war, political ideas change, production technologies change…
On the other hand, there are certain characteristics that remain for a long time almost unchanged, they are called stays. Permanences are sometimes a little more difficult to see, but they can tell us a lot about a society.
Some possible examples in today’s society: the religious conflict in middle East; the division of societies into a very rich minority of the population and a very poor majority; capitalism as the predominant economic system in the world; racial discrimination; The Castilian language in the ex-Spanish colonies of America.
Other articles on historical knowledge:
what is history
Historical sources, raw material of history
History and the problem of subjectivity
History: past, present and future
Historical fact and historical process
Social actors and conflict, the engines of History
Space, change and permanence… elements to understand History
Sources:
Historiology on Wikipedia
ALONSO, M., ELISALDE, R. and VÁZQUEZ, E. History. Modern Europe and Colonial America. Buenos Aires, Aique, 1994
BENEJAM, PAGES, COMES and others. Teach and learn Cs. Social, Geography and history in secondary education. Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Barcelona-Horsori, Barcelona, 1997.
Image:
old map Colonia del Sacramentoin Google