How Do We Study History?
In addition to the Vital Themes and Narratives, the Bradley Commission also identified thirteen Habits of the Mind. The premise is that in order to teach history effectively, students have to practice certain analytical and intellectual skills. Historical analysis develops mental perspectives and modes of thoughtful judgment that students can apply to their lives in addition to their formal study of history.
History's Habits of the Mind
- Understand the
significance of the past.
- Distinguish
between the important and the inconsequential.
- Develop
historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness.
- Acquire at one
and the same time a comprehension of diverse cultures and
of shared humanity.
- Understand how
things happen and how things change.
- Comprehend the
interplay of change and continuity.
- Prepare to
live with uncertainties.
- Grasp the
complexity of historical causation, respect
particularity, and avoid excessively abstract
generalizations.
- Appreciate the
often tentative nature of judgments about the past.
- Recognize the
importance of individuals who have made a difference in
history.
- Appreciate the
force of the non-rational, the irrational, and the
accidental.
- Understand the
relationship between geography and history as a matrix of
time and place.
- Read widely and critically.