On Writing Research Paper in History

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I am sharing the following lines for the beauty of the diction of the contents and the idea depicted in linguistic expression - a task which a history writer has to do in his profession. "For all who have taken history courses in college, the experience of writing a research paper is etched indelibly in memory: late nights before the paper is due, sitting in pale light in front of a computer monitor or typewriter, a huge stack of books (most of them all-too-recently acquired) propped next to the desk, drinking endless cups of coffee or bottles of Jolt cola. Most of all, we remember the endless, panicked wondering: how on earth was something coherent going to wind up on the page - let alone fill eight, or ten, or twelve of them? After wrestling with material for days, the pressure of the deadline and level of caffeine in the body rise enough, and pen is finally put to paper. Many hours later, a paper is born - all too often something students are not proud to hand in, and something professors dread grading. "Whatever does not kill us makes us stronger." While Nietzsche may sometimes have been right, he likely did not have writing history papers in mind." Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 2004). The whole article can be downloaded in the pdf format at the site http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/. Click HERE.

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Library Genesis

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On the basis of input from one of my collegue, I share a link to an online library. Check it HERE. Well I have not been able to locate any desired book on this site but there are many good articles and books available from this site. The books and articles are directly downloaded to your system in pdf format.

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Spinning Clio: Introduction to Historical Methods

Oh Boy, what should I say?
Before I say anything further, those who are interested in Historical Methods, especially those who are pursuing MA History, Semester system from Punjab University Chandigarh in the fourth semester, they first check HERE.

I am blogging since 2004. It was in 2005, I located this essay. The essay is written by an engineer who is interested in History and had acquired a degree in History. The visitors who will explore the link, will learn about the actual contents of the essay and the source of the contents of the essay.

Now when I am preparing my lecture for my class, I felt the need of visiting this essay. Presently, I can not write much but, it was an experience to relocate this essay through the links maintained on my blogs. I was not able to locate the link from this blog. I wonder that if this is going to be re-posting of this link. But I would say one thing, the Internet is definitely one way of learning and sharing. The education system must undertake some serious studies to make it more effective. They are doing it since long under the title of ICT but I do not see it around. I am trying to do it since 2004 but I do not feel encouraged. But, today, my faith in my paradigm is reinstated.

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Archives of TATA

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Check the archives of the Tata Sons. It may interest the historians, historians of economic history, historian of colonialism and people related to business activity from all over the world.
Quotes from the first page of the site.
"The history of the Tata Group runs concurrent with the story of India’s industrialisation." As a student of history, I read it with caution. While making this comment, there is at the back of my mind, the name of Tagore and Carr Company. I intend no offense to the claim of the site. I write with an appeal to the craft of history.
Second Quote:
"The Tata Central Archives is the first Business Archive in India. We collect, and retain letters, documents, images, printed books, group publications and ephemera of potential historical and critical significance to the Tata Group, one of the largest and most respected business houses in India." I have just watched the document sheet. There are some titles which attracts. I have not fully through the contents. I may go through them at a later date.

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Neuroscience and History: What???

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HNN is displaying two essays espousing the interdisciplinary study wherein neuroscience and history can collaborate.
History is based on available data. It was fascinating to read that the neuroscience can help to gather more data through molecular genetics which could help to study the neuropathology. How? The postage stamps glued to letters have saliva of some historic personalities which could be retrieved. Fascinating. It will be a new set of data from past which historians can subject to their narration and interpretation format of history.
The HNN itself has pointed that they are displaying the articles on the topic to generate debate. It still requires some theoretical basis to develop a world of knowledge build upon the data provided by neuroscience.

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Note; Subject to change as it is the first response on reading the article and it is instantaneous.

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Henry Montgomery Lawrence

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The above image of Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence was taken in 1858 when he was High Commissioner of Awadh. It is interesting to look at the posture and strain on the face of the person.

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The source is a book titled "A personal narrative of siege of Lucknow by L E R Rees published in 1958, London. The book was acquired from books google.

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Epilegomena is online

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On the Mead Project, one can find Epilegomena, the second section in the book "Idea of History" by R. G. Collingwood, edited by his student and later a big volume, is online HERE. I will write on it on my Review View blog. The selective essays, or the Epilegomena are still quite relevant for the craft history. They were written before 1929. The conflict with positivists is quite evident. Secondly, at many places, Collingwood seems to be answering to his critics than to explain the craft. However, they are the finest explanation on the craft of history.

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Philip Kitcher: Why History and the Humanities are Also a Form of Knowledge.

Philip Kitcher: Why History and the Humanities are Also a Form of Knowledge.

Above is the statement on how History can be science. No doubt, Collingwood had already elaborated it in his epilegomena. Philip Kitcher restated it in 21st terms.

Acknowledgement: hnn.us

Mediterranean Stupor

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Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were their epic men. Crete, Mycenaean and Minoans were their seeds. Egypt and Babylon were recognized but underrated. Russel declared with pride accompanied with surprise the sudden rise of civilization in Greece. Sir Arthur Evan, the archaeologist, is the force, authority, testimony and validity behind that claim. The inheritance, like the origin of Virgin Mary, writing and mathematics are recognized but imperiousness of a claimant who does not suggest but emphatically tell that it is he who is right. Even Collingwood depicts similar attitude. I quote, “By what steps and stages did modern European idea of history come into existence? Since I (Collingwood here) do not think that any of these stages occurred outside Mediterranean region ... I am precluded from saying anything about about historical thought in China or in any other part of the world except the region I have mentioned.” Russel is surprised. Collingwood is precluded. The forces outside them decide that they adopt the premises that the counting begins and the action germinates from Mediterranean region. The English intellectuals of later nineteenth century are mainly the soldiers who fought positivism which had emerged by eighteenth century. Nature became a subject of invasion when they raised the army of positivism fighting the positivism. After all, how could they see the defeat of Christian theology? However, Nature yielded them the thoughts but there were thoughts before that also. The conflict was resolved by criticizing positivism outwardly but at inner side, they remained the soldiers of positivism. That positivism made them fight two wars. The two wars defeated positivism. They again went back to eighteenth century. The next stage has yet to come. Will they now seek surprises outside the Mediterranean Region.

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Present : a Fading Glimpse

Present : a Fading Glimpse

The Actual Thought:

The present is made up of past. The present is experienced. Therefore, it is never comprehended. The past is as an effect and as a grain in form of a material, of which, present is made. The present has in it the material of past and a factor of future realised in it (feature which I have yet not come across in the philosophy of history), and therefore, it is not wholly a past. Hence, the mind ( It is here intentionally used. Kindly read the heading Background also), the perception and realization which has been taken wrongly as the proof of present, are actually the recreation of past in present as a Passing Glimpse.

The factor of future is not yet incorporated in philosophy of history(I am not favouring positivists).  But, a future, which did not remain as such when it had revealed itself in present. But that present, in itself is a fading glimpse. However, I have yet to read a thinker, which had taken up this dimension in the making of past.

If ever, the present is lived by a person and the society of human beings, it is a Fading Glimpse – merely a fading glimpse.

Those who live life in a fast lane, they live a life of a fading glimpse, which they enjoy. They enjoy this experience because it is as per the Nature and the laws of Psychology that postulate that the brain focuses on a point for a very small span of a time. It is a thought which Mahatama Buddha had shared with Ananda. It is the core of their Transmigration Theory of Soul. Those who are of a brooding nature, they just escape the enjoyment of escaping glimpse. However, some of them are lucky enough to understand and perceive the actual past which lives in their present.

The Background:

I am presently re-reading “The Idea of History” by R. G. Collingwood edited and compiled by Jan Van Der Dussen and printed by OUP, New York, issued in India in 1993. I am reading his Epilegomena. The above view and opinion was jotted down after lot many thoughts had engulfed my mind sphere while reading Collingwood. I here substantiate and emphasize that during this phase of reading, I am able to understand Collingwood in a better way. Collingwood had used terms from different languages. It becomes every difficult to maintain the comprehension of the thought content while reading this books because one does not understand the meanings of all the terms which have been borrowed from numerous European languages. I here acknowledge the benefit which I have derived from Google Translate feature. It is with that assistance that I have reached up to the first section of Epilegomena. That is other thing, that I have yet to search for the meaning of Epilegomena. On the whole, all that written above, the terms used in there, are all those which had been used by Collingwood for writing 'The Idea of History'. Hence, those who knows what I am talking about, may take the idea given above with Collingwood in background and the premises.