What is history?

WHAT IS HISTORY?
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Contrary to a popular twentieth-century notion, history is not just a mere presentation of facts in the hope that the facts will ‘speak for themselves.’ It goes further than that. Becker simplifies the definition of history to a mere “memory of things said and done” which, although true, it gives a vague idea of the subject and does a disservice to history as a profession. Going by this empirical presentation, everyone can be a historian if they can recall some activities and act on memories, but we do all know for a fact that not every person is a historian.
At the center of history as a profession, and inextricable from the subject is not just the ability to research facts about events and the subsequent chronological presentation, but also the going further to make sense of events by giving an interpretation. Facts are malleable. The nature of history is not constant, and neither is it cast in stone. It is because of this very reason that different historians will make different inferences and deductions from one particular event. Also, it is for this very reason why history varies depending on the time, place, and even generations. Mostly, this is so because everyone will capitalize on the occurrences that appeal to them and crop out ideas of least importance. Thus, since history “cannot be reduced to a verifiable set of statistics or formulated in terms of universally valid mathematical formulas” and because “it is an imaginative creation” on the historian’s mind, a question of how truthful it can easily arise.

Is history, therefore, an absolute or a relative subject? These are questions that help us focus on the importance of having evidence-guided research and not just an artistic and superficial tale. Though the narrative may be determined by the style of the particular historian, the facts should be his creation, for historians should endeavor to preserve and not create events and ideas.
Good history should, therefore, be original, not in the novelty of the facts, but in the freshness of the outlook. Being original does not just entail freedom from plagiarism; it is a matter of perspective and dynamism. This kind of history should go beyond superficial in research, being critical of the sources as well as sympathetic to both sides of the argument. A good historian should be able to use historical facts and with them make a good story and create a point of view regarding past events. Going by Professor Joyce Appleby’s assertion about the convictions that historian holds dear in the quest to record history, it is important to note that history does serve a purpose of “keeping alive the recollection of memorable men and events” as well as helping humanity to derive meaning from these occurrences. The value of history is indispensable when it comes to studying the complexity of human life because in recalling past events and observing current happenings we can at least anticipate the future, if not predict it.
As to whom history belongs to, if we go with the mentality that everyone is a historian just because they can recall some memorize some entries in their diaries and do some small research, we will be losing it. The biased mind will concentrate on a particular phase of interest and disregard the whole historical event. It is hard to conclude history as an objective science because it is not, as the subjectivity of the narrator will always be present. This, however, does not rule all history as untruthful because whilst the form and style of presentation vary, the substance of the facts is constant. The outlook of the narration as presented by the historian and the reader’s interpretation may vary, but these do not harm the purpose and the value of the profession.

Bibliography
Becker, Carl L. “Everyman His Own Historian”. Historians.Org. Last modified 1931. Accessed February 2, 2018. https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/presidential-addresses/carl-l-becker.
Gehrz, Chris. “Who Owns History?”. The Pietist Schoolman. Last modified 2012. Accessed February 2, 2018. https://pietistschoolman.com/2012/08/22/who-owns-history/.