History General Resource
A Student's Guide to the Study of History
From the opening pages, you gain a sense of the personal; you feel that you have picked the brain of your favorite professor over your beverage of choice, as he elaborates on his favorite subject. Since it is a professor speaking, he does not merely "tell" you his opinion, he speaks with academic authority, in both his level of language and the conviction of having taught this for many years.
Since the book addresses the importance of studying, anyone (either high school student, parent/teacher), who is interested in studying history would profit from reading this.
In this student guide, the topic is history. Having recently read several student guides to history, it has become apparent to me that each professor has his own view of what makes history. In this book, Lukacs begins with a "description," not a "definition" of history. Lukacs differs from some historians in that he believes that history includes both the remembered as well as the recorded past. Since he believes that everyone has a contributing role to history and not just significant people or important events, he has a rather broad view of history.
In discussing how only the past is included in history and not the present or the future, Lukacs quotes Soren Kierkegaard. "We live forward, but we can only think backward."
Lukacs goes on to describe the history of history. He begins by explaining the difference between human beings and other living creatures and how only humans have a sense of history. He then goes on to talk about some of our oldest historical records are found in the Old and New Testament. In doing so, he makes some interesting arguments for Christianity. The section alone makes the book priceless.
From there, he discusses other historians throughout time, such as Polybius, and Plutarch. He also distinguishes between chroniclers and historians. He clarifies how the meanings of words, such as barbarian, have changed over time.
In the next section, he shows the development of the "professional historian".
Under the chapter "the methods of history," he stresses how important it is to know how to read in order to study history. By this, he does not mean phonics!
There may be some debate as to what comprises the study of history. Usually, however, historians agree on what are considered the classics in history. In the last chapter, Lukacs recommends various titles the student should read for each period of time. Keeping in mind that the audience for this book is college-age, some of these recommended texts might not be appropriate in their entirety for high school students, because of the sexual references; in particular, Herodotus'Histories and Plutarch's Lives.
I appreciate his footnote that "there can be no good historian who cannot write well." He adds, "Writing well means thinking well." In fact, there are numerous statements throughout the book that I am tempted to highlight: thought-provoking statements for the reader to ponder.
At times, the language can become a bit academic-sounding, and Lukacs likes to get off on tangents; but if the reader sticks with it, he will arrive at the author's point of view and find the wait worthwhile. Altogether, this book not only offers a good list of books to consider reading, but also offers a good explanation of of what is needed to study well: to read and think critically and express one's thoughts intelligently in writing. All this is packed in a mere 49 pages.
A Students' Guide to U.S. History
Rather than consider the study of American history as a boring parade of facts, he implores the reader to consider it "as a drama of incomparable sweep and importance." At the same time, he reminds us that "American history needs to be seen in the context of a larger drama."
Another reason he gives for studying history is because it tells us about ourselves.
Calling it a gallery of windows, there are a number of topics related to the study of history he suggests studying: America and Europe, Capitalism, Founding, Frontier, and many others. He gives an overview of each topic, discusses the proper lens through which the reader should view each topic, and offers additional reading selections. He closes with a list of dos and don'ts for studying and researching history and offers a final list of suggested reading.
Overall, the style of writing although intellectual and challenging at times, is not incomprehensible, stretching our vocabularies with an occasional, unfamiliar word or phrase, such as "opine portentously," "incommensurable," or "cynosure."
Even though the book is intended for college age students, a high school student or anyone for that matter interested in the study of history would benefit from this book. My only caution would be that a parent read any of the suggested fiction titles before handing them to a high school student. Some are not a problem, but others warrant discussion, or may contain parts which would be considered objectionable.
This guide is also available to download for free at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute home page.
America's Great (and not so great) Catholic Moments: A Perpetual Calendar
This would make a fun family project to share at meal-time and might lead to further "explorations" about particularly interesting entries. It would also make a great gift for a college student, history buff or homeschool parent.
Binding details: desk-calendar sized stand)
Archaeology for Kids
Augustus Caesar's World
Note from the Webmaster: A number of Catholic homeschool parents have commented that the book has some problematic sections of a secular nature - soft on paganism, etc. It may well be a worthwhile book, but should only be used with a reasonable amount of caution and parental supervision.
Catholic Cardlinks: Patron Saints
Children will love (I speak from experience with my own brood) to befriend the saints with this charming resource that they can so easily hold in their little hands. Each elongated cardstock sheet has a colorful sketch of a saint (48 saints in all) with a short biography. The pages fan out so that you can see all of the faces at once. Or open to one at a time and spend a little time reading about your favorites. When I leave this sort of book laying in reach of my little ones (especially the pre-readers), they will become acquainted with the pictures over time and find their favorites that they ask me to read about over and over. What a nice way to help young children develop a devotion to a favorite saint!
I'm also delighted to see such colorful and creative resources being published for young children.
Binding details: cardstock pages pivot on a sturdy post
Catholic World History Timeline and Guide
The front of the book includes some rather extensive lists of recommended Catholic history texts, supplemental history reading and recommended websites.
The package is rather expensive, but many families are finding that, because it is a resource for the whole family that the investment was a worthwhile one. Personally, I very seldom purchase items in this price range (approximately $100). I have to admit that, in addition to using the images for our family's timeline (although we didn't do it exactly the way recommended in the book) I find myself using the reference timeline portion of the book very frequently. It's definitely not a book that will just get left on the shelf!
Great Moments in Catholic History
This book would be helpful in enriching the study of history with a Catholic perspective. One cannot begin to appreciate history without first understanding the impact of Christ and His church on historical events; The easy-to-read format of this book makes that understanding almost effortless.
The author recommends using this book as a supplement for seventh and eighth graders. However my younger students have benefited from using Great Moments in Catholic History as a read-aloud book. Not only have the children enjoyed learning from our read aloud time, but so have I.
Like many of Neumann Press' books, Great Moments in Catholic History is beautifully bound. The black hardcover is embossed with gold and it is filled with ivory 60-pound paper.
Heritage Memo Game
A memory game showing 36 pictures of outstanding sites worldwide.
While looking for something fun to add to this year's curriculum purchases, I discovered this memory game in the Montessori Services catalog. I can't tell you how much fun we've had with it. The whole family down to the 2 1/2 year old have enjoyed rousing games of memory while learning about important historical, cultural and religious sites from around the world. The cards are approximately 2 inches square with full color pictures of famous sites. There are a high percentage of Catholic sites:
Cathedral of Aachen, Germany
Palace of the Pope, Avignon France
Chartres Cathedral, France
Cathedral of Cordoba, Spain
Cathedral and Monastery "Victorious Holy Maria" in Portugal
Cathedral of Cefalu in Sicily
Church of Sagrada Familia, Spain
Reims Cathedral, France
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Spain
Other sites are:
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Stonehenge, Great Britain
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
Cathedral of Canterbury, Great Britain
Nemrut dagi, Turkey
Easter Island, South America
Temple of Katmandu, Nepal
Schwe-Dagon-Pagode, Birma
Stupa of Borobudur, Indonesia
Todaidshi-Temple, Japan
Amun-Temple, Karnak Egypt
Uxmal, Mexico
Madrese Schir-Dar, Russia
Tula, Mexico
Taj Mahal, India
Temple of Abu Simbel, Egypt
Hagia-Sofia, Turkey
Maccu Picchu, Peru
Acropolis, Athens
Sphinx and Great Pyramid
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem
Menhirs of Carnac, France
Temple of Hera, Italy
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
Athos-Monasteries, Greece
Malawiya Minaret, Iraq
Schah-Mosque, Iran
Included with the game is a fold-out sheet with black and white images of each of the sites along with a brief description and location.
72 cards, Made in Austria