Chapter 1 - Sense of History

The author addresses the historical question concerning the creation and development of the sense of history. Sense of history as defined by the author is “a perspective on the past at the core of who they are and the people and places they care about.” Ultimately, the sense of history mirrors the intersection where the intimate and the historical perspectives meet.

The author’s argument concerning the sense of history is that people, places, events, and experiences develop one’s sense of history. This sense of history may vary from person to person. The author used his own life experiences to support his argument. The author starts off with stories of how he developed his own sense of history; two tables helped him in this process. The first table at John Hopkins University where he and his cohort sat around a table rumor to have been held prominent historians, such as Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Baxter Adams, and Fredrick Jackson Turner. The second table, referred to as the “green table” while a seasonal ranger, where he gained a wider range of what history could mean. For example, during his stint as a ranger he encountered the Puebloan people. The Park Service did not consider them o be historic, but, prehistoric. Instead, they could the town further down and built a few years ago historic.

This argument of what creates and develops the sense of history is indeed persuasive and I find it to be valid. At the most intimate level, he mentions autobiographical memory and reminiscence, the way people form a coherent personal identity and sense of self in reviewing their past experiences. In addition, communication about the past within families. In our ancestors’ experiences, history is made. History is then past down. My personal sense of history is composed of people, places, events, and experience; not all belonging personally to me. For example, the African American struggle during the Civil War and the later the Civil Rights Movement is apart of my sense of History.

As the author continues to discuss the origins of the sense of history, he notes that the intimate places for learning will inevitably interact with public places, such as the study of politics and collective identities, the study of pop culture, and the study of environmental perception. Unveiled is the subject of the book; public histories. The sense of history and sense of place are inevitably entangled by human nature. I liked the oxymoron “new histories.” I like that Glassberg addressed the future of the profession in the new century and understanding the organization of tradition in society has a history. This will greatly assist new Historians to ground their scholarly identity in the larger culture, as well as understand the institutional contexts in which they will operate.

Overall, I found this chapter to be more than interesting; I found it to be intriguing. I definitely desire to read further into the book itself. I believe I will learn and be enlightened by this author.