Summer Workshop in Tampa Florida: July 2015
History Heuristics
I had the idea a few weeks ago: History Heuristics. The idea is simple. Take the Unit, Wave and Field of the Original 12 Cell Model and create Abstraction based on Historical themes.
The method can be applied to either of the 3 A.P. Histories based on their specifically created theme. I shall start with Advanced Placement European History. There are 5 Themes:
INT- Interactions of Europe and the World
PP- Poverty and Prosperity
OS- Objective Knowledge/Subjective
SP- States and Other Institutions of Power
IS- Individual in Society
For each theme applied there would be a Unit, Wave and Field. This would produce both context and synthesis.
For example, INT 1.1, would have to go Unit, Field and Wave, if examined empirically. But, if we took Amerigo Vespucci as an example: we could take the specifics of Vespucci’s character and ideas, place him in the context of other explorers of his generation and then place him in the larger field of dreamers and ambitious souls from this period of History. We therefore build Periodization, Theme as the Age of Discovery and build context and synthesis. Maybe the overarching questions could be applied, thereby yielding an instant P, W, F application. This is working down the axis as
Unit- Vespucci
Wave- Explorers of his Generation
Field- Ambitious characters that define his generation
Working across:
Comparatively: Vespucci was one of many attempting to gain a trading route to the east in the wake of the loss of the security of PaxMongolica
Essentially: Vespucci represents a larger picture of Portuguese Seafarers
The Domain or the largest context for Vespucci would be his position in Society and the hierarchy of hs birth
Let's take Napoleon Bonaparte as an example and look at him as a
Unit: Life and Accomplishments
Wave: other military leaders of the era
Field: other significant National leaders of the era.
The basis of the idea is the movement across: comparative then essential/variative that onto domain/distributive.
Making History Heuristics is simple: abstracting on the primary level and then moving the abstraction accross to the basic level of comparison.
What is comparatively unique about Napoleon? He comes from a big family with a very strong tradition but rises to power not in his native Corsica but in Revolutionary France. He did not start the revolution but was a product of it. Most of his comparative qualities begin as pejorative: he fakes his way into ascendency at Brumaire and Egypt. Yet his tactic all prowess through his mastery of History make him unique in comparison to figures like him.
The later two categories make the most insight and take the most work.
The Essence of the object examined can reveal it's inner DNA: what is the range of variation in which the basic essential nature is both maintained and pushed to the edge of the examination. When does the category reach its limit. Using Napoleon, this would be his inner ambition to be great. His essential nature is his self- vision and his opportunism. Choosing to save the revolution at Brumaire, orchestrating his own assent through the Coup d’Etat, reviving some of the old Regime ideas and forcing people top like it!
The last idea of Domain simply takes this same secondary analysis and brings it to an elemental level: when examining anything there is a defining largest context which help the abstraction understand the thing examined. Distribution or Distributive Properties are simply the largest Domain of the thing, the Species but larger: animal, mineral, vegetable? Inanimate or Animate?
So Napoleon in this case is an outsider who becomes an insider through Fate and Action. He is a leader by design and circumstance.
Each U,W,F choice is worked accross
Working the Wave across, the other military leaders of the era are all a product of the system military revolutions which yielded standing armies from the Westphalian settlement. The transition from the end of the 30 years war to the outbreak of the French Revolution is simple: the rise of Prussia, Austria, Russia and Sweden in the 137 years is a product of the military revolution. Led by Prussia, this would culminate in the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven years War. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 was simply a prelude to the leaders who would form Napoleon's cohort group. The inner essence of this group would be the maintenance of the State through an ever more expensive military and the largest defining context is these military leaders struggle to modernize in an ever expanding and more populous world.
Working the Field of “other significant leaders of the era” builds from the last Wave insight. Leaders in both State activity and in more intellectual and artistic forums are facing an expanding g world post Age of Discovery. Colonies, in earnest, were not fully functional competitive agencies until the mid 1600. This places the influence of this dynamic concurrent with the previous post Westphalian settlement. Leaders of this era are contending with a changing world and the adaptations to gain strength are legion: Peter the Great, The Enlightened Absolutists and all the machinations of the English Civil War can be seen as attempts to adapt in an expanding and newly well-nourished populous world. There are colonies to maintain and taxes to collect. This is the Comparative Field analysis.
The Essence of this leadership is that within this framework of military and state expansion, the idea of a philosophy of State arises. From the moment of Westphalia we enter into an era of ideas. Hobbes defends the monarchy, Locke challenges this idea, and as States grow and change their realities,ideas react and change with the States. (SP) The Enlightenment is a vital part of this changing framework of leadership.(OS)
The largest context of this leadership question comes through the lens of how art serves to propagandize the ideas mentioned earlier. Each one of the States would have accompanying art ideas that would help forward the concepts mentioned. When questioning this capacity in a domain consideration the idea of the state is forwarded to the philosophy and popularized through the art and literature. This largest context will allow for the most prevalent popularization of the ideas of state which would allow a character like Napoleon to take center-stage. The art of Jacques-Louis David is key here
This leads us to a meta analysis of leaders who come from humble beginnings, to (PP)
anyone who accomplishes something requiring a singular vision against contradictory forces (IS)
Yields a thematic investigation of Napoleon in a very unique context. Working across reveals important ideas that may not be considered in another investigation.
Another tactic is to create a variety of lenses by which we look at the initial investigation:the new themes of INT, PP, OS, SP, and IS are cited throughout this piece. Through History Heuristics the possibilities are endless especially considering the point awarded for Synthesis on both the LEQ and the DBQ and the additional points for qualifying documents with the Historical Thinking Skills
Ok now send