Historical significance

“a flexible relationship between us and the past”.

Historical significance is often regarded as involving judging why a particular person or event is remembered and why another is not, it is this aspect of reasoned and evaluative judgement about historical significance that makes history writing differ from being simply a record of past events.

"as soon as we turn to questions of significance—of why something happened versus the mere fact of its happening—history becomes an act of judgment."

This emphasis on exploring what has been deemed significant by certain societies in contrast to what has been left out of the historical record has led to historical significance often being paired with the concept of historical silence, which looks at why and how certain social class, racial, and/or ethnic groups have not featured in the historical record or whose contributions have not been seen as significant at particular times, and in particular contexts. Thus historical significance is not an intrinsic or fixed property of a particular historical event but rather more of an assessment of who, why, and how that event was judged significant enough to be remembered. With this potential fluidity in mind, it therefore follows that any assessment of historical significance should not be seen as fixed or permanent.

"historical significance is not an enduring or unchanging characteristic of any particular event. It is a contingent quality that depends on the perspective from which that event is subsequently viewed."

Relevance

A key concept for the study of history and public life in most societies regardless of topic, historical significance makes judgements about what is important to be remembered about the past and why, through its reflections on historical aspects to contemporary culture and society including historical reputations, events, issues, monuments, and what is chosen to be emphasized in history writing itself. Examining what has been included and what has been left out of the historical record can be an effective tool for guiding students to understand how cultural background affects their perception of history. The teaching of how to assess what has been considered significant and what has been left out has been described as:

"surely a fundamental corner-stone of a liberal and democratic education and a pre-requisite for effective citizenship."

The relevance of historical significance can also be demonstrated by its near ubiquitous appearance in provincial, national and international history curriculums including, but not limited to: the Singapore National Curriculum, the English National Curriculum, the IB Diploma History Guide, the New Zealand National Curriculum, and the Australian National Curriculum.