What do you think?
Rate this book
Apa Guna Sejarah?
Buku ini menjadi klasik sebab menjawab pertanyaan dasar masyarakat tentang apakah guna sejarah? Apakah sejarah bisa digunakan untuk bekerja dan menghasilkan keuntungan? Banyak pekerjaan memerlukan sejarah, seperti jurnalis, pendidik, arsitek, dan pembuat film. Termasuk pula pegawai pemerintah, mulai dari kepala desa, walikota, gubernur, diplomat, menteri luar negeri, perdana menteri sampai presiden. Apa untungnya jika berbagai profesi itu mempelajari sejarah dan bagaimana jika mengabaikannya? Perdana Menteri Inggris, Winston Churchill, bisa menaklukkan Hitler karena mempelajari sejarah pendahulunya, Marlborough. Jerman dan Jepang gagal menguasai dunia karena mereka tidak memahami sejarah. Sebuah bangunan terasing dari lingkungan dan penghuninya terlihat angkuh ketika mengabaikan sejarah. Demikian pula film, laporan jurnalistik, dan kebijakan publik jika melupakan sejarah.
Mengapa sejarah sering kali dipandang sebelah mata oleh masyarakat dibandingkan ilmu lainnya? Apa saja jenis-jenis sejarah dan apa manfaatnya serta bagaimana mempelajarinya? Apa yang dikerjakan oleh para sejarawan dan bagaimana mereka bekerja? Kesenangan apa yang bisa didapat ketika mempelajari aneka jenis sejarah? Sederet pertanyaan itu dan banyak lagi pertanyaan lainnya dijawab buku ini dengan gaya penulisan jernih disertai aneka contoh kasus. Dari pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut A.L. Rowse tidak hanya mengungkapkan beragam manfaat sejarah dan hubungannya dengan bidang lain, tetapi juga membuktikan bahwa sejarah bukan sekadar hafalan waktu dan kejadian semata. Sejarah adalah ilmu memahami masyarakat dan semua produk budayanya yang memungkinkan seseorang punya peta menjalani hidup masa kini dan masa depan dengan memahami masa lalu.
Mengapa sejarah sering kali dipandang sebelah mata oleh masyarakat dibandingkan ilmu lainnya? Apa saja jenis-jenis sejarah dan apa manfaatnya serta bagaimana mempelajarinya? Apa yang dikerjakan oleh para sejarawan dan bagaimana mereka bekerja? Kesenangan apa yang bisa didapat ketika mempelajari aneka jenis sejarah? Sederet pertanyaan itu dan banyak lagi pertanyaan lainnya dijawab buku ini dengan gaya penulisan jernih disertai aneka contoh kasus. Dari pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut A.L. Rowse tidak hanya mengungkapkan beragam manfaat sejarah dan hubungannya dengan bidang lain, tetapi juga membuktikan bahwa sejarah bukan sekadar hafalan waktu dan kejadian semata. Sejarah adalah ilmu memahami masyarakat dan semua produk budayanya yang memungkinkan seseorang punya peta menjalani hidup masa kini dan masa depan dengan memahami masa lalu.
- GenresHistory
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
About the author
A.L. Rowse
235 books12 followersAlfred Leslie Rowse, CH FBA, known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to his friends and family as Leslie, was a prolific Cornish historian. He is perhaps best known for his poetry about Cornwall and his work on Elizabethan England. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer. He developed a widespread reputation for irascibility and intellectual arrogance.
One of Rowse's great enthusiasms was collecting books, and he owned many first editions, many of them bearing his acerbic annotations. For example, his copy of the January 1924 edition of The Adelphi magazine edited by John Middleton Murry bears a pencilled note after Murry's poem In Memory of Katherine Mansfield: 'Sentimental gush on the part of JMM. And a bad poem. A.L.R.'
Upon his death in 1997 he bequeathed his book collection to the University of Exeter, and his personal archive of manuscripts, diaries, and correspondence. In 1998 the University Librarian selected about sixty books from Rowse’s own working library and a complete set of his published books. The Royal Institution of Cornwall selected some of the remaining books, and the rest were sold to dealers.
One of Rowse's great enthusiasms was collecting books, and he owned many first editions, many of them bearing his acerbic annotations. For example, his copy of the January 1924 edition of The Adelphi magazine edited by John Middleton Murry bears a pencilled note after Murry's poem In Memory of Katherine Mansfield: 'Sentimental gush on the part of JMM. And a bad poem. A.L.R.'
Upon his death in 1997 he bequeathed his book collection to the University of Exeter, and his personal archive of manuscripts, diaries, and correspondence. In 1998 the University Librarian selected about sixty books from Rowse’s own working library and a complete set of his published books. The Royal Institution of Cornwall selected some of the remaining books, and the rest were sold to dealers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 17, 2019
Buku yang sangat membuka wawasan terkait kegunaan sejarah. Nanti saya buat review panjangnya. Untuk sekarang, saya kutipkan satu pasase kesukaan saya:
"Anda mungkin berpikir bahwa dibutuhkan buku-buku sebanyak satu perpustakaan untuk mulai mempelajari sejarah. Tidak sama sekali. Yang Anda butuhkan hanyalah sepasang sepatu yang kuat, sebuah pensil, dan buku catatan. Mungkin saya harus menambahkan sebuah panduan wilayah mencakup area yang akan Anda jelajahi."
"Anda mungkin berpikir bahwa dibutuhkan buku-buku sebanyak satu perpustakaan untuk mulai mempelajari sejarah. Tidak sama sekali. Yang Anda butuhkan hanyalah sepasang sepatu yang kuat, sebuah pensil, dan buku catatan. Mungkin saya harus menambahkan sebuah panduan wilayah mencakup area yang akan Anda jelajahi."
August 16, 2021
Buku ini membuka Wawasan mengapa Sejarah itu harus dipahami, dan bukan meniados ebuah kisah usang saja. Sejarah memiliki banyak kegunanan bagi kehidupan kurang lebih seperti tu. Di Buku ini juga banyak sekali disinggung refrensi-referensu bacaan yang amat kaya tentang sejarah bermacam hal dari aejarah Inggris Era Elizabeth Victorian dll.
Akhir kata sesuai dalam buku
belajar sejarah sebenarnya buka hanya membaca dan mengkaji teks saja, melainkan membutuhkan sepasang sepatu yang kuat dan perjalanan disekitar
Akhir kata sesuai dalam buku
belajar sejarah sebenarnya buka hanya membaca dan mengkaji teks saja, melainkan membutuhkan sepasang sepatu yang kuat dan perjalanan disekitar
September 24, 2020
Kesimpulan : orang yang gak mau tahu sejarah bakal jadi orang yang ignorant sekali. Apalagi pemimpin yg gak paham sejarah, adat, kehidupan dan narasi masa lampau akan mendekatkan negara pada bencana yang berulang-ulang.
July 31, 2022
Buku klasik tentang sejatinya sejarah itu untuk apa. Buku ini menarik karena membahas fungsi sejarah dalam berbagai perspektif
Read
May 31, 2023I want To Read
October 15, 2019
As part of the Teach-Yourself (History) series, this small book is sort of an introduction to the philosophy of history (though in a very loose sense). Rowse did not-so-bad a job of introducing why and how one should read history. What I find most noteworthy about The Use of History is how Rowse interpret history as a subject that gives unity to all other subjects. It sounds a bold claim, but Rowse argues that sociology, economics, anthropology and law all not only have historical aspects within them (in terms of development of ideas over time) but they also meet together in history. Moreover, even in order to understand natural sciences, one has to study the evolution of ideas – which is nothing but delving into history.
More interestingly, Rowse doubts that one or few events or personalities can change the course of history. He argues that there are much more profound forces at work than few personalities or events – the geographic position of the region, economic endowment, nature of people and their social fabric etc. When we talk about history, we must define “whether we mean by history the surface story, which is capable of infinite variation, or the underlying story which is profoundly conditioned.” In other words, surface stream of historical events may act on human free will, but the underlying tides and currents are deterministic. History is an area where free will and determinism do not contradict but complement each other.
But, there are some aspects of the book that leaves a bitter taste in mouth. At times, Rowse sounds snobbish, egotistic and racist. For example, leaving no opportunity to belittle Germans, calling them brute and responsible for war crimes; seemingly suffering from English supremacy; ridiculing Indians for seeking freedom from British rule (subtly though, disguised as respect for freedom of choice); claiming that men is what, among other things, race makes him; routinely making definitive statements about other historians being good, bad or shit; calling those uneducated who do not study history; and questioning the effectiveness of teaching physics and chemistry to girls. I definitely don’t know how he got to these conclusions, but how he chose to state them is definitely irritating.
Overall, I am sure there are better introduction to history books out there.
More interestingly, Rowse doubts that one or few events or personalities can change the course of history. He argues that there are much more profound forces at work than few personalities or events – the geographic position of the region, economic endowment, nature of people and their social fabric etc. When we talk about history, we must define “whether we mean by history the surface story, which is capable of infinite variation, or the underlying story which is profoundly conditioned.” In other words, surface stream of historical events may act on human free will, but the underlying tides and currents are deterministic. History is an area where free will and determinism do not contradict but complement each other.
But, there are some aspects of the book that leaves a bitter taste in mouth. At times, Rowse sounds snobbish, egotistic and racist. For example, leaving no opportunity to belittle Germans, calling them brute and responsible for war crimes; seemingly suffering from English supremacy; ridiculing Indians for seeking freedom from British rule (subtly though, disguised as respect for freedom of choice); claiming that men is what, among other things, race makes him; routinely making definitive statements about other historians being good, bad or shit; calling those uneducated who do not study history; and questioning the effectiveness of teaching physics and chemistry to girls. I definitely don’t know how he got to these conclusions, but how he chose to state them is definitely irritating.
Overall, I am sure there are better introduction to history books out there.
May 4, 2015
Sebagian terjemahannya rada kurang membumi buat pembaca awam semacam saya. Tapi sangat inspiratif, membuat kita yang meski bukan akademisi dalam bidang sejarah, tetap harus menggunakan perspektif sejarah yang berguna buat hari ini dan masa mendatang. Buku yang menjawab kenapa kita harus belajar sejarah.
August 9, 2021
One of the great popular works of historiography, which at one time would have been compulsory reading for every history undergraduate.
In short, this book by a distinguished Oxford professor is answering a single, but very common, question; "What is the point of studying History."
In short, this book by a distinguished Oxford professor is answering a single, but very common, question; "What is the point of studying History."
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews