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I think this common argument underrates the extent to which core factual mastery informs your ability to perform analysis and to synthesize arguments. For examp
by periphrasis 5y ago
I think this common argument underrates the extent to which core factual mastery informs your ability to perform analysis and to synthesize arguments. For example, if given the exam question “Discuss the role of demagoguery in Athenian democratic politics in the Peloponnesian War.” and you need to look up whether the Sicilian Expedition happened before or after the death of Pericles, then you probably don’t really understand the role of Athenian political dysfunction during the war either.
- garduque 5y agoI have to look up all of those things, which means I didn't gain anything in class/assignments/reading, and no amount of Googling is going to help me if the person reading my answer is an informed person, whether my test is proctored or not. Which is a long way to "yes, I agree."
- jrumbut 5y agoI very much agree with you that knowing a lot of facts is very helpful for developing arguments. But I do wonder what students should be expected to produce on an exam. Perhaps it's about the type of question asked. Knowing the Sicilian Expedition happened after the death of Pericles is different than knowing it happened in (checks Wikipedia) 413 BC. But then knowing the year is very important for the world historical context. At that era in Greek history, events in Persia had more impact than events in Italy and Britain was essentially unknown to them. Yet here we are living in a world where the Parthenon friezes are in the British Museum. It's hard to put together the different moving parts without dates.