What is the difference between continuity and change

We evaluate change over time using the ideas of progress and decline. Skip to main content. Historical Thinking Project. Promoting critical historical literacy for the 21st century. This is known as continuity. Although continuity is important in the study of history, historians also recognize that society is constantly undergoing change.

History is a continuing dialogue, between the present and the past. Interpretations of the past are subject to change in response to new evidence, new questions asked of the evidence, new perspectives gained by the passage of time. There is no single, eternal, and immutable "truth" about past events and their meaning. Historical continuity is defined as the continuation of a cycle, rather than a progression, of historical events over an extended period of time, and the recognition of those historical events as inseparably interconnected.

A historical event is an event that impacts the culture of any large group. Perspective is the ' point of view ' from which the creator of a source described historical events. Every person sees and understands events differently depending on their age, gender, social position, beliefs and values. Even modern historians have their own perspectives which can influence how they interpret the past. Continuity refers to the continuance of themes over time, or similarities over time. Technology changes and cultures change , but because human nature remains constant, there are many continuities.

Change is a very important part if history. As time passes, all kinds of things like technology, culture, and laws change. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events". The underlying principle is one adapted from physics: for every action there is an equivalent reaction; every cause results in an effect. In historical terms, every event has a cause , and is itself the cause of subsequent events, which may therefore be considered its effect s , or consequences.

We can 't change our history , but we can learn from it. Every historical event occurred because of a series of events that happened beforehand.

Things that directly lead to another event are called ' Causes '. Some causes occurred immediately before the event began, while others existed for several years before they caused the event. Different Types of Change Happened Change.

This kind of change is unpredictable in nature and is usually takes place due to the impact of the external factors. Reactive Change. Anticipatory Change. Planned Change. Key Question 2. Background Research 3. Sub-questions 4. Source Research 5. Organise Quotes 6. Topic Sentences 7. Hypothesis 8. Draft Writing 9. Historical Knowledge Change and Continuity. Change and Continuity. Categorising Historical Events. Political To do with war, power, governments, and legal rights Economic How people earn and spend money Social The everyday lives of people at work and home Technology To do with developments in technology and medicine.

Watch a video explanation on the History Skills YouTube channel:. Subscribe to History Skills on YouTube. What kind of historical development are you focusing on e. Test Your Learning.