History: new roles and old challenges

Abstract

Although history has always varied in its form, it occupied a safe place as a know-ledge of recognized utility and discourse until  recently.  The  sudden  expansion  of knowledge and of the limits of human ac-tion in the succession of three industrial revolutions  changed  its  field  of  action, role and applicability, leaving it, however, in a limbo between science and discipline apparently  impossible  to  be  untangled. This essay brings back old questions about history, in the light of its recent relations with social sciences, and discusses its new roles at present time, as participant in the production  of  knowledge,  also  applied to  decision  and  prospective,  by  propo-sing  concepts  and  procedures  consistent with these features and coherent with the possible ontological, epistemological and philosophical perspectives. By doing that, this essay also aims to introduce elements for  a  metadisciplinary  and  scientific  dis-cussion, that places the study and the ap-plicability of history in the Brazilian socie-ty in accordance with their development needs. The central theme is the question of the functionality of history in modern society, analyzed from the historical and social point of view. General proposals to its implementation in the educational and professional  fields  are  presented  in  this study. Overall, this study presents a theo-retical perspective on facts and events in the  historical  context    as  well  as  its  im-portance  and  significance.  Based  on  the author’s  experience,  it  proposes  measu-res for the implementation of history as a mediator and integrator in the educatio-nal field. It also explores the possibilities of its participation in research in general and in the production of knowledge, in a systematic way.