HISTORIOGRAPHY

How Historians Work

HISTORIOGRAPHYIdeas and methods that historians use to research and present history

LIKE DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING MODERN DAY CRIMES…

Evidence Sources

Historians look for evidence to answer questions

Evidence is found in sources that could be anything that survives from the past or tells us about the past

TYPES OF SOURCES

Primary Secondary

Primary-information recorded at or about the same time as the event

Examples-diaries, autobiographies, some documents, buildings, artifacts

Secondary-contains interpretations or collections of primary source material

Examples-textbooks, encyclopedias

POINT OF VIEWThe way a person or group of people sees things. (Also called perspective or bias.)

POINT OF VIEW IS INFLUENCED BY…

Frame of Reference Historical Context

Frame of reference-the personal background of the person/group such as gender, education, beliefs, and experiences

Historical context-the influence of the time period (values, beliefs, or events) on a person

HOW CAN YOU SPOT POINT OF VIEW? Language-check the

use of certain emotionally charged words called “loaded words.”

Balance-by leaving out or putting in certain information, or by emphasizing or highlighting other ideas

Check author’s background

WHY DOES POV OR BIAS OCCUR? Intentional POV

occurs when a source is deliberately distorted by telling lies, leaving out important facts or using extreme language (advertisements)

POV can occur because of limited access to information

WHY DOES POV OR BIAS OCCUR? POV can occur

because there is a particular purpose behind the source. Records are not usually created for the benefit of historians, they are produced for other reasons (political campaigns)

POV might also occur because the beliefs or feelings of an individual or group blind them from viewing things objectively

HOW DO HISTORIANS EVALUATE EVIDENCE FOUND IN SOURCES?

Meaning Reliability

Check meaning-what do the words actually say? Has the meaning of the word changed over time?

Check reliability- Who, when, where,

and why was source produced?

Was the author present at the event?

Do other sources say the same thing? Is there corroboration and consistency within the source and between sources?