How do historians study the past
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Transcript of How do historians study the past
An Introduction to
Introducing Ourselves
Padlet is a blank wall on the
web that you can post
anything too. For this activity
you’ll be posting a little bit
about yourself.
In blackboard complete the,
“Introductions Activity” using
Padlet.
Introducing Ourselves
Name
Favorite activities
Countries you’ve visited
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
In a Letter to Me…
Tell me something about yourself
that you think is important for me
to know.
What sorts of things come easy for
you?
Which are more challenging?
What questions/concerns do you
have about taking an online course?
What are the qualities you like to
see in a teacher?
History Is…
"History is for human self-knowledge.
Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be
the person you are and nobody else is.
Knowing yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has
done.
The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is."
- R. G. Collingwood
In This Course
We will take a look at how the world
came to look the way it did in the
20th century.
How did religion, philosophy, wars
and nationalism shape the world
What problems exist today and
locate their roots in history
Tools of a HistorianUsing Primary and Secondary Sources in the Classroom
7
A Historians Tools
PRIMARY SOURCES
SECONDARY SOURCES
What is a Primary Source
Primary sources are
materials produced by
people or groups directly
involved in the event or
topic under consideration.
Think of them as first-
hand information.
What Is a Primary Source
Examples of primary
sources include eyewitness
accounts, speeches, letters
and diaries, newspapers
and magazines, tax and
census data, marriage,
birth and death records,
works of art, and interviews
What is a Secondary Source Secondary sources construct an
explanation of the past based on
primary sources and usually in
consultation with other secondary
sources.
The best secondary sources will both
report on events in the past as well as
generalize, analyze, interpret and/or
evaluate.
The Assassination of JFK UsingPrimary and Secondary Sources
Click the play button to learn more
Check for Understanding
1. In your own words, describe the difference between a
primary and secondary source?
2. Why are these important tools for a historian?
Can we Trust the Sources First, historians think about where, when
and why a document was created. They
consider whether a source was created
close in location and time to an actual
historical event.
Historians also think about the purpose of a
source. Was it a personal diary intended to
be kept private? Was the document
prepared for the public?
Some primary sources may be judged more
reliable than others, but every source is
biased in some way. As a result, historians
read sources skeptically and critically.
These Two Rules Help You Decide
RULE #1
Time and Place
RULE #2
Bias
This rule says the closer in
time and place a source
and its creator were to an
event in the past, the
better the source will be.
Rule #1: Time and Place
Rule #1: Time and Place
Examples Might Include:
Direct traces of the event;
Accounts of the event, created at the time it
occurred, by firsthand observers and participants;
Accounts of the event, created after the event
occurred, by firsthand observers and participants;
Accounts of the event, created after the event
occurred, by people who did not participate or
witness the event, but who used interviews or
evidence from the time of the event
Rule #2: Bias
This rule says every
source is biased in some
way. Documents tell us
only what the creator of
the document thought
happened, or perhaps
only what the creator
wants us to think
happened.
Rule #2: Bias
Examples Might Include:
Every piece of evidence and every source
must be read or viewed skeptically and
critically.
No piece of evidence should be taken at face
value. The creator's point of view must be
considered.
Each piece of evidence and source must be
cross-checked and compared with related
sources and pieces of evidence.
Check for Understanding
1. Why is it important to determine the reliability of a
source?
2. What rules can we use to guide us as we determine the
reliability of a source?