Historiography Lecture

Define historiography: The principles or methodology used by historians when investigating and writing history. OR The way in which history is written by historians, which through a process of selection and emphasis presents a particular point of view and interpretation of the past.

1 Primary Sources

What is a “primary source?” A “primary source” is something that historians use to determine history that is from the time period such as: an eye-witness account, a document, a letter, a picture, a journal, a newspaper, a moving image, an oral history, an artifact such as a tool or weapon, etc….

2 Secondary Sources

What is a “secondary source?” A “secondary source” is compiled using both primary and other secondary sources such a books and other scholarly interpretations of the past. Historians must read the almost all, if not all, secondary sources pertaining to a subject.

3 Tertiary Sources

What is a “tertiary source?” A “tertiary source” is compiled using primarily other secondary sources such as our textbook. They are the weakest source and often present seriously deluded versions of history, incorrect information, omit significant events, lack historical evaluation, and lack serious scholarship.

4 Content vs. Context

What is the difference between content and context? Content are all of the words, images, and other rhetoric contained within a source. Context is the time, place, and setting (circumstances) in which an event occurred and in which people lived.

5 How does a historian write a book? Historians investigate a given event and/or people in history and compile content based on context thoroughly researched by reading the vast majority of primary sources and secondary sources available pertaining to the event and/or people, and in the process, create a secondary historical source.

6 Is history biased?

Bias occurs in the writing of all history, which is often a matter of perspective (point of view) and interpretation. Therefore, history is not objective but rather subjective; and all history is biased! No interpretation of the past is not guilty of some varying degrees of selection (inclusion or omission) and emphasis; thus, no history is exempt from bias or even is it necessarily “objective” because the historian has a point of view that will determine selection and emphasis, which affects interpretation.