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

Email

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?