Historical
Method
Historical
Sources
Historical
Criticism
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Outline of discussion
1. History as reconstruction
2. The Historical Method
3. Historical Sources
(written and Non-written;
Primary and secondary sources)
4. Historical Criticism
(External and Internal)
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History as Reconstruction
“Only a part of what was observed in the
past was remembered by those who
observed it;
Only a part of what was remembered was
recorded,
Only a part of what was recorded has
survived,
Only a part of what has survived has
come to the historians’ attention.”
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Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
The Historian is many times
removed from the events under
investigation
Historians rely on surviving
records
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Historical Method
Historians have to verify sources, to
date them, locate their place of origin and
identify their intended functions
In short, the Historical Method is…
The process of critically examining and
analyzing the records and survivals of the
past.
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding
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Historical Sources
Classified into two:
1. Primary Sources – are those sources
produced at the same time as the event,
period, or subject being studied
2. Secondary Sources - are those
sources, which where produced by the
author who used primary sources to
produce the material
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What are Primary Sources?
Testimony of an eyewitness
A primary source must have been produced by
the contemporary of the event it narrates
Is a document or physical object which was
written or created during the time under
study.
These sources were present during an
experience or time period and offer an inside
view of a particular event.
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
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Primary Sources
Are characterized by their
content, regardless of whether they
are available in original format, in
microfilm/ microfiche, in digital
formal or in published format.
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Historical Sources
Written Sources
1. Published materials. Books,
magazines, journals, travelogue,
transcript of speech.
2. Manuscript. Any handwritten or
typed records that has not been
printed. Archival materials,
Memoirs, Diary, letters etc.
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Historical Sources
Non-Written Sources
Oral History
Artifacts
Fossils
Ruins
Artworks
Video recordings
Audio recordings
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Historical Criticism
External Criticism- is the practice of
verifying the authenticity of evidence by
examining its physical characteristics;
consistency, the materials used, the quality
of paper, the type of ink, the language and
words used in the material.
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Historical Criticism
Internal Criticism- is the examination
of the truthfulness and factuality of the
evidence. It looks at the content of the
source and examines the circumstances
of its production. By looking the author f
the source, its content, the agenda behind
its creation and it’s intended purpose.
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Four main categories of Primary
Sources
1. Written sources
2. Images
3. Artifact's
4. Oral Testimony
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Thank you
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