Transcript The Art of Historical Enquiry

The Art of Historical Inquiry
Inquiry:
A close examination of something,
in order to search
for information or truth.
Adapted from Nicole Gilbertson – World History Project – UCI
By the end of this lesson:
You will know what a source is.
You will know the difference between a
primary and a secondary source.
You will understand how a historian
uses a source to gain information.
You will have some idea about how to
analyze a source.
You will be able to see the information
that can be gained from a picture
source
What are Historical Sources?
An historical source is something that
tells us about History. It is evidence.
It may be a document, a picture, a sound
recording, a book, a film, a television program,
or an object.
Can someone give me an example of a type of
document?
2 main types of historical sources:
Primary Sources and Secondary Sources
Primary source = something that originates from
the past
Secondary source = something that has been
written (or made) recently, about the past
Examples
Applying your knowledge…
Go to:
http://historyonthenet.com/Lessons/sources/primarysecondary.htm
Complete the online lessons
If you have ANY questions – raise
your hand and I will come around
to assist you!
What have we learned?
Primary Source Analysis
How do historians approach a primary
source?
What questions do they ask the primary
source?
What’s great is that
“using primary sources
allows us not just
to read about history,
but to read history
itself.”
From Pages in History (Smith)
Study the source I have passed out
to you and your partner:
CONTENT:
Describe what you see in detail to each other
CITATION:
Who created the text?
call
these
When wasWe
the text
created?
the 6 C’s.
CONTEXT:
What was going on in the world when the text was
created?
If we get in the habit of asking ourselves these
6 questions when looking at historical
CONNECTIONS:
– we
will begin
to you already
Can the sourcesources
be linked
to other
things
THINK
like Historians!
know or have learned
about?
COMMUNICATION:
How does the source express point-of-view?
– Circle or highlight words or images that provide EVIDENCE
of emotion or persuasion
CONCLUSION:
How does this source contribute to our understanding of
history?