Description
Book SynopsisA lively introduction to historical methodology, an overview of the techniques historians must master in order to reconstruct the past.
Trade Review"Among the books designed to teach aspiring historians proper procedures for their work, this volume ranks high. . . .Readers will especially appreciate the care taken to show the link between methodological innovations and the historical contexts in which they occurred."—Choice, January 2002, Vol. 39, No. 5
"If the best historians, beginning with Thucydides, have been skeptical of metaphysical absolutes, they have also been reluctant to immerse themselves in antiquarianism. The present book draws strength from this tension."—Charles Sullivan, Common Knowledge, 2003
"Historians generally have had to work out for themselves the different ways to read and use sources, the issue of how much we actually can learn from the past, the different ways that historical questions have been asked, and the uses to which history can be put. From Reliable Sources makes this process easier by laying out the principal elements of historiography and source criticism. No one, after reading this book, will be able to think again of sources as unproblematic conveyors of simple facts."—Constance Brittain Bouchard, University of Akron
"Both learned and informative, From Reliable Sources is clearly the outcome of extensive archival and critical experience. With its accessible balance of exposition and example, it is also a pleasure to read. There is nothing else like this in English."—Isabel V. Hull, Cornell University
Table of ContentsI. The Source: The Basis of Our Knowledge about the Past
A. What Is a Source?
B. Source Typologies, Their Evolution and Complementarity
C. The Impact of Communication and Information Technology on the Production of Sources
D. Storing and Delivering InformationII. Technical Analysis of Sources
A. Clio's Laboratory
Paleography
Diplomatics
Archaeology
Statistics
Additional Technical ToolsB. Source Criticism: The Great Tradition
The "Genealogy" of the Document
Genesis of a Document
The "Originality" of the Document
Interpretation of the Document
Authorial Authority
Competence of the Observer
The Trustworthiness of the ObserverIII. Historical Interpretation: The Traditional Basics
A. Comparison of Sources
B. Establishing Evidentiary Satisfaction
C. The "Facts" That MatterIV. New Interpretive Approaches
A. Interdisciplinarity
The Social Sciences
The HumanitiesB. The Politics of History Writing
The Annales
The "New Left" and New Histories
The New Cultural HistoryV. The Nature of Historical Knowledge
A. Change and ContinuityB. Causality
Causal Factors (Religious Ideology, Clericalism, and Anticlericalism; Social and Economic Factors; Biology and "Race"; Environment; Science, Technology, and Inventions; Power; Public Opinion and the Mass Media)
The Role of the IndividualC. History Today
The Problem of Objectivity
The Status of the "Fact"Research BibliographyIndex
