How to Succeed in HIST300

How to Succeed in HIST300 Read the syllabus and refer to it regularly Use a planner to stay organized Check your email daily and bookmark the course website Be respectful towards others Come to class prepared and bring the readings! Take responsibility for your education

What Is the Historian’s Craft? Dr. Kristen Epps

Part I: What does it mean to be a historian? Part II: How do historians think?

Marc Bloch, 1886-1944

The Historian’s Craft

What is history? What makes the study of the past a profession?

What is history?

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” Cicero History is “more or less bunk.” Henry Ford “What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.” Georg Hegel

“What is the use of history, when the values of the past are being ruthlessly discarded? What is the use of history, when we repeat our old errors over and over again?” Marc Bloch p. viii

What is history? What makes the study of the past a profession?

“Even if we are sure that history has its uses, are we able to write the kind of history that can be used?” Marc Bloch p. viii

What Is the Historian’s Craft? Asking provocative questions Being objective about your conclusions Using primary sources Understanding cause and effect Studying the “why” not just the “who,” “what,” “where,” and “when” Producing written work to present your conclusions Making it useable Passing it on to future generations

Part II: How do historians think? Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin.jpg

Your Identity as a Historian Geographic area

Definition of Atlantic History It is “based on the notion that the Americas, Africa, and Europe have composed a ‘regional system’ from the late fifteenth century to the present….. It offers rich opportunities for comparative history of its subregions, focusing on a host of issues, from economic structures to state formation, to political discourses and institutions, to the complex relations, identities, and practices of class, race, and gender.” Michael Jiménez and Marcus Rediker http://www.marcusrediker.com/Articles/what_is_atlantic_history.htm

The Atlantic World in 1720 http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/1_2.html

Your Identity as a Historian Geographic area Time period

Your Identity as a Historian Geographic area Time period Approach

Historical Approaches Social history Political history Economic history Intellectual history Religious history Environmental history History of an ethnicity/race (e.g. Latino/Latina history) Women’s history Legal history Military history Labor history

What is Social History? “History with the politics left out” or “history from below”

What is Social History? “History with the politics left out” or “history from below” 2) Deals with everyday people

What is Social History? “History with the politics left out” or “history from below” 2) Deals with everyday people The study of people’s behavior, belief systems, socio-economic structures, popular culture, etc….

What is Social History? “History with the politics left out” or “history from below” 2) Deals with everyday people The study of people’s behavior, belief systems, socio-economic structures, popular culture, etc…. 4) Embraces the interaction between history and its neighboring fields (anthropology, political science, sociology, etc.)

What is Political History? Study of political events, movements, ideas, and structures

What is Political History? Study of political events, movements, ideas, and structures Generally deals with the traditional “nation-state”

What is Political History? Study of political events, movements, ideas, and structures Generally deals with the traditional “nation-state” 3) Biographies of political leaders and their influence

What is Intellectual History? Studies those who generate, discuss, and theorize about “ideas”

What is Intellectual History? Studies those who generate, discuss, and theorize about “ideas” Closely tied to philosophy

What is Intellectual History? Studies those who generate, discuss, and theorize about “ideas” Closely tied to philosophy Often tends to study the “great white men”

Two Main Techniques Qualitative—the interpretation and analysis of texts and images in order to understand the past From University of Mary Washington

Two Main Techniques Qualitative—the interpretation and analysis of texts and images in order to understand the past Quantitative—the use of social science methodology (such as statistics) and other quantification to understand history From University of Mary Washington

How would you categorize this work? http://www.americanantiquarian.org/images/guidebook/women/WSlibertysdaughterslarge.jpg

What is Historiography? “The body of literature dealing with historical matters; histories collectively” (Definition from dictionary.com)

What is Historiography? 1) “The body of literature dealing with historical matters; histories collectively” 2) “The body of techniques, theories, and principles of historical research and presentation; methods of historical scholarship” (Definitions from dictionary.com)

What is Historiography? 1) “The body of literature dealing with historical matters; histories collectively” 2) “The body of techniques, theories, and principles of historical research and presentation; methods of historical scholarship” 3) The history of historical study and the important debates occurring in the field (Definitions #1 and #2 from dictionary.com)

A BRIEF Historiography of Slavery U. B. Phillips (1918)

A BRIEF Historiography of Slavery U. B. Phillips (1918)  Kenneth Stampp (1956)

A BRIEF Historiography of Slavery U. B. Phillips (1918)  Kenneth Stampp (1956) Stanley Elkins (1959)

A BRIEF Historiography of Slavery U. B. Phillips (1918)  Kenneth Stampp (1956) Stanley Elkins (1959) Eugene Genovese (1974)

Conclusions Our goal is interpretation of the past in addition to description Historians realize that their unique perspective will affect the questions they ask, their method, and their conclusions History is infinitely complex and often raises as many questions as answers Historians try to approach their subject objectively because we have a responsibility to not glorify the past