Flashcards
What is the goal of this class?
To learn how to think and act like a historian.
Why do we need to learn what historians do?
You can’t think and act like something unless you know what they do
What are the four reasons why it is beneficial/important to learn how to think and act like a historian?
- Helps you learn the difference between trustworthy and untrustworthy sources of information.
- Helps you develop empathy
- Helps you learn what’s caused the world to become the way it is
- Helps you build strong arguments and opinions
How many years of human existence are we covering in this class?
7 million years
If scientists do experiments and mathematicians do “math” - what do historians do?
Short answer: Historians do historical investigations.
Long answer: Historians do historical investigations to create historical claims about what happened in the past.
The best historical investigations follow a four-step process called the …
historical method
What is the first step in the historical method?
1.) Ask question about the past
What is the second step in the historical method?
2.) Find sources of information on what happened in the past
What is the third step in the historical method?
3.) Determine which sources were trustworthy
What is the fourth step in the historical method?
4.) Create a theory about what happened using information from trustworthy sources
What are the four steps of the historical method?
1.) Ask question about the past
2.) Find sources of information on what happened in the past
3.) Determine which sources were trustworthy
4.) Create a theory about what happened using information from trustworthy sources
What job is similar to the job of a historian?
A detective / investigator
How is the job of a historian different from the job of a detective?
Detectives do investigation and make theories about who committed crimes.
Historians do investigations and make theories about what happened in the past.
What is the definition of “the past”?
The past is what actually happened in a previous period of time.
What is the definition of a historian?
Historians are the people who …
- Ask questions about the past
- Study the past
- Create theories about the past
What is the definition of a historical claim?
A historical claim is a theory a historian creates about what they think probably happened in the past.
Why can historians only, at best, create theories about the past?
Because they can not time travel back in time to “check their answers.”
What is the definition of “History”?
History refers to all of the historical claims made about a person, group of people, event, or place.
What is the definition of a “Historical Investigation”
Historical Investigations are the activities historians are involved in when they create historical claims.
What is a good synonym for “the past?”
Facts, the truth, reality
What is a good synonym for a “historical claim”?
Theory, educated guess
How is “History” different from “The Past”?
History are all of the stories about what happened. The past is what actually happened.
How is “History” different from a “Historical Claim.”
A historical claim is one theory about a topic in the past. History refers to all of the theories about a topic in the past.
(For example: A book written by a historian about the Roman Empire is a “historical claim.” All of the historical claims ever made about the Roman Empire are considered the “History” of the Roman Empire.)
What are the two different types of sources about the past known as?
Primary Sources & Secondary Sources
What is the definition of a primary source?
A primary source is something that …
- contains information about the time period you are studying
- was written/created during that time period
What is the definition of a secondary source?
A secondary source is something that …
- contains information about the time period you are studying
- was written/created after that time period
What do primary sources and secondary sources have in common?
Both primary sources and secondary sources contain information about the time period you are studying
How do primary sources and secondary sources differ from one another?
Primary sources were created/written DURING the time period you are studying.
Secondary sources were created/written AFTER the time period you are studying.
What is the definition of an archaeologist?
People who study the past by excavating sties and analyzing artifacts.
What is an archive?
What are the people who collect, preserve, maintain control over, and provide access to archives?
Archives are places where written records and historical artifacts are stored.
They are run by archivists.
_______ are the people who find primary sources.
_______ are the people who store primary sources
_______ are the people who conduct historical investigations using primary sources.
Archaeologists are the people who find primary sources.
Archivists are the people who store primary sources
Historians are the people who conduct historical investigations using primary sources.
What does excavate mean?
To excavate means to “dig up” something from under ground
What are artifacts?
Artifacts are objects made by human beings.
