HHSA020C123A: Research, Reasoning and Rhetoric – Thinking with History Lecture 2. What sort of questions do historians ask? Dr Ted Vallance

Session structure Recap of module requirements Lecture Seminar Library visit 12-1

Recap – requirements of the module Reminder – the course is designed to support your research skills through the production of an independent project You can see examples of past projects on the Mahara group page for this module You have a long time before the final submission date so don’t panic!

Assessment The module is assessed by an e-portfolio (100%) due 10 Dec at 2pm The e-portfolio consists of a commentary on a primary source with bibliography, a reflective journal of your work on the module and a copy of the source (or link to it). In the next six weeks you will be taken through what is required in the portfolio BUT it is important that you start your weekly journal in draft NOW

Weekly exercises You will be set a number of individual and group exercises both in class and as homework These exercises will contribute to your project and develop your research skills It is important that you complete these exercises –Not only will they help you develop your commentary they will also form the basis for your reflective journal –You should produce a short write-up (a paragraph will do) of your work each week –Eventually, you should add this material to Mahara but you can keep it on a word document for now

Project support An independent project does not mean that you will not be offered guidance Support –through feedback on weekly exercises and on draft portfolio submitted in week 7 –through tutorials either after class 12-1 or in my office hours Mon 3-5 –via

Project planning The syllabus of this module is designed to take you through the right steps at the right time -> brainstorming -> research -> writing up Weekly tasks will contribute both to the development of broader skills and the project (whether the journal, commentary or other aspects of the portfolio) We will ensure you are on track with the portfolio through the submission of draft work in week 7 Specific advice will be given in future sessions on time-management

Lecture 2: What sort of questions do historians ask? Aim of this lecture –To emphasise the difference between the types of questions asked in popular culture regarding historical topics and those posed in academic history –To help you to develop your own hypothesis (working theory) and research question(s) in relation to your own primary source

Asking the right sorts of questions

What does the discovery of RIII’s remains tell us? It confirms the details of his death (at Battle of Bosworth Field 1485) It confirms the place of his burial (Greyfriars Church, Leicester) The remains confirm that Richard did have a spinal deformity (scoliosis) but it probably would not have been visible while he was clothed. Question – how would you describe these findings?

Historical significance vs. public interest The story of the ‘king in the car park’ became national news But the discovery of Richard III’s body tells us little that is new about 15 th century England or the Wars of the Roses As Catherine Fletcher has argued, we could learn as much (or perhaps more) from the body of a 15thC peasantCatherine Fletcher It is RIII’s enduring notoriety which means he remains an object of popular interest

Bad questions The case of Richard III illustrates one particular type of ‘bad’ historical question. We might think of this as the ‘smoking gun’ theory of history History here is seen as being advanced by the discovery of new facts/pieces of evidence In fact, historical discoveries of this kind are very rare – because not only must we find new, verifiable evidence but also that evidence must be historically significant.

Example: Who killed JFK? A better question – what impact did JFK’s death have on…?

Bad questions 2 Anachronism/ present-centred questions Anachronism = ‘chronological inconsistency’ in the presentation of material Deliberate anachronism – Converse trainers visible in Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006)

Example: The Diggers ‘Were the Diggers the first communists?’ Ascribing a modern political concept to a pre-modern group Places Digger within a ‘fabricated tradition’ Obscures differences between historically distant periods (ahistorical)

Bad questions 3 Questions that involve value judgments Problems that these assessments are subjective and unquantifiable (how do you evaluate ‘evil’?) Hitler, pictured with Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere.

Example: ‘The Most Evil Men in History’ TV series of this kind at best reflect idea that history teaches moral lessons (ahistorical) Figures from very disparate societies/eras compared on basis of modern moral values At worst, driven by sensationalism – history as a collection of gruesome horror stories Tomas de Torquemada

Historical significance Which is more historically significant? The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 or the creation of the birth-control pill?

Understanding Historical Significance Cercadillo (2006) –Contemporary sig –Causal sig –Pattern sig –Symbolic sig –Revelatory sig –Present sig Somerset’s case 1772 an example of symbolic significance

Good questions Good questions are specific, testable and their findings make a contribution to scholarship (engage with/add to the work of other historians) Good questions address what we call ‘second-order’ concepts Second-order concepts relate to historical processes

Second-order concepts Continuity and change Causation Evidence and interpretation ‘Historical awareness’ (John Tosh)

Continuity and change Most historians are interested in investigating how society changed over time Some of the most studied episodes in history are those involving conflict and upheaval (war, revolution) But, in order to be able to identify what did change, we need to able to see what did not

Causation Historians do not simply describe what happened, they attempt to say why it happened This involves evaluating short-term and long-term causes, as well distinguishing between what contemporaries thought/said caused something and what historians judge to have been the cause WMD: Pretext or cause of Iraq War?

Evidence and interpretation Many historical questions are evaluative: ‘To what extent..’, ‘Assess the importance of…’ Historians need to be able to evaluate different historical arguments and the evidence they employ

‘Historical awareness’ Broadly defined, an awareness of chronology, that is - Difference between different historical epochs Awareness that events do not happen in isolation but are part of historical continuum

Questions and answers Important to realise that dif q. require dif answers –Evaluative - ‘To what extent’ ‘How far’ –Explanatory – ‘Why’, ‘Explain’ –Discursive – ‘Discuss’, ‘Do you agree?’ –Definitional – addressing concepts Responses –Evaluative – balance sheet –Explanatory – address causation –Discursive – invite rehearsal of arg and counter-arg –Definitional – unpick concepts as used at time/by historians

Sources and questions It is important that you develop research questions that are relevant to and can be answered by your chosen source That means not posing essay-style questions (too broad) Do not pose questions your evidence cannot answer – think about the limitations of the type of evidence as well as its content Examples –What does source x tell us about historical event/personality y? –To what extent does the evidence of source x support historians arguments about historical event/personality y?

Sources and questions 2 Because you are only going to be looking at one source in depth your claims need to be suitably limited You are therefore less likely to engage with questions of continuity/change You are more likely to be engaging with evaluative questions relating to evidence and historical interpretation

Conclusion The questions academic historians ask demonstrate the nature of academic history as an analytic discipline – we do not simply describe, we explain Good questions are open-ended and develop further lines of enquiry Good questions reflect academic values of historical significance (not ahistorical/present-centred) A sign of a good researcher is a readiness to revise your hypothesis in light of the evidence

Tasks for next week Identify your research topic – the choice is completely up to you but consider –Is there relevant historical scholarship on this topic? –Are there accessible primary sources? Complete the library quiz. Add your contribution to the discussion board on good/bad historical questions. Write up this week’s work in your draft journal

Discussion board rules You should - Make a response to the question -Reply to a comment on your response -Comment on another student’s response -Keep comments/replies in one thread (which I will start as tutor) -Don’t worry about being ‘right’