Chapter One Class Notes: History & The Historian Social Studies 8   Chapter One Class Notes: History & The Historian

Text: Voyage to Discovery, pp. 10-21

What is History (Page 12): This chapter deals with what history is, how one studies history, and how things in the past influence life in the present. We also look at how things such as artifacts (ex: old pictures) can help us learn about what life was like years ago.

History: A study of the past Gathering and examining something that happened A living subject An interpretation of past events

Living With History (Page 12): History is all around us. Sources of history include: Graveyard headstones Folk songs Stories and tales from the past Books Letters Journals Monuments and memorials Names

These things can tell us about how people made a living, what clothes they wore, entertainment and what they ate- just to name a few. NL’s history was impacted when the official name of this province was changed from Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador on December 6, 2001. (Note: the text uses the term Newfoundland to refer to the entire province prior to December, 2001)

Individual and Collective Past (Page 13): History is alive because it exists in each of our individual memories. Individual Past – made up of the major events and experiences in your life that shape you and your memories; includes who you are, where you come from and what has influenced you. It is your personal history.

Your individual past may be understood and preserved through physical objects and personal momentos. Examples include: a diary souvenirs photo album, home video family heirlooms autobiography (written account of a person’s life written by that person) biography (written account of a person’s life written by someone else) family tree (diagram showing the descendants of a common ancestor)

Collective Past – the history of a group of people Collective Past – the history of a group of people. When you examine pieces of information that make up a memory of a people, you are examining their collective past

The Historical Method (Page 15): Historians are professionals who investigate and interpret the past Just as crime scene investigators use a specific method to find out answers about a crime they are investigating, historians use a specific method to find out answers to historical questions that they are investigating.

The four steps of the historical method are: Historical method – the process made up of techniques and guidelines used by historians to research, establish general facts and write accounts of the past The four steps of the historical method are: 1. Pose a good historical question Ask questions such as the 5 Ws and How? 2. Collect reliable information What sources of information are available? What sources have the needed information? Are the sources reliable? 3. Organize and evaluate information How will you organize the information? What patterns come from the information? 4. Interpret information and present conclusions Are there any conclusions that you can draw from your research?

Sources of Information (Page 16): Information can be collected from many different sources such as the school's LRC, the Rooms, and web sites such as the Heritage Newfoundland web site.

The information collected can be divided into two different categories: primary and secondary sources. Primary Source - a first hand account made at the time that an event occurs Examples: photographs, diaries and letters, government documents, weapons, tools, artifacts, art, oral history, interviews, music & headstones. Secondary Source -an interpretation of an event based on information gathered from primary sources Examples: books, essays, encyclopedias, magazines, films, & newspaper articles

When collecting history there are many places where you can find information: Libraries and Museums – Ex: The QE2 Library at MUN, the Rooms. Libraries contain secondary sources. Museums contain objects from the past known as artifacts; mostly primary sources which are on display Archives – Ex: provincial archives in the Rooms Archives contain primary sources which are not on display Archival materials include documents, images, sound and video recordings, and personal papers Monuments – Ex: Echos of Valour Memorial in St. Lawrence Historic Sites – Ex: L'Anse aux Meadows Internet – Ex: www.heritage.nf.ca Oral history - Ex: stories, songs Literary and artistic expressions – Ex: Trinity pageant, Random Passage