2. What is “history”? The study of the past, through written works. Anything prior to the development of writing is prehistory. Definition is very ethnocentric - Some cultures lack a writing system, so were traditionally excluded from “history” Definition has shifted to avoid racism, exclusion.

3. The problem with history… Written history is not entirely reliable Focus of study may be narrow or exclusionary. Author/historian may be biased (racism, gender bias, tokenism, stereotyping, ethnocentrism, etc..) The purpose of the writing may not to accurately describe historical events, but to promote an ideology, flatter a government, or justify a nation’s actions A translation may be unreliable, or be more poetic than accurate.

4. Solutions? Historiography – examining how we study history. Helps us understand ways in which written accounts might be biased. Archaeology – study of human cultures/societies through physical remains and environmental data. Anthropology - study of humans, past and present; mixes cultural, social, linguistic, and forensic Constantly reevaluate our conclusions and understandings.

5. Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary

6. Primary Sources Written by someone who witnessed or participated in events being described, or something from the time Letters, diaries, historical documents, books Can be non-written, like photographs, artifacts, etc. Can be fiction – novels written in a specific time period can provide information about lifestyles and attitudes.

7. Problems With Primary Sources Can be inaccurate due to author bias, incomplete information, etc.. Use the time and place rule - the closer it is, the more accurate Questions to ask: Who wrote it? Who was the intended audience? When was it written? Why did they write it?

8. Secondary Sources The writer did not witness the events being described, but based the information on first-hand accounts Books, scholarly articles about history Can be inaccurate Author bias Incomplete research Poor translation Unreliable primary sources

9. Tertiary Sources Collections and abbreviations of other research; work based on secondary sources Encyclopedias, textbooks Considered the least reliable; rarely considered acceptable in academic research

10. A Grey Area… Depending on what is being studied, primary sources vary - while someone describing what they heard about an event would be a secondary source, looking at the way people understood that event at the time of writing would make it a primary source; also, a source that might be considered so biased as to be unreliable when looking for a factual representation of events might be acceptable if looking at prevailing ideas at the time of writing.

11. Source Activity Read the excerpts from the handout Assess the reliability of this as a source of historical information What type of source is this? Discuss any issues that might impact reliability. Be detailed and specific. What information could this reliably tell us? What information should we not trust from this?