{"id":4712,"date":"2023-01-16T21:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/?page_id=4712"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T17:05:37","slug":"historiography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/course-syllabus\/historiography\/","title":{"rendered":"Historiography"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>&#8220;Historiography (literally, the writing of history) is the term that historians use for what other scholarly disciplines call a literature review: a summary of previous scholarship on a subject, explaining past debates and the current state of knowledge.&#8221; &#8211;Zachary Schrag, Princeton Guide, p. 90<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Essential Question<\/h2>\n<p>Why does historiography matter?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Historiography is the study of how historical interpretation has evolved. \u00a0Traditionally, this has meant an intense analysis of academic writings and a careful examination of how they tend to build on (or sometimes\u00a0oppose) each other. \u00a0Modern-day undergraduates, however, can probably benefit from embracing a more expansive definition of historiography, one that also includes the study of classroom teaching and public history. \u00a0Here are some helpful guidelines for approaching and researching different types of historiographical questions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Academic\u00a0History<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rely on high quality reference sources to help identify important books and articles.<\/li>\n<li>Learn how to peruse notes in academic scholarship\u00a0to identify historiographical references<\/li>\n<li>Become familiar with tools such as book reviews, review essays, and state-of-the-field essays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Classroom History<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Learn how to identify and assess textbooks, standards, and curriculum sources<\/li>\n<li>Seek out specialized pedagogy journals, blogs, and other resources on teaching practices<\/li>\n<li>Understand how to use surveys and studies for evaluations of teaching &amp; learning trends<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Public History<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Understand different categories of public history presentation (museums, sites, cultural, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Learn how to be creative in evaluating the public interpretative process<\/li>\n<li>Reflect on the meaning of memory and heritage as components of historical thinking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Schrag on Research Design<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Scope<\/li>\n<li>Big History, Microhistory<\/li>\n<li>Narrative vs. Thematic<\/li>\n<li>Periodization<\/li>\n<li>Geography:\u00a0 Local, National, Global<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>When Historians Disagree<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;While Lincoln\u2019s role in ending slavery is understood to have been more nuanced than his reputation as the great emancipator would suggest, it has taken longer for us to replace stories about cherry trees and false teeth with narratives about George Washington\u2019s slaveholding.&#8221; &#8211;Erica Armstrong Dunbar, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/02\/16\/opinion\/george-washington-slave-catcher.html\">&#8220;George Washington, Slave Catcher, &#8220;<\/a> New York Times, Feb. 16, 2015<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Openings and Closings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>DUNBAR OP-ED OPENING:\u00a0<\/em> &#8220;AMID the car and mattress sales that serve as markers for Presidents\u2019 Day, Black History Month reminds Americans to focus on our common history. In 1926, the African-American historian Carter G. Woodson introduced Negro History Week as a commemoration built around the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Now February serves as a point of collision between presidential celebration and marginalized black history&#8230;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4718\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM.png\" alt=\"Dunbar\" width=\"974\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM.png 974w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/files\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-4.34.19-PM-900x503.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>DUNBAR OP-ED CLOSING:<\/em> &#8220;When asked by a reporter if she had regrets about leaving the Washingtons, [Ona] Judge responded, \u201cNo, I am free, and have, I trust, been made a child of God by the means.\u201d Ona Judge died on Feb. 25, 1848. She has earned a salute during the month of February.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Executive Order, January 29, 2025:\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling\/\">Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cPatriotic education\u201d means a presentation of the history of America grounded in:<br \/>\n(i) \u00a0 \u00a0an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America\u2019s founding and foundational principles;<br \/>\n(ii) \u00a0 a clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history;<br \/>\n(iii) \u00a0the concept that commitment to America\u2019s aspirations is beneficial and justified; and<br \/>\n(iv) \u00a0 the concept that celebration of America\u2019s greatness and history is proper.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Historiography Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most important thing about studying the study of history is to understand that doing so can sometimes lead to a series of difficult choices, especially for an undergraduate history major. \u00a0Here are some suggestions for senior history majors:<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Do\u2019s \/ Don\u2019ts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Try to build on previous work<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t assume you have to tear down previous work to succeed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adopt a constructive but skeptical &amp; questioning tone<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t let\u00a0anything\u00a0represent the final word<\/li>\n<li><strong>Take special care to find the very best recent\u00a0sources<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t\u00a0waste time on unworthy\u00a0sources<\/li>\n<li><strong>Put\u00a0your historiography\u00a0in chronological order<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t ever ignore the idea of\u00a0change over time<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tackle big historiography questions in your papers<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t try to debate interpretations\u00a0in notes<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be fair when characterizing other peoples\u2019 views<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t be afraid to condense and summarize<\/li>\n<li><strong>Point out revealing\u00a0discrepancies in notes<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t litter notes with every discrepancy or mistake<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be creative about making connections<\/strong> \/ Don\u2019t overwhelm your narratives with historiography<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The bottom line is that undergraduate history majors should always try to see themselves as members of a historical community, ready and capable of making contributions to their respective fields,\u00a0but only\u00a0if they\u00a0work hard enough to deserve it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Historiography (literally, the writing of history) is the term that historians use for what other scholarly disciplines call a literature review: a summary of previous scholarship on a subject, explaining past debates and the current state of knowledge.&#8221; &#8211;Zachary Schrag, Princeton Guide, p. 90 Essential Question Why does historiography matter? Historiography is the study of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":13,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4712","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4712\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-204pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}