The Social Sciences HS112 Activity Introduction Hi I m (name) and today we re going to look at how historians do the work they do. Despite their best efforts they can t do it alone. In fact they lean on experts in a bunch of different fields to give them a better idea of what the whole picture really means. Video 1 - Introduction When Historians formulate their conclusions, they often work in collaboration with other social scientists to accurately explain events from the past. These other social sciences are also known as history s sister disciplines, and historians could not function without them. So let s watch a video that explains these all-important sister disciplines. Video 1 Human history is a vast subject and no historian can possibly hope to become an expert in more than a small part of it, so instead, historians specialize. They choose a particular sort of history, such as military history or a time period, such as the 18th century or even a country, such as France and then study that subset of history deeply. They may even combine these areas of study, becoming, for example, a specialist in 18th century French military history. Their working methods are guided by principles of how history should be written and what it should achieve. As we mentioned, historians specialize by broad categories of history, the history of a certain era or the history of a particular place.
So let s start by looking at the areas that historians can specialize in. Broad categories of history include political history, the studies of the evolution of government, political institutions, governmental relations and political processes, but it also includes military history and diplomatic history. Cultural history studies the development of art, manners, ceremonies, dress and all other aspects of a given culture, while social history studies the development of groups of people, such as families, labor unions, women or particular ways of organizing human life, such as towns and cities. Economic history studies the evolution of economic systems and practices at the local, national and international levels. Religious history studies changes in religious practices and beliefs through time. Historians can specialize by time period. For example, a military historian would not study all military conflicts throughout human history, but they would narrow their field to one or two areas, such as the study of World War Two or the Wars of the Roman Empire. Common periods of specialization include the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. Historians also specialize by place. This could mean a region, such as the American Southwest, a country, a continent or an even larger grouping, such as the British Empire. But remember, a historian specializing in a place must know the language of that place. Historians can specialize in whatever they choose and could eventually know everything about practically nothing, as the old put down goes. But whatever their specialization, historians work according to an accepted set of methods and principles. The principles that guide historians when they are writing their works include being honest.
A historian s readers will probably never be in a position to check the sources used in a work of history, so a historian is honor bound, not to misrepresent or falsify evidence. They must be accurate. Accuracy is related to honesty and it requires a historian to quote material faithfully, to carefully describe things seen and to follow the evidence wherever it leads. And then a historian must be empathetic. A skilled historian treats the people he writes about with respect and tries to enter in to their way of thinking and seeing the world. It is easy to judge people in the past by the moral standards of today. It is much harder to try to understand why they acted and believed as they did, but remember, historians must take some degree of high ground when it comes to morals. Believing that slavery is okay because you re trying to relate to the people in the past is not what we re talking about. An historian must be objective. In other words, do not let your personal bias influence your work. You have to let the evidence speak for itself without trying to make it fit in to your own preconceived ideas or theories and then do not be subjective as an historian. Don not let your modern ideals and prejudices influence your interpretation of past events. When writing history, it is important to consider whether to write narrative history, which reads like a story or some other sort, which might read more like a scientific report. Narrative history has stood the test of time and tends to be the kind people most enjoy reading. The study of history is complex, but that shouldn t discourage you because it is also very interesting. Choose an era that interests you and human beings have done, made, set and thought more things than you can imagine and they are all waiting to be discovered in history. Video 1 Recap
So now you know what we mean by the sister disciplines. Simply put, they are other fields of study that make the histories of people or eras more understandable. Reading Passage Introduction So now you have been introduced to the other social scientists of history s sister disciplines and understand why historians rely upon their expertise. I m going to show you a table that explains exactly what they study and the types of evidence they employ to form their conclusions. Reading Passage Introduction As you know historians work in conjunction with other social scientists to create their explanations of historical events. But you may be wondering exactly how this collaboration works. Well here is a reading that will help explain this process. Video 2 - Introduction Did you know the word historian comes from the Greek verb historein which means to ask questions? I bet that doesn t surprise you. So now you know historians love to ask questions. Historically speaking, these people love to ask anybody anything. Let s look at a video that discusses the different types of historians there are and the principles that guide them. Video 2
Historians have partners in their work. When historians are trying to draw conclusions and the trail of documents runs out, they will often turn to their partners in the social sciences, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. And sometimes historians will also work with the information from philosophy or the fine arts to make their works more understandable. Let s begin by roughly defining what the social sciences are and contrast them to the fields found in the study of natural science. The social sciences, like archaeology, psychology, economics and geography are those that deal with human society and interactions, while the natural sciences, such as physics or chemistry and geology deal primarily with the natural world. But how can any of the other social sciences really help? A historian conducting research on a topic will often need to draw on many types of evidence and an historian of ancient civilizations will probably need to study ruins and excavated artifacts. Some of these types of evidence may lie outside the historian s main area of expertise. In those cases, the historian will call on the help of other experts in the social sciences. So the historian, faced with having to make sense of ruins and artifacts, would work with an archaeologist who is skilled in determining the age of function of ancient remains. All varieties of social science will be helpful to the historian at some time. Let s look at how social scientists and other fields might be useful to historians. Economists, who look at earnings and spendings of individuals, as well as the economic activities of businesses and nations, might help a historian understand things like patterns of trade and industrial development. Some famous economists include Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes. Sociologists investigate a wide range of areas,
including deviant behavior, families, public opinion and social mobility. And they could show a historian how a broad class of people have influenced the society in which they live, like believers in a certain religion. Some famous modern sociologists are Auguste Comte and Max Weber. Psychologists examine sense perception, thinking, learning, emotion and motivation, so they might help a historian understand the motives behind the actions of a ruler or military leader. And famous modern psychologists include Sigmund Freud and B. F. Skinner. Anthropologists examine human evolution, race and cultures. And an anthropologist might help a historian understand the contact between Western and non Western peoples from the non Western point of view. Famous modern anthropologists include Lewis Henry Morgan and Margaret Mead. Geographers study the location of physical and cultural features on earth and the patterns formed by these features and the interrelation of these features with human activity. So a geographer might help a historian understand how land forms in a particular area determine the sorts of farming and settlements that were possible there. Some famous modern geographers, like Carl Ritter and Albert Brigham have definitely contributed to history. Political scientists investigate political theory, governments and international relations. A political scientist could help a historian understand how forms of government, like monarch or democracy vary from place to place. Some famous modern political scientists are Robert Axelrod or Henry Kissinger. As we have seen, historical research can involve many different fields within the social sciences. Historians can find themselves looking at evidence that is out side the area of their expertise. They then have to rely on the help of many different social scientists to be able to reach logical conclusions.
Video 2 - Recap Historians are like reporters of the past. All those different kinds of historians must stay pretty busy with all that questioning and researching and organizing and reading and analyzing Oh!!!! And don t forget writing. They do lots and lots and lots of writing.