Tips on how to study history

[Exsubmariner]

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what do you think of that?

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These kinds of things are usually relevant. Can you provide a specific example? It could be fun.

[theBruiser500]

i meant more, how do you go about finding out more about this stuff. i'll be able to give you lots of examples soon, when i read now i'll look for them to show you

[NT!]

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no you are nothumb that's why i'm so happy to have found you, no exaggeration either i got a big smile when i found out NT was you : )

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[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[Exsubmariner]

I find that my main obstacle in research is time. With the internet and google, you can turn up quite a bit. For example, I recently viewed pictures of a famous sword here and read some (apparently) experts discussing a lot of interesting tidbits about swordmaking through the centuries.

I have turned up a lot of things concerning metalurgy, as well. Mainly from looking up how cannons were cast. Often, the answers to key events lie with a particular manufacturing process and the economics involved.

Obviously, the more obscure something is, the harder it is going to be to find. With the number of special interest groups out there online, though, you can always post a question to one that might know where the answers are.

Another good way to find a lot of details is by looking at source materials. Sometimes, you aren't going to be able to read it, or view it, but you can get back to a translation of the original most of the time. A lot of times, when someone talks of something in passing, someone in source material talked about it in detail.

[Le Sug]

You lost me - you will be right but we won't ever know? Ergo . . . Like I said, the way to study history is to stop trying to recreate it - history is a study of the available evidence.

[KJS]

I have a master's degree in history. I am also a trained archivist.

First tip: read books on historiography.

Learn how the academic discipline has changed over time. It will help you understand where you as a scholar will fit in. Such as where people nowadays go for sources, how they use them, how their work is evaluated, etc.. Sounds kind of dry but you will learn a lot about how we have moved from history written by the winners to a more well-rounded history that takes into account non-official sources and looks for narratives outside the upper echelon of society, politics and culture. As an exercise, pick a major event and read two books about it, one from the 1950s and one from now. See how their approaches differ, what sources they look at, what issues they deem important, etc..

Second tip: learn how to use primary sources.

To be a great historian you need to know your subject inside and out (read others work on it) and know your source material inside and out. Get to an archives and learn how to do historical research using primary materials. Look at the footnotes and bibliographies of monographs by others and see where they are looking for their sources. Know where the materials that relate to your subject matter reside so when you are further along and need to do more original research you know where to go.

Third tip: start reading journals

Like any other academics, historians communicate their findings through academic journals. Most books start as journal articles and many journal articles are super specific so you can learn in 20 pages a ton about a very particular event/person/idea. Many journals are centered around subjects. Others around historical philosophies. Find what you are interested in and how to search for journal articles in the library. Start copying some and learning not on the subject matter but how they construct the narrative, their writing voice, use of sources, etc..

Fourth tip: practice writing.

I have met some brilliant historical thinkers who could not write their way out of a paper bag. It really hurt them that they did not have a strong voice and were not able to concisely present their ideas in print. Pay special attention to comments on your writing that people give you. Have people besides professors read your work and give comments. Learn how to combine your ideas and the relevant factual evidence in a way that comes across as natural. When you have a reading assignment, pay attention to not only the facts you need to retain but how a good historian presents those facts. Learn how people express ideas clearly and support those ideas with source materal.

Good luck. Enjoy your education. I wouldn't have studied anything else.

KJS

[Cancer Merchant]

Check out Norman Cantor's How to Study History, for an overview on how to approach undergrad history. It should be available for a couple bucks on half.com, or check your library. It's a basic overview on how to approach primary and secondary sources, and what to expect in the field.

[hmkpoker]

Having graduated last year with an undergrad in psychology, and having run into a lot of people my age who've also graduated in psych, sociology, history, philosophy, religion, etc...I can't tell you how many times we looked at each other and said "Damn...I should have been a business major."

[patrick_mcmurray]

Many thanks for these recent posts, especially to KJS.

[KJS]

No problem.

Where are you going to study?

Do you have a subject area you are interested in?

KJS