Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Book recommendation

  • 19-09-2010 2:28pm
    #1
    ciaobellaciao1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 63 ✭✭


    Hi, would any kind soul here be able to recommend a book that aids historians in their analysis of events through newspapers. Many thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    convert
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,338 Mod ✭✭✭✭convert


    I don't think there are any books which 'teach' historians how to analyse sources. And it's not really something that can be taught; it's a skill that you pick up as you go through school and college. If you're in college you should chat with your lecturer and/or tutor and ask them for a few tips, but really it's something you have to acquire through practice.


  • #3
    hivizman
    Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭hivizman


    The book Reading Primary Sources: The Interpretation of Texts From Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century History, edited by Miriam Dobson and Benjamin Ziemann (Routledge: 2009) has a chapter on Newspapers. This chapter is fairly sketchy, but there may be some helpful pointers. Other chapters in the book may also provide some ideas.

    I agree that the best way of learning how to identify, access and analyse sources is through practice, but increasingly historians are trying to move on from the notion that historical research is basically a matter of mastering a "craft" - methods of source criticism have been known to historians for many years, and historians are increasingly self-aware about their judgements.


  • #4
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Depends on what period you are researching. There is a wealth of material in the newspaper archive of the National Library in Dublin from the early 19th century onwards. Actually researching it can be rather dry and time intensive, it depends on how much you hope to accomplish. Generally I picked a relevant date and scanned through the relevant articles in the days leading up to and after the incident in question. The art of 'skim reading' is something you'll have to learn when dealing with volumes of material of this nature.

    Another fantastic resource for 18th century pamphlets and materials is an online database of 18th century writings. Your college will likely have it on their servers, its fully word searchable and an absolute godsend when meeting a tight deadline and on your 5th coffee :)


  • #5
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    convert wrote: »
    I don't think there are any books which 'teach' historians how to analyse sources. And it's not really something that can be taught; it's a skill that you pick up as you go through school and college. If you're in college you should chat with your lecturer and/or tutor and ask them for a few tips, but really it's something you have to acquire through practice.

    G.R. Elton's The Practise of History is actually quite useful for clearly stating the fundamentals and essentials of the historians craft. Although it is an anti postmodernist polemic, it offers insights I personally found useful.


  • #6
    Cavehill Red
    Registered Users Posts: 6,109 ✭✭✭Cavehill Red


    Denerick wrote: »
    G.R. Elton's The Practise of History is actually quite useful for clearly stating the fundamentals and essentials of the historians craft. Although it is an anti postmodernist polemic, it offers insights I personally found useful.

    You say that like it's a bad thing...


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Cavehill Red wrote: »
    You say that like it's a bad thing...

    Haha, I knew what I was getting into when I started :D


  • #8
    convert
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,338 Mod ✭✭✭✭convert


    Denerick wrote: »
    G.R. Elton's The Practise of History is actually quite useful for clearly stating the fundamentals and essentials of the historians craft. Although it is an anti postmodernist polemic, it offers insights I personally found useful.

    When I said I didn't think that there were any books which could teach an individual how to research primary sources, I should probably have substituted 'I think' for 'books can't teach you how to reserach'. Yes, they can provide tips, but you can read up on something until you're bleary-eyed and still not be able to apply what you've read. I've seen it happen with so many students believe that reading about how to conduct primary source research is, from a lecturer's/tutor's/teacher's point of view, at worst a substitute for actually going into an archive, and at best a definitive and exhaustive guideline.

    However, as the OP is in college (see other thread), their starting point really should be to contact their lecturer/tutor for guidelines relevant to their project.


  • #9
    brianthebard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,165 ✭✭✭✭brianthebard


    agree 100% with convert, I did my MA on newspapers without ever seeking a book on how to do it, it just doesn't work. Reading other texts that are similar in aim to your own, and frequent conversation with one's supervisor is the best and really the only way to do it.


  • #10
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    I should state that I agree with the both of you. On the other hand it doesn't mean that some books can't or won't provide a useful insight. Historiography in general is interesting, all of it useful for broadening your perspective and improving your overall research capabilities.


Advertisement