From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods

I. The Source: The Basis of Our Knowledge about the Past A. What Is a Source? B. Source Typologies, Their Evolution and Complementarity C. The Impact of Communication and Information Technology on the Production of Sources D. Storing and Delivering InformationII. Technical Analysis of Sources A. Clio's Laboratory Paleography Diplomatics Archaeology Statistics Additional Technical ToolsB. Source Criticism: The Great Tradition The "Genealogy" of the Document Genesis of a Document The "Originality" of the Document Interpretation of the Document Authorial Authority Competence of the Observer The Trustworthiness of the ObserverIII. Historical Interpretation: The Traditional Basics A. Comparison of Sources B. Establishing Evidentiary Satisfaction C. The "Facts" That MatterIV. New Interpretive Approaches A. Interdisciplinarity The Social Sciences The HumanitiesB. The Politics of History Writing The Annales The "New Left" and New Histories The New Cultural HistoryV. The Nature of Historical Knowledge A. Change and ContinuityB. Causality Causal Factors (Religious Ideology, Clericalism, and Anticlericalism Social and Economic Factors Biology and "Race" Environment Science, Technology, and Inventions Power Public Opinion and the Mass Media) The Role of the IndividualC. History Today The Problem of Objectivity The Status of the "Fact"Research BibliographyIndex