Historiography & Methodology

Catalog description

This course examines how Western historians from ancient times to the present have constructed historical narratives from primary sources. It shows students how to evaluate historical texts by teaching them to attend to the philosophical, cultural, and political contexts which influence historians. It asks whether history is an art or a science; it raises questions about objectivity; it explores the phenomenon of interpretations; it demonstrates techniques for the verification of evidence; and it confronts the challenges of presentism, relativism and skepticism by introducing students to current trends and debates within the discipline.