Research Methods for History

by Gunn, Simon; Faire, Lucy

• ISBN13: 9781474408738
• ISBN10: 1474408737
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780748642052
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-08-01
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• More Book Details
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Summary

Historians have become increasingly sensitive to social and cultural theory since the 1980s, yet the actual methods by which research is carried out in History have been largely taken for granted. Research Methods for History encourages those researching the past to think creatively about the wide range of methods currently in use, to understand how these methods are used and what historical insights they can provide.

This updated new edition has been expanded to cover not only sources and methods that are well-established in History, such as archival research, but also those that have developed recently, such as the impact of digital history research. The themes of the different chapters have been selected to reflect new trends in the subject, including landscape studies, material culture and ethics. Every chapter presents new insights and perspectives and will open researchers' minds to the expanding possibilities of historical research.

Author Biography

Lucy Faire is an Honorary Visiting Fellow in the Centre for Urban History and Lecturer in Humanities and Arts in the Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning, both at the University of Leicester. She specialises in the history of home, leisure and behaviour. She is the co-author with Mark Jancovich of The Place of the Audience: Cultural Geographies of Film Consumption (2003).

Simon Gunn is a Professor of Urban History in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester. His publications include History and Cultural Theory (2006) and The Public Culture of the Victorian Middle Class (2000). He is joint editor of the journal, Urban History.

Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Preface to the Second Edition
1., Introduction: Why Bother with Method?, Simon Gunn and Lucy Faire

Part 1, The Essentials
2., Working With/In the Archives, Michelle T. King
3., Approaching Visual Materials, Ludmilla Jordanova
4., Material Culture, Alan Mayne
5., Landscape and Place, Jo Guldi

Part 2, Researching Individuals and Groups
6., Collective Biography, Krista Cowman
7., Life Stories and Historical Analysis, Alistair Thomson

Part 3, Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
8., GIS, Spatial Technologies and Digital Mapping, Keith D. Lilley and Catherine Porter
9., Document to Database and Spreadsheet , R. J. Morris
10., Digital Research, Bob Nicholson

Part 4, Deciphering Meanings
11., Reading Language as a Historical Source, Julie-Marie Strange
12., Analysing Behaviour as Performance, Simon Gunn

Part 5, Rethinking Categories
13., Ethics and Historical Research, William Gallois
14., Time, Temporality and History, Prashant Kidambi

Notes on Contributors
Index