Research Methods for History (Research Methods for the Arts and the Humanities) - Softcover

Gunn, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748642048 ISBN 13: 9780748642045

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2011

Synopsis

This is the first guide to the sources, techniques and concepts needed for effective historical research studies.

Each chapter introduces a different research method. These range from the well established, such as archival research, to the less widely known, such as Geographical Information Systems, and recent trends, such as textual analysis and material culture studies. The contributors explain how each method can be applied to different historical subjects and periods.

Case studies range from life stories written and spoken by migrants and soldiers to the "second wave" of women's history, including examples from Eastern Europe.

The book covers 13 different methods spanning all periods, from the medieval to the modern.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Gunn is professor of urban history in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester.

Lucy Faire is honorary fellow in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester.

From the Back Cover

This book provides a lively critical survey of methods for historical research at all levels.

While historians have become increasingly sensitive to social and cultural theory since the 1980s, 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.

The book covers sources and methods that are well-established in History, such as archival research, together with those that are less widely known. The themes of the different chapters have been selected to reflect recent trends in the subject. Even with more established methods, however, the aim is to present new insights and perspectives and to open researchers' minds to new methodological possibilities.

Key features

• International scope
• Encourages methodological comparison across time-periods
• Encourages historians at all levels to think critically and creatively
• Transferable methodological skills useful for Geography, Archaeology and Cultural Studies

Lucy Faire is an Honorary Visiting Fellow in the Centre for Urban History 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(British Film Institute 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(Longman 2006) and The Public Culture of the Victorian Middle Class (Manchester University Press 2000). He is joint editor of the journal Urban History.

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0748642048
• ISBN 13: 9780748642045
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256