HISTÒRIA POLÍTICA I SOCIAL CONTEMPORÀNIA (I): RESEARCH METHODS FOR HISTORY

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.

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

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgements 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 Lilley 9. Document to Database and Spreadsheet R.J. Morris Part 4: Deciphering Meanings 10. Reading Language as an Historical Source Julie-Marie Strange 11. Analysing Behaviour as Performance Simon Gunn Part 5: Rethinking Categories 12. Ethics and Historical Research William Gallois 13. Time, Temporality and History Prashant Kidambi Notes on Contributors Index

Simon Gunn is Professor of Urban History in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester. He has taught and studied research methods in Historical Studies for a number of years. His publications include History and Cultural Theory (Longman, 2006) and The Public Culture of the Victorian Middle Class (MUP, 2000). He is joint editor of the Cambridge University Press journal, Urban History and co-editor with James Vernon of The Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain (University of California Press, 2010). Lucy Faire is Honorary Fellow in the Centre for Urban History at the University of Leicester. She specialises in the history of home and leisure. She is the co-author with Mark Jancovich of The Place of the Audience: Cultural Geographies of Film Consumption (BFI, 2003).

Paperback: 256 pages