Brundage

Chapter 1:
This chapter discussed the different approaches to history. Some of different fields/schools of history that are mentioned include, cliometrics, the annales school, psycohistory, microhistory, microhistory, marcohistory, and postmodernism. It also discusses the shift in the study of history. Historians went from studying only the lives of the elites, nobility, and military heros to studying the lives of ordinary people. By understanding the numerous fields of history, one can better understand the historiography of a given topic.
1. Do you think one field of history is stronger than another or do you think they are all equal?
2. What do you think sparked the shift from the study of the histories of elites, nobility, and military heros to the study of the common?

Chapter 2:
This chapter discusses the diffrent kinds of sources. There are two kinds of sources, primary and secondary. A Primary source includes things such as newspapers, journals, diaries, records, and documents. While on the other hand, secondary sources are books written about a particular event.
1. Which is more useful a primary source or a secondary source?

Chapter 3:
Within this chapter, the different resources available to students are discusses. Brundage mentions good databases that are useful when trying to find journal articles. He also gives advice on research skills and how to sray organized when researching a topic. It is crucial to have an up to date bibliography when researching.
1. Are there any red flags one should look out for when researching?

Chapter 4:
In this chapter, Brundage is telling his readers to read in between the lines. It is important when reading historical writing that the reader knoews the author. The author could be bias on topic because of his/hers experiences or the could be influenced by their own time period. By understanding more about the author, it allows that reader to better understand their work. Also, it is important to read many different works on a subject because it allows the reader to get varying interpretations of the subject.
1. Why is it important to know an author's background before reading his/hers writing?
2. Why should you read different authors work on the same subject?

Chapter 5:
In this chapter, Brundage goes over how to write a historiographical paper. Through the examples he gives, I was better able to grasp the concept of what a historiography is and how to write a historiographical paper. He also gives advice on note taking and how to pick a solid topic for a historiography paper.
1. Why is it so important to narrow down a subject when choosing a topic for a historiography paper?