Writing in History
What Vocabulary and Approaches are Common in History?
Writing in History often draws on common disciplinary vocabulary and approaches to analysis:
As you write as a History major, some common disciplinary vocabulary you might see and use include:
- identity
- agency
- periodization
- change over time (contingency v. teleology, process, revolution)
- narrative
- presentism, anachronism
- modernity
- nation & empire
- top-down v. bottom-up
These are some of the common analytical approaches to History you will use and encounter:
- political
- military
- economic
- social
- cultural
- environmental
- women/gender
- race/ethnicity
- big, deep
- micro- vs. macrohistory
- digital (mapping)
- information/technology
- emotions/senses
What does Primary Source Analysis look like in History?
Primary source analysis refers to analyzing firsthand historical evidence. History places a high value on working with primary sources. As you progress in your education, the complexity of the primary source analysis you will be asked to complete will increase. For instance, you can expect to learn progressively how to:
- complete close-readings of short passages and read for basic content
- analyze the genre/value of a primary source
- analyze an author’s perspective/value of a primary source
- compare multiple sources
- ask historical questions of primary sources
This guide was co-created by HCWE graduate assistant Angela Glotfelter and History faculty Wietse de Boer, Lindsay Schakenbach Regele, Erik Jensen, and Daniel Prior.