Sources and representations – basic principles
How it works
In history, one distinguishes between sources and representations. Sources are materials, texts, images or statements that historians evaluate for a specific question. Representations are later descriptions, explanations or interpretations, for example in schoolbooks, films or factual texts. What matters is the connection to the time under study and to the question being asked: A diary from the year 1914 is a source for the First World War. A history book from 2010 about the First World War is a representation of it. However, the same history book can itself be a source if one is researching how people 2010 wrote about history. Types of sources include, for example, artefacts, image sources, text sources and oral sources. Historians always examine critically how a source or representation came into being and how reliable it is.
For the past under study, the following applies: original testimonies from or close to the time are sources, later explanations and summaries are representations. Whether something is a source or a representation therefore depends on the question being asked.
An example
When historians examine the First World War: Which of the following examples is a source?
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: History. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.