Historiography+Tasks


 * Task 2**:


 * || **People in the Middle Ages were devoutly religious.** || **Most Germans were not Nazis; they were brainwashed or terrorized into supporting Hitler.** ||
 * **What evidence could we use to prove this point?** || Written records of churches, gravestones, diaries and journals, buried bodies, paintings. || Diaries and journals, photographs, films, newsreels, Hitler’s speeches, loud speakers. ||
 * **How might this evidence be regarded as untypical?** || Written (parish) records – untypical because it just records date of birth. || Photographs – they could have been “photoshopped.” ||
 * **How might this evidence be regarded as untrustworthy?** || Gravestones – the family could have chosen what to say on the gravestone. || In order to be sure if they were brainwashed, we’d actually have to understand the mentality of a person. None of the above could provide those, except diaries and journals, and those also to an extent. ||


 * Task 3:**


 * || **Poetry/Novels** || **Films/Play****s** || **Art/Architecture** || **Diaries/Memoirs** ||
 * **Strengths:**


 * What can they tell us about past societies?** || Can tell us about the author, who is probably shaped by his society, giving us information about the society itself. || Usually reflect on an event or are about things that is distinct to a society.(**what people think are important at the time)** || Usually reflect on the society and time period they lived in.(**for example art that depicts warrior figures can imply society were war like)** || They are the personal thoughts of someone, so they can tell us about the society(**what aspect?)** by the person’s writings about it. ||
 * **Weakne****sses**:


 * How might this evidence be regarded as untypical?** || Poetry and novels are usually works of fiction and so they do not contain completely factual information. || Films or plays can be about something completely irrelevant to a society. || It’s not always an accurate reflection of a society and cannot give a deeper understanding of the society. || A person’s perception of a society can be affected by their emotion, so there can be inaccurate information about a society. ||
 * **Weaknesses:**


 * How might this evidence be regarded as untrustworthy?** || Also because they are a work of fiction, they may not accurately reflect on the society in wish the author lived. || Because they are sometimes fiction, they do not always contain factual information. || The works of art or architecture could have been tampered with throughout time.(**or could have been made by slaves - forced or only reflects one group of peoples ways of thinking)** || Again, emotion can affect a person’s writing so that not everything they say is factual. ||
 * Clarifying points with examples helps consolidate what you are trying to say**