HISTORY LAB 3 How do historians determine what's true when working with primary sources?

Ask a Historian

The full show transcript is available on our website: https://history.wisc.edu/ask-a-historian/

How do historians verify primary source documents? How do they account for bias and determine what’s true and what’s not?

Drawing on her experiences in the Soviet archives, Professor Francine Hirsch talks about how primary sources reveal both facts and perspectives, what fabricated evidence can tell us about the past, and why it’s important to incorporate primary sources from many actors when writing history. She also shares some key questions to ask about authorial intent, audience, and reception when evaluating a primary source.

Episode Links:

Francine Hirsch is Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she teaches courses on Russian and Soviet history, the history of human rights, and modern Europe. https://history.wisc.edu/people/hirsch-francine/

Prof. Hirsch’s new book, Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg: A New History of the International Military Tribunal after World War II, was published this year by Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/soviet-judgment-at-nuremberg-9780199377930?cc=us&lang=en&

Frederick C. Corney’s Telling October: Memory and the Making of the Bolshevik Revolution: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801442193/telling-october/

National History Day in Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15524

UW–Madison’s History Lab: https://history.wisc.edu/undergraduate-program/the-history-lab/

Our theme music is “Wholesome” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Do you have a question about how to do history? Record a voice memo we’ll answer your question in an upcoming episode. Our email address is [e-mail]