Furay And Salevouris, The Methods And Skills Of History - A Pratical Guide

Abstract

     Canal Furay and Michael Salevouris attempt in The Methods and Skills of History to address an important problem in contemporary education: that students lack historical literacy. Their aim is to provide students with the tools to begin to "think,.. historically. " Each of the fourteen chapters addresses a specific element within the field of history that is necessary for students to understand in order to do the work of historians. The authors begin each chapter with an introductory essay, followed by a series of exercises designed for students to practice the skills of history discussed in the chapter. Thus, the excellent organization of the book lends itself to teaching the skills of history as a process that students can manage through incremental steps. The first five chapters cover historical thinking, focusing on everything from causality to historical context. Several chapters on how historians conduct research, both primary and secondary, provide students with an understanding of how historians "do" history. The final two chapters on historiography help students know better how the discipline of history operates.