Madonna Valentine 20071

Year 10 HistoryUsing primary sources in history:

photographs, art and films

Historical Sources-Primary Public Records Parliamentary debates The press Public surveys Personal accounts Statistics Photographs Business archives Newspapers Film and newsreel Cartoons

Oral history Diaries Memoirs Autobiographies Private papers Novels Art Local records Architecture and townscape Letters Maps

Interpreting Documents Documentary evidence is the raw material of the historian. This includes

official government records, parliamentary debates, political speeches and election manifestos, mass opinion or social surveys, diaries and memoirs, private correspondence, oral testimony, and statistical data.

Increasingly historians have to understand visual evidence such as propaganda, cartoons, films and video, photographs and advertisements.

The amount of historical evidence is increasing with the development of technology. This is also changing the type of evidence available (e.g. emails)

Approaching a document When approaching a new piece of evidence, three questions should

always be asked:

1. Who wrote or created the document, and for what purpose?

2. When was it written or produced?

3. For what audience was it created?

No piece of evidence should ever be accepted at its face value-it should be judged critically and dispassionately.

Visual evidence Questions of authorship, intention, date of origin and audience need to be

addressed. Political propaganda has an obvious audience and its intention is clear. Cartoons can be used to put forward an editorial point of view; a single

dramatic image is more effective than columns of text. Advertisements are useful in social history as they persuade the viewer by

tapping into their concerns. Examining primary sources helps students to understand the process by

which history is written.

Photographs Photographs became widespread in the 1880’s as technology improved. They transformed the quantity, scope and quality of visual evidence

available to historians. Earliest photographs covered only a small range of behaviour as exposure

times were very long. Flash photography became possible in 1886 Cameras have changed how we behave. People get themselves photographed more as they want to be

remembered rather than as they usually are. Important events tend to be photographed rather than the everyday.

Some aspects of human behaviour cannot be explained by a photograph, e.g. the political process.

Photographs The camera is not neutral in recording the past; it is operated by a

photographer who is influenced by contemporary ideas about what ought to be photographed and how.

The photo is not a window giving a clear view of the past, it is a mirror reflecting into the present the long-lost values and inhibitions of the past.

To be understood properly photographs need to have a context. Photographs can tell us nothing about noise, smell, touch and taste. Photographs, however, help historians to explain the past due to their

emotional impact on readers. They stir the reader’s imagination and historians cannot afford to ignore them.

Photographs

Simpson with his donkey 1915 TLF ID R2993

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia. Photograph by J A O'Brien.

Photographs

Morning at Passchendaele 1917TLF ID R2924

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia. Photograph by Frank Hurley.

Photographs

Boer War hospital ward, 1899-1902TLF ID R2930

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia.

Photograph by G Botha.

Photographs

Boats and supplies at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli 1915 TLF ID R3004

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia.

Photographs

Boer War ambulance, 1899-1902TLF ID R2923

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia.

Photographs

Federations Celebrations 3 January 1901

TLF ID R1402

Reproduced courtesy of National Film and Sound

Archive.

Photographs

Federations Celebrations 3 January 1901

TLF ID R834

Reproduced courtesy of National Film

and Sound Archive.

Photographs

The Britannic Leaving Sydney,1901TLF ID R3007

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia.

Art Art is a complex source to use and the circumstances of its creation must

be taken into account. It can provide valuable insights into the metaphors and mores of the society

in which it was created, eg, Nazi Germany We should ask, ‘Does this source tell us anything we didn’t know already?” Artists may be more concerned with the creation of their art rather than

sociological observation. Artistic sources are the most misused and are often used to brighten up

historical reference books. It can be difficult to date paintings. Most paintings are secondary sources. Points about images in art have to be argued with evidence external to the

art works themselves, not simply asserted.

Art High art can tell us about elite cultural movements such as Romanticism,

modernism and militarism Popular art such as woodcuts, cartoons, etchings can tell us about the

attitudes and values of wider sections of society and popular culture. Portraits carefully analysed can offer interesting psychological insights. Certain landscapes and townscapes can show how places used to look. Paintings can also show dress and fashion. Artistic movements such as Nouveau Realisme, Arte Povera and Pop Art

are associated with the social changes of the 1960’s.

Art

A Hero of the DardanellesTLF ID R1553

Reproduced courtesy of National Film and Sound Archive. Directed by Alfred Rolfe. Produced by Australasian Films.

Art

Sheet music illustrated cover; Australia draws her maiden sword,1885 TLF ID R3300

Reproduced courtesy of National Library of Australia. Printed by Jarrett and Company.

Film Film can be unreliable, even faked and it is edited to tell a particular “story’ A film should not be regarded as an objective record of past events. The presence of a film camera can itself influence events. Film is the product of a collaboration between many individuals and their

interests-producers, directors, cameramen, editors and writers, actors Film answers important questions about what the public was told about a

particular event at the time. Historians must examine the intention of the film maker and message he/she

wishes to propagate. Governments also use and have used film to influence public perception of

government actions and events.

Film

Breaker Morant, 1979: The gentleman’s war is overTLF ID R7421

Breaker Morant, 1979: This is what comes of Empire buildingTLF ID R7422

Hughes and the Yes case, 1916TLF ID R2523

FilmTroops leaving for the western front, 1916-1918TLF ID R6151

Troops Leaving for the western frontTLF ID R6152

Anzac Day in Gundagai, 1920TLF ID R2449

Anzac day in Gundagai, 1920TLF ID R2422

SummaryWith all historical sources the following factors must be considered:

The date on which the source was created Who created the document Why was the document created? (purpose and motive) Bias Historical Context Reliability Effectiveness Intended Audience