Interviewing contemporary witnesses

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Interviewing contemporary witnesses

The importance of the statements of contemporary witnesses and the other sources already mentioned for research into contemporary history results above all from the fact that access to the file material (for reasons of secrecy) or the obtaining of background information is often not possible - can you do my homework . In addition, some events and developments no longer find a written record, which is caused not least by the development of modern means of mass communication.

Oral history is concerned with the methods of interviewing contemporary witnesses and the critical evaluation of autobiographical testimonies (diaries, memoirs, etc.). With this research methodology of modern historical science, additional historical sources are made accessible. In principle, it was already common in the past, but today it serves as a necessary supplement to conventional methods of historical research, especially for the investigation of contemporary and social historical facts, the history of everyday life, also see do my engineering assignment for me , and also of cultures without writing.

Critical view of the sources

In order to gain real knowledge from dealing with contemporary historical sources - https://domyhomework.club/history-homework/ , a critical view of the sources (source criticism) is required. This includes in particular

- the consideration of the social and political position of the authors,
- the comparative consideration of several representations of the same thing,
- the tracing of changes in the view of events,
- the consideration of the different degree of subjectivity in the reproduction of facts or developments, which is usually even more pronounced in works of art than in reports or memoirs,
- the critical consideration also of official pronouncements or the expressions of opinion by politicians or the pronouncements of parties and organizations.

All this is indispensable to counter the danger of opinion manipulation, which is much greater in our time than it used to be due to the modern means of mass communication.

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