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Concepts for historical_analysis

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Fredy Orozco
Fredy Orozco

This document provides an overview of key concepts for analyzing Latin American history. It discusses primary and secondary sources and how they must be interpreted carefully as they can be biased. It also outlines important historical periods of Colonial rule from the 1490s to 1820s, and the Modern period after the 1820s of independence from European colonial powers. Key concepts for historical analysis are also defined, including actors, structures, processes, and how to analyze the interrelated areas of economy, society, politics, and culture over time.

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LAH 2020 Latin American Civilization
Historical Sources Concepts for Historical Analysis Actors, Structures, Processes Economy, Society, Politics, Culture Historical periods: Colonial Modern
PRIMARY: Original information coming from the time [timing of their creation is a key factor!] or period historians research. It is the raw material historians interpret Written: Documents of various kinds: letters, diaries, memoirs, laws, government reports, literary works (novels, poems, plays), music scores. Visual: images of various kinds: paintings, photographs, videos. Material: artifacts and remains of different kind: tools, machines, furniture, clothing, buildings, bones, ruins. Oral: accounts by witnesses and participants in the form of oral interviews, recordings, music. SECONDARY: Second-hand or indirect information not coming from sources contemporary to the events under research. Typically takes the from of academic research (books written by non-participants: historians, lawyers, sociologists, etc.). WARNING! All sources, even primary accounts, must be read and interpreted with caution. They can be biased in one way or another. They are not necessarily objective, could be exaggerated or reflect prejudices and misleading opinions. In any case, this is no reason to put them aside.
Concepts for historical analysis STRUCTURES: term frequently used in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and social theory to refer to enduring relationships, bonds or patterns (demographic, geographic, cultural, economic); institutions, norms, and the sum of all the different activities (political, economic, social); boundaries (geographic, social political, etc.).Typically INVISIBLE. Examples: DEMOGRAPHY: size and shape of populations. GEOGRAPHY-ECOLOGY: shape, nature and location of places landscape, ecosystems. MENTALITIES: worldviews, collective frames of mind. LEGAL SYSTEMS: rules of the social, political, economic game ACTORS: individual and collective (both organized or institutional ones and unorganized ones) participants, active in history. PROCESSES: interplay between actors and structures expressed as events, social movements, revolutions, political upheaval, etc.
Concepts for historical analysis Actors Actors STRUCTURES Historical Processes
Concepts for historical analysis ECONOMY: Production, consumption and distribution of goods and services as measured by concepts such as GDP, budget, revenues, exports, imports, salaries, inflation, etc.. SOCIETY: Persons, collectively considered who live in a given region or at a particular moment. CLASS: grouped by economic activity or income GENDER: grouped by masculine or feminine cultural roles (proposed social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities: sex + culture). ETHNICITY: grouped on the basis of genetics, language, cultural and other manifestations, typically color and race (race + culture) SOCIAL STATUS: grouped on the basis of prestige or position relative to others POLITICS: process by which groups of people make decisions, institutional arrangements to govern a society.
Concepts for historical analysisECONOMIC STRUCTURE --- SOCIAL STRUCTURE --- POLITICAL STRUCTURE ECONOMIC CHANGE SOCIAL CHANGE POLITICAL CHANGE
COLONIAL: 1490s - 1820s (in Cuba and Puerto Rico it extends until the 1890s; in several British Caribbean regions until even the mid -20th century!). Time during which Latin America and the Caribbean were possessions of various European powers (Spain, Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands) which controlled their economies, politics, and societies. MODERN (or NATIONAL): 1820s onwards. Time during which most Latin American nations became independent from colonial rule. Most of them became republics. One important exception was Brazil that became an empire of its own!

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Concepts for historical_analysis

  • 1. LAH 2020 Latin American Civilization
  • 2. Historical Sources Concepts for Historical Analysis Actors, Structures, Processes Economy, Society, Politics, Culture Historical periods: Colonial Modern
  • 3. PRIMARY: Original information coming from the time [timing of their creation is a key factor!] or period historians research. It is the raw material historians interpret Written: Documents of various kinds: letters, diaries, memoirs, laws, government reports, literary works (novels, poems, plays), music scores. Visual: images of various kinds: paintings, photographs, videos. Material: artifacts and remains of different kind: tools, machines, furniture, clothing, buildings, bones, ruins. Oral: accounts by witnesses and participants in the form of oral interviews, recordings, music. SECONDARY: Second-hand or indirect information not coming from sources contemporary to the events under research. Typically takes the from of academic research (books written by non-participants: historians, lawyers, sociologists, etc.). WARNING! All sources, even primary accounts, must be read and interpreted with caution. They can be biased in one way or another. They are not necessarily objective, could be exaggerated or reflect prejudices and misleading opinions. In any case, this is no reason to put them aside.
  • 4. Concepts for historical analysis STRUCTURES: term frequently used in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and social theory to refer to enduring relationships, bonds or patterns (demographic, geographic, cultural, economic); institutions, norms, and the sum of all the different activities (political, economic, social); boundaries (geographic, social political, etc.).Typically INVISIBLE. Examples: DEMOGRAPHY: size and shape of populations. GEOGRAPHY-ECOLOGY: shape, nature and location of places landscape, ecosystems. MENTALITIES: worldviews, collective frames of mind. LEGAL SYSTEMS: rules of the social, political, economic game ACTORS: individual and collective (both organized or institutional ones and unorganized ones) participants, active in history. PROCESSES: interplay between actors and structures expressed as events, social movements, revolutions, political upheaval, etc.
  • 5. Concepts for historical analysis Actors Actors STRUCTURES Historical Processes
  • 6. Concepts for historical analysis ECONOMY: Production, consumption and distribution of goods and services as measured by concepts such as GDP, budget, revenues, exports, imports, salaries, inflation, etc.. SOCIETY: Persons, collectively considered who live in a given region or at a particular moment. CLASS: grouped by economic activity or income GENDER: grouped by masculine or feminine cultural roles (proposed social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities: sex + culture). ETHNICITY: grouped on the basis of genetics, language, cultural and other manifestations, typically color and race (race + culture) SOCIAL STATUS: grouped on the basis of prestige or position relative to others POLITICS: process by which groups of people make decisions, institutional arrangements to govern a society.
  • 7. Concepts for historical analysisECONOMIC STRUCTURE --- SOCIAL STRUCTURE --- POLITICAL STRUCTURE ECONOMIC CHANGE SOCIAL CHANGE POLITICAL CHANGE
  • 8. COLONIAL: 1490s - 1820s (in Cuba and Puerto Rico it extends until the 1890s; in several British Caribbean regions until even the mid -20th century!). Time during which Latin America and the Caribbean were possessions of various European powers (Spain, Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands) which controlled their economies, politics, and societies. MODERN (or NATIONAL): 1820s onwards. Time during which most Latin American nations became independent from colonial rule. Most of them became republics. One important exception was Brazil that became an empire of its own!