Source Criticism

Teacher(s)

Bousmar Eric; Sghaïer Nissaf (compensates Bousmar Eric);

Language

French

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

The course aims to develop and systematise a critical approach towards information, with the critical methods developed by historians as a starting point. Therefore the aim is twofold : on the one hand to understand to what extent a historian's discourse may be considered scientific and on the other hand to take advantage of the methods historians have developed to apply them to the analysis of a present-day documents in the field of Humanities or in everyday life.

Content

The course consists of four parts. The first part systematically covers the rules of external and internal criticism and confrontation, followed by the organization of data. Particular attention will be paid to the application of the rules of testimony criticism outside the field of written documents (material, iconographic, audiovisual, and audio documents). Each theoretical point will be illustrated with concrete examples. The second part deals with the foundations of source criticism, placed in the context of the emergence and development of the humanities from the end of the 19th century onwards (including postmodern challenges). A third part will examine source criticism from the perspective of Critical Theories, and more particularly the notions of standpoint theory and positionality. The final part will focus on the challenges of source criticism in the face of the development of artificial intelligence.

Teaching methods

Lecture with mandatory note-taking.
The lecture is based on concrete cases and problem situations and is accompanied by a reading list. Documents are presented, analyzed, and discussed during the course.
The reading list is the subject of individual study by the student. It is up to each student to integrate the content of these texts into the material discussed during the lecture.
Tutorial sessions are organized to accompany and supervise this personal reading work and, more broadly, to support the work of understanding and assimilating the subject matter. Several sessions are also devoted to putting the method of source criticism into practice, in particular by working on sources generated by AI.
Regular and active attendance at lectures and tutorials is strongly recommended. 

Evaluation methods

Closed-book written exam testing knowledge and understanding of the course in both its theoretical and practical dimensions.

Other information

Teaching materials: collection of texts (required reading), PowerPoint presentation of the lecture (available on the course's Moodle platform).

Bibliography

Cf. bibliographie du syllabus-cadre, qui sera commentée au cours. Plusieurs manuels de critique historique de différents auteurs sont disponibles en bibliothèque.
A bibliography is included in the lecture handout. Several textbooks of historical methods ("critique historique") are available in the university library and are listed in this bibliography.

Teaching materials

• Critique des sources de l’information. Syllabus-cadre et bibliographie
• Powerpoint du cours magistral disponible sur la plate-forme Moodle du cours. Recueil de textes.

Faculty or entity

> PHLB