Intro: Information/Disinformation

Central to any historical work is reading, interpreting, and analyzing texts (whether these texts are written, visual, audio, etc.). Because of this, historians have to read texts very closely, sifting for valuable information and clues. 

Of course, all texts are different. Some are rich with information. For example, have a look at this photo. 

Without knowing anything about the context, what information might you be able to glean?

• When was this photo taken?
• What was the context?
• Why are people celebrating?
• What kind of message about war is the picture sending?
• What does the material culture (clothing and/or objects that people are holding) of this photo tell you about the individuals portrayed?
• Does this photo seem to be spontaneous or staged?

Other texts have only a trace of a clue that might point historians towards another clue. Take, for example, this routing slip, which was stolen from an FBI office by activists in 1971.

What information can you glean from this document? In this case, there is a lot less information to be had. But, the text includes some clues that might offer directions for futher research--most notably, the reference to COINTELPRO. 

As it turns out, this document--a routing slip--is one of the most important documents in 20th-century U.S. history. 

Watch this video to learn about its significance.

 

As you can see, spending time with historical texts--sitting and reflecting and thinking and comparing--can tell us a lot. 

But not all texts are straightforward.

Some texts have been created to lie, to obfuscate, and to misdirect. Whether they are looking at contemporary documents or historical documents, historians always have their guard up for these types of texts. 

This module will teach you some basic techniques to help you distinguish between texts that are meant to inform and texts that are meant to misinform.