How Historians Work With Other Fields

Matthew Zang

   The job of the historian is often seen as sitting at a desk in a library and not interacting with the outside world. This notion, while not wholly incorrect, is definitely misleading. One's job as a historian is not only to interpret the past, but also rediscover ideas and traditions left by those who came before us.This requires fieldwork.

Photo Courtesy of www.anthro.ucsc.edu

   One example of collaboration between fields that is fairly common is with the Archaeologist. They often work together to discover specifics about a certain area or culture group. Historians can call upon their research skills to find documents or old records that pertain to the exact area in question while archaeologists can draw conclusions from the material evidence left behind. Not only can the historian help in the analysis of a known site, they can also find new sites through research! These two fields often work together because they form a symbiotic relationship in their works by providing insight into the same topic from a different perspective. This also gets the historian out of the library which breaks the stereotype that was addressed at the beginning.

   Another field that historians work closely with is the Archivist. While this job is similar to that of the historian, they rarely leave the library, as it is their duty to catalog the records and documents already available. What the historian can do for the archivist is add to the collection. This requires the historian go to some other location (Another library, state or even country) to track down documents that could be compiled. These trips can take a historian to a myriad of places such as, France, Greece, Italy and many other nations, all in the pursuit of documentation.

Photo Courtesy of  www.ucas.com

   So, the stereotype of historians in a dusty old library just doesn't stand up to criticism. We also find that historians do not only benefit from other fields such as Archaeology and Library Sciences but that they too also contribute to those fields that they help!

Works Cited:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10761-012-0211-0
https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-resources/careers-for-students-of-history/historians-in-archives