Quantitative methods in studying history

Teacher(s)

François Aurore;

Language

French

Prerequisites

The mathematical skill normally acquired in secondary education.

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Main themes

Critique of numerical documentation. Dealing with a statistical series by elementary methods (organization and processing data, descriptive analysis, graphical presentation.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Attract students' attention to the possibilities of enriching certain historical procedures through recourse to quantitative methods. By the end of this course, in using the methods taught, the student should be able to provide proof that he is capable of critically solving simple historical problems on the basis of numerical data.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

Based on numerous examples, presentation of the interest of quantitative methods in solving historical problems.
- Collection, organization and presentation of data.
- Analysis and description of a series of data (résumé via a unique value, distribution and concentration). Analysis of a chronological curve. Methods of data adjustment, correlation and covariation.
- Simple and synthetic indices.
- Sampling. Elementary presentation of certain techniques.

Teaching methods

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Evaluation methods

Written exam, partly computer-based.

 

Other information

Support : student notes
Bibliography : a dossier of graphics and statistical tables.
Teaching staff : the professor or, should need arise, assistants designated by the Department.

Bibliography

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Faculty or entity

HIST