3/5/14
Introduction
Getting
the
Most
out
of
Lectures
&
Seminars
Effective
Reading
and
Note­
Taking
Writing
a
Research
paper
Constructing
an
Argument
Theoretical
Frameworks
How
to
Write
a
Historiography
Scholarly
Sources
Library
Skills
for
the
History
Student
Research
Strategies:
Taking
Notes
Creating
an
Effective
Outline
Research
Essay
Organization
Writing
Strong
Paragraphs,
Introductions,
and
Conclusions
Summarizing,
Paraphrasing,
&
Quoting
Revising
your
Essay
Grammar
Footnotes
and
Bibliographies
How
to
Write
an
Annotated
Bibliography
How
to
Write
a
Book
Review
How
to
do
a
Seminar
Presentation
How
to
Prepare
for
an
Exam
Links
History
Undergraduate
Program
www.trentu.ca/history/workbook/theoreticalframeworks.php
Trent University :: Theoretical Frameworks
Theoretical
Frameworks
Contents
Why
use
a
Theoretical
Framework?
What
is
a
Theoretical
Framework?
Examples
of
Theoretical
Frameworks
How
to
Use
a
Theoretical
Framework
in
your
Research
Essay


Why
use
a
Theoretical
Framework?
An
effective
history
paper
should
do
more
than
simply
report
what
happened
in
the
past.
An
effective
history
paper
should
also
provide
some
analysis.
Using
a
theoretical
framework
for
your
paper
can
help
open
up
your
analysis
of
past
events
by
providing
a
particular
set
of
questions
to
ask,
and
a
particular
perspective
to
use
when
examining
your
topic.
top
of
page


What
is
a
Theoretical
Framework?
Theoretical
frameworks
provide
a
particular
perspective,
or
lens,
through
which
to
examine
a
topic.
Theoretical
frameworks
usually
come
from
other
disciplines
­
such
as
economics,
the
social
sciences,
and
anthropology
­
and
are
used
by
historians
to
bring
new
dimensions
of
their
topic
to
light.
There
is
no
right
or
wrong
theoretical
framework
to
use
when
examining
your
topic
since
every
topic
can
be
looked
at
from
a
number
of
different
perspectives.
For
example,
an
essay
on
slavery
in
the
American
south
could
be
examined
from
a
social
perspective
­
the
relations
between
slaves,
or
between
slaves
and
masters
­
but
also
from
an
economic
perspective,
a
political
perspective,
or
a
cultural
perspective
just
to
name
a
few.
Theoretical
frameworks,
however,
are
even
more
specific
than
these
broad
subject
approaches.
Theoretical
frameworks
are
specific
theories
about
aspects
of
human
existence
such
as
the
functioning
of
politics,
the
economy,
and
human
relations.
These
theories
can
then
be
applied
to
the
study
of
actual
events.
While
it
is
not
necessary
to
use
a
theoretical
framework
to
examine
your
topic,
it
can
help
to
focus
your
essay
on
a
specific
aspect
of
your
topic
and
can
direct
your
analysis
of
that
topic,
offering
unexpected
insights
into
the
past.
top
of
page
Examples
of
Theoretical
Frameworks
There
is
no
finite
list
of
theoretical
frameworks
one
can
apply
to
a
topic.
Nonetheless,
there
are
several
theoretical
frameworks
that
have
been
used
more
often
by
historians,
forming
schools
of
thought
and
shared
approaches
to
historical
subject
matter
such
as
marxism,
nationalism,
post­colonialism,
and
post­
modernism,
just
to
name
a
few.
It
is
important
to
note
that
these
categories
are
fluid,
and
many
of
the
theories
can
be
classified
under
more
than
one
school
of
thought.
In
addition,
many
historians
borrow
theoretical
frameworks
from
other
disciplines
without
actively
associating
themselves
with
a
particular
school
of
thought.
Below
are
some
examples
of
theoretical
frameworks
that
have
been
adopted
by
historians
in
recent
decades.
Marxism
Many
scholars
use
Marxist
philosophy
and
theories
to
study
past
events.
One
notable
theory
is
Italian
philosopher
Antonio
Gramsci's
theory
of
"cultural
hegemony."
Gramsci
proposed
that
those
in
power
maintain
power
by
making
the
societal
hierarchy
seem
"normal."
Gramsci's
theory
has
been
used
by
many
contemporary
historians
to
analyze
past
events.
For
example,
Robert
Rydell
has
applied
this
theory
to
the
study
of
World's
Fairs,
proposing
that
the
elite
of
society
used
World's
Fairs
to
try
to
sway
the
masses
into
supporting
a
societal
order
that
appeared
to
benefit
everyone,
but
in
reality
benefitted
primarily
the
1/3
3/5/14 Trent University :: Theoretical Frameworks
into
supporting
a
societal
order
that
appeared
to
benefit
everyone,
but
in
reality
benefitted
primarily
the
elite.
This
is
just
one
example
of
a
Marxist
theory
being
applied
to
the
study
of
history.
There
are
many
more.

Nationalism
Scholars
of
nationalism
study
how
and
why
people
have
come
to
identify
themselves
as
being
a
part
of
a
nation,
as
well
as
the
impact
of
the
rise
of
nationalism
in
the
last
two
centuries.
Benedict
Anderson,
for
example,
famously
referred
to
nations
as
"imagined
communities"
since
a
nation
is
a
community
in
which
the
vast
majority
of
people
will
never
actually
meet
face­to­face
or
know
each
other,
but
nonetheless
share
a
sense
of
identity
based
on
nationality.
Many
historians
have
used
Anderson's
theory
to
analyse
nations
and
nationalism
historically,
while
others
have
challenged
Anderson's
theory
on
how
nations
are
created
by
examining
the
rise
of
nationalism
in
a
variety
of
different
historical
contexts.

Post­Colonialism
Post­colonialists
study
the
power
relations
and
racist
assumptions
that
made
the
colonial
system
possible,
as
well
as
the
legacy
of
colonialism
for
both
the
colonists
and
the
colonized.
Edward
Said's
theory
of
"Orientalism"
proposes
that
the
West
has
created
a
mythologized
version
of
the
East
(or
Orient)
to
reinforce
the
difference
between
the
two,
and
the
superiority
of
the
West
over
the
East,
thus
legitimizing
Western
attitudes
towards
and
treatment
of
those
in
the
East.
Historians
use
Said's
theory
to
examine
past
events,
even
those
outside
the
strict
geographic
area
being
considered
in
Said's
original
theory.
Historians
examine
how
western
countries
mythologize
and
exoticize
the
"other"
in
order
to
reinforce
and
legitimize
their
position
of
power.
American
historian
Erika
Lee,
for
example,
uses
Said's
theory
to
examine
American
attitudes
(particularly
those
of
white
American
women)
towards
China
and
Japan
in
the
late
nineteenth
and
early
twentieth
centuries
as
the
United
States
was
developing
its
"informal
empire"
in
the
region
through
treaties
and
trade.

Literary
Theory
Historians
have
borrowed
prolifically
from
cultural
and
literary
theorists
in
recent
decades.
One
notable
example
is
Russian
literary
theorist
Mikhail
Bakhtin's
theory
of
"carnivalesque."
For
Bakhtin,
the
"carnivalesque"
referred
to
literature
that
permits
a
temporary
inversion
of
the
normal
social
hierarchy.
He
compares
these
literary
productions
to
the
medieval
carnival
where
for
the
duration
of
the
carnival
normal
hierarchies
of
power
were
suspended,
allowing
participants
to
mock
and
burlesque
those
in
authority.
Many
historians
have
made
use
of
Bakhtin's
theory
outside
of
the
world
of
literature,
applying
it
to
past
events,and
examining
how
different
events
allowed
for
the
temporary
inversion
of
power.
Natalie
Zemon
Davis,
for
example,
examines
the
role
of
gender
inversion
in
the
popular
culture
of
early
modern
France.
While
many
historians
and
anthropologists
have
argued
that
the
temporary
inversion
of
power
of
the
"carnivalesque"
ultimately
serve
to
re­inforce
normal
power
structures,
Davis
argues
that
carnivalesque
inversions
can
also
serve
to
undermine
them.

Post­Modernism
French
philosopher
and
historian
Michel
Foucault
theorized
that
"discourses"
(meaning
the
ways
in
which
we
speak
and
think
about
our
reality
or
some
aspect
of
that
reality)
actually
structure
our
reality
and
iin
most
instances
are
used
to
reinforce
hierarchies
of
power,
but
can
also
be
used
to
subvert
these
same
hierarchies.
Historians
have
applied
Foucault's
theory
to
the
past,
examining
how
discourses
in
different
times
and
places
have
been
used
to
reinforce
power.
Bengali
historian
Dipesh
Chakrabarty,
for
example,
examines
how
the
discourse
of
history
in
the
academic
world
continues
to
place
Europe
at
the
centre
of
historical
studies,
even
in
the
study
of
places
outside
of
Europe.

Gender
Studies
Gender
studies
examines
how
notions
of
gender
structure
our
reality.
Gender
studies
have
been
influenced
by
post­modernism,
arguing
that
gender
is
not
a
fixed
category,
but
rather
a
social
construction.
Historians
have
used
these
theories
to
examine
how
the
construction
of
gender
functioned
in
the
past,
and
to
what
end.
Feminist
historian
Joan
Scott,
for
example,
examines
how
gender
discourse
has
historically
served
to
construct
and
legitimize
gender
hierarchies.

Anthropology
Cultural
anthropology
is
the
study
of
human
cultures
and
seeks
to
understand
how
and
why
they
function
as
they
do.
Anthropologist
Victor
Turner
examines
the
role
of
rites
of
passage
and
their
cultural
meaning
and
function.
Historians
have
used
his
work
to
examine
past
events
and
their
meaning
to
those
who
participated
in
them.

These
are
just
a
small
sampling
of
the
many
approaches
and
theoretical
frameworks
that
are
available.

top
of
page



How
to
use
a
Theoretical
Framework
in
your
Research
Essay

When
using
a
theoretical
framework
to
examine
a
topic,
it
is
important
to
be
explicit
about:

what
that
theoretical
framework
is,
who
is
credited
with
coming
up
with
the
original
theory
(including
notable
people
who
modified
or
expanded
on
the
theory),
and
any
changes
you
are
making
to
the
theory
in
your
use
of
it.

This
should
be
set
out
clearly
in
the
introduction
of
your
essay.
In
addition
your
thesis
should
make
an
explicit
connection
between
the
theoretical
framework
you
have
set
out,
and
your
historical
topic.

As
the
word
"framework"
implies,
the
theoretical
framework
you
have
chosen
must
frame,
or
inform,
every
aspect
of
your
essay.
As
suggested
in
the
module
entitled
Constructing
an
Argument,
you
should
have
your
thesis
and
theoretical
framework
written
out
and
in
front
of
you
as
you
write
your
essay.
Every
major
point
that
you
make
must
go
to
establishing
your
thesis,
and
therefore
must
be
informed
by
your
theoretical

www.trentu.ca/history/workbook/theoreticalframeworks.php 2/3
3/5/14 Trent University :: Theoretical Frameworks
that
you
make
must
go
to
establishing
your
thesis,
and
therefore
must
be
informed
by
your
theoretical
framework.

top
of
page

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