In the framework of such a short introduction, I would like to recall some basic principles, obvious enough to most specialists.
The first half of my presentation will be historiographical: by tracing the way in which a congregation’s past has been perceived over the course of time, I will point out themes for research that seem of interest to me.
The second part will consider sources and their critical use, in the framework of a monograph centered on one or more educational institution. Without pretending to exhaust the subject, I will try to present some of the concrete problems that historians confront regularly in such a field.
Contents:
- 1. Some Basic Principles
- 2. Historiographical Perception and Research Themes
- A. Hagiography
- B. The Sociology of Religion and “Socio-history”
- C. The History of Daily Life
- 3. The Sources
- A. Congregational Archives
- B. Chancery Archives
- C. Parish Archives
- D. Archives of the Civil Authorities
- E. Some Other Sources
Reference time period: 1800 – 1995
P. Wynants, Writing the history of a religious teaching institute: guidelines for research, sources and methods (19th and 20th Centuries), in «Journal of Salesian Sudies» 8 (1997) 1, 91-142.
Reference institution:
Institute of Salesian Studies