Explain what an archive leaves out

Supplied materials

• Original fictional archive: a 1910 factory manager’s report says “The new schedule raised output from 100 to 120 units a day.” A worker’s letter says “My shift became longer.” No shift-hour records, pay records or worker-wide survey survive in this supplied archive.
• Interpretation A: “The new schedule increased efficiency.” Interpretation B: “The daily total rose, but output per hour and workers’ experiences are not established.” These are invented historical materials.

Learn the idea

An interpretation explains evidence through a question and a measure. Efficiency measured as units per hour requires hours as well as output. A higher daily total alone does not supply that denominator.

Surviving archives can favour some voices and omit others. One worker’s letter gives an individual perspective; it cannot stand for every worker. Identify absent records and avoid converting absence into proof of either success or harm.

1. Identify what the manager’s figures actually measure.
2. List the missing quantity needed for units per hour.
3. Explain what the worker’s letter establishes and what it does not.
4. Compare the two interpretations and specify evidence that could change the conclusion.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

Use fictional totals of 100 units/50 labor-hours before and 120/60 after. Both give 2 units per labor-hour; explain how the daily output rise can coexist with unchanged measured efficiency.

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