Question

Porter is studying the influenza pandemic of World War I. He is examining letters, journal entries, autobiographies, and newspaper articles from that time to see how fear of the disease affected the daily life of millions of people throughout Europe during that era. Which statement describes the type of history Porter is writing?

Answer 1

Thank you for this question. 

Keeping in view the given statement; 

Porter is writing medical history because he is focusing on the cause of the epidemic and the number of people who died.

He is studying the causes, effects and aftermath of the influenza epidemic. 

Influenza is a form of flu caused by the fatal influenza virus. In this, a person suffers from high fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, headache, coughing, and tiredness. 

Answer 2

Porter is writing on a social history as he is focusing on lives of large numbers in ordinary people.

Social history, or what is often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past.

This emphasizes social structures and the interaction of different groups in society rather than affairs of these people.