Lost Vikings,
Chinese Explorers
-     -     -
Vikings in America

documentaries

Christopher Columbus and the Great Age of Discovery
HIST 351  ~  Fall 2010

1. Each of these documentaries tells a story or presents a theory. What are the individual stories or theories?

2. What types of evidence are presented to support each theory?

3. What is the quality or reliability of the types of evidence used in these documentaries?

4. Are alternative theories presented? What are they? Are they pursued sufficiently or are they dismissed too quickly?

5. There is a distinction between hard evidence and speculation and conjecture. What role does speculation and conjecture play in each documentary? Are the speculations valid or strained? Why do you think so?

6. Are experts used to present or to bolster the various theories? Are their credentials presented and what are they? Are they convincing? Do any experts appear in more than one video?

7. Do you see any problems of logic in the presentation and formulation of the various theories?

8. Do the documentaries discuss some of the same places and people? Do they present it differently? How so?