05 Jan Write a narrative analysis

Assignment 2

Primary Source Analysis

Instructions

OK, so what is a primary source?

It can be defined as anything created by someone involved in an event, about the event. For example, it could be a diary or a picture. These are the raw bits of history and we use them to understand the people and events under study. Here are resources to help you prepare for this assignment:

What are primary and secondary source documents and why are they so important to use when analyzing events of the past?

Primary and secondary source documents give historians a “first hand” account of issues contemporary to the time and place history is being made. Think of it this: Anne Franks diaries are primary sources, a biography written about her is a secondary source and you can even go so far as to say that an encyclopedia entry about her is a tertiary source. All of these sources are valuable to the time and place she was alive and they are all valuable when reconstructing historical events. Ya see, knowing how to read, annotate, interpret, and analyze historical documents is key in understanding historical events and ALL of your discussions are based on source document readings so understanding what they are and how to use them accurately is a very important element to this course.

I have provided some informational links and a few optional exercises that will help to understand more about source documents and how to use them in your discussions.

Why Study History through primary Sources?

How to Annotate and Understand the MAIN Points of a Source Document

Library of Congress: Teaching with Primary Sources (video and transcript) – definition of primary and secondary sources and why use primary sources http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6632

Library of Congress: Why Use Primary Sources http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/whyuse.html

Library of Congress: Citing Primary Sources – Chicago style http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/chicago.html

How do I find Primary/Secondary Sources?

Yale School of Law (Links to an external site.)

Fordham University (Links to an external site.)

Classics MIT Source Document Search (Links to an external site.)

BBC History (Links to an external site.)

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Links to an external site.)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Links to an external site.) (note citation information)

Recommended Primary Sources on the Web (Links to an external site.)

Library of Congress: Finding Primary Sources http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/finding.html

National Archives: Finding Primary Sources http://www.archives.gov/education/research/primary-sources.html

How do I Analyze Primary Sources?

Library of Congress: Analyzing a Primary Source (video and transcript) http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6633

National Archives: Primary Source Analysis Worksheets – You will need the worksheets to complete the Primary Source Analysis assignment.

If you are having trouble working with the formatted pdf, cut and past the information into a word doc and fill it out.

You will not find any cartoons, posters, movie or sound recordings in the ancient world!

Primary Source Analysis Instructions

Find two (2) primary sources and (2) secondary sources that relate to your Document Based Analysis (DBA) on your chosen topic. In addition to filling out the worksheet from the National Archives you will also need to write an annotation linking the source to your DBA topic and explain how you will use the document in your essay and why.

For each primary source you find, create a separate entry that includes all of the following information:

The type of primary source (e.g. written document, artifact, utility item and so on).

Complete the worksheet in detail.

Write a narrative analysis of the primary source, using the information you collected on the worksheet

Explain how the item pertains to your topic

Create a bibliographic entry (as you would include it in your bibliography) for the primary source – in Chicago Humanities style

Rubric:

Each source analysis is worth 20 points (providing it is relative to your DBA)

Proper format, citation, and followed directions is worth 20 points

Submit your work as an attachment(s) via the assignment folder in Week 5 (under Content) or under Assignments (on the NavBar).