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Essay Instructions: Primary Source Analysis

A primary source is a piece of writing or artifact created during the period under historical investigation. Primary sources are the records of contemporaries who participated in, witnessed, or commented on historical events and ideas. They are the documents and artifacts??"letters, reports, diaries, government records, parish registers, newspapers, business ledgers, photographs, works of art, buildings, and so forth??"that make the writing and study of history possible. They are the sources that help us recover lost worlds and understand how people of the past thought and behaved and what assumptions, attitudes and beliefs shaped their actions. Thus primary source analysis is the basic work of most historians: in order to reconstruct as closely as possible the events and ideas of history, they read primary sources and extract from them information about the sentiments, thoughts, political structures, religious beliefs, economic practices, social customs, etc., of the period. Here the historian works like a detective, analyzing sources to discover meanings and information not necessarily intended by the authors of the sources.

Here are some guidelines you should follow in reading and interpreting written primary sources. Not all of them are applicable to all sources; you have to use your judgment and select those that are suitable to the source you are analyzing.

1. Identify, when possible, the date the source was produced and the author or creator of the source. Try to find out as much as possible about the historical context in which the source was written, so that you can understand ways in which that context may have shaped the views of the author. Finally, try to find out as much as you can about the author, so that you can understand how his or her social background and status, occupation, political beliefs, gender, economic circumstances, religious and ethical principles, etc., may have influenced the writing of the source.

2. Then move to close analysis of the source itself. What kind of writing is it??"fiction, reportage, polemic, government edict, or what? How does the genre of writing influence the ways in which the source can be used by the historian?

Remember, though, that the genre of writing does not necessarily limit the type of information that we can derive from a source. A novelist, in describing contemporary material culture, can reveal a great deal about the economy of his/her day. So, too, a political theorist might reveal much about the common religious assumptions of his day. You have to read the source closely and imaginatively, trying to glean every bit of information you can out of it.

3. What argument, if any, is made in the source? To what kind of reader is the author writing? What is his/her audience and what is he/she trying to convey to this audience? How is the source constructed and written to make its points? That is, what kind of vocabulary is used and what rhetorial devices does the author rely on to make his/her points? Is the language cool or emotional, calm or violent? Does the author reason through his or her points or use emotional appeals to make his/her points? If the author is making an argument, what kind of evidence does he/she use to support it? Given the subject of the source, is there any relevant topic, evidence, or information that the author neglects to present? (It is often just as useful to note what is not included in a document as to absorb all that is.)

4. What are the limitations of this source as an historical document? Does it add to our knowledge of the period? Does it confirm what you already know about the period? Or does it present contradictory information? How, in the light of the answers to these questions, would you place the source in its historical context?

Do not, of course, in writing your analysis simply answer these questions. The questions are designed to help you think about the source; once you have answered them as well as you can, you should think about what you can learn from the source about the history of the period, organize the material logically and coherently, and then write your paper.

You may consult other sources from the course ??" lectures, readings, etc. ??" but NOT sources outside these materials, e.g., you can not use other books, articles, internet sources, etc.



On “Yugao” (#19, a chapter from the Tale of Genji)

This is a portion of the great novel, the Tale of Genji, written by the Heian court lady Murasaki Shikibu, in the tenth century.

What can we learn of social organization and the nature of social relations in Heian society from this chapter? What standards and values regulated relations between men and women? between members of different classes? What roles did aristocratic men and women play in this society?

What seem to have been the dominant religious beliefs of Heian society?

The Tale of Genji is set at the Heian court; Murasaki, as a court lady, was very close to the center of government. What can we learn of Heian government from this text?

How would you characterize the aesthetics of the Heian court, on the basis of these three
readings? Why were aesthetic judgment and taste so important? What larger
significance did they have?

There are faxes for this order.

Essay Instructions: Primary Sources to use (ONLY): Must be sited using Chicago Manual of Style-- footnotes must be used

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/marx.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robinson-lowell.html

Using the online primary texts, answer the following question in a short paper (3 pages). Begin your paper with an introductory paragraph that includes a thesis statement. The thesis statement must answer one of the questions below. Then, describe in detail the elements from the texts that support your thesis (hint: each supporting detail should have its own paragraph). Finish your paper with a concluding paragraph that summarizes your thesis and main supporting details. Your paper must follow the thesis + supporting details + conclusion formula. Include a separate title page with your name and the course number (the title page does not count as one of the 3 pages). Be concise and to the point!

QUESTION
When Karl Marx wrote about the proletariat, he was referring to the working class men and women who were employed in the new factories which began as a result of the Industrial Revolution. After reading the description of factory conditions for Lowell Mill Girls, read Karl Marx and Frederick Engel’s Communist Manifesto. Did the conditions of the working class, as described by the “Lowell Mill Girls,” influence Marx and Engel’s work? In what ways?

CITATIONS
You must use specific examples from your online readings to support your thesis statement. When you refer to these readings, you must be sure and cite them. Knowing when to cite and when not to cite can be rather tricky. For our purposes in this course, I would prefer that you error on the side of over-citing; therefore, you will never be penalized for too many citations. You will need a citation each time you refer to a specific part of your online readings. NO DIRECT QUOTES! Summarize what the author says in your own words and then give a citation.

Essay Instructions: Primary sources( could be online also)
Secondary sources (couls not be online)
In text citation
Format 12 arial font

Essay Instructions: Subject: Working with the Tacitus text as a HISTORICAL PRIMARY SOURCE Use Agricola

CONTENT: Your paper should address these questions:

This question is particularly important for your paper:
Analyze your Tacitus document as a colonial record, written by the colonizer about the colonized (or about those who could not be colonized). What does the text say about Tacitus? attitudes toward the ?barbarians?? About his attitudes towards Rome? Be specific: cite examples and give page numbers.

Since you are working with a historical primary text (i.e. Tacitus was writing about events that took place during his lifetime) you should also answer the following questions:

Who was the author? What was his point of view (did he have an ?agenda?; who was the intended audience of the text; what might have been the purpose for writing it)? Use your Penguin edition introduction for biographical material on Tacitus.

Whenever possible, crosscheck what you use from Tacitus with your Spielvogel text for relevant history from the period. It is important in this assignment to augment your discussion of Tacitus with historical material from your textbook.

As you read the text, what clues, suggestions do you find in it about the author?s assumptions and opinions. Be specific: cite examples and give page numbers.

What kinds of sources does the author use (the works of earlier writers/historians? Primary sources from participants in the period examined)? How does the author characterize the reliability of his own research/writing? Be specific: cite examples and give page numbers.

What does examination of this primary source contribute to your understanding of the period?

ORGANIZATION and WRITING:
Divide your paper into 3 parts: the Introduction, the body of your discussion and the conclusion. Please avoid direct quotations in such a short paper (1-2 very brief ones are ok). Paraphrase instead of relying on direct quotations.