Humanities Homework Help
SMC World History Primary Source Analysis Discussion
locate three primary sources that document (textual), capture (photographs), or recount (oral histories) experiences similar to those in the novel. While you can locate primary sources only about Canada, if you manage to identify and analyze two from Canada and one from another part of the globe in a manner that meets the criteria below. Resources for Locating Primary Sources:
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives (Canada).
Once you have located three primary sources, you will write a short primary source analysis that draws upon the experiences in the three different pieces of evidence and compare them to similar examples from Five Little Indians.
- To do this, it will be helpful for you to consider the Three Cs that we have been practicing in both lectures and sections: context, content, and consequences. Keep in mind — and this is important — you will not be able to address ALL of the questions below. Instead, they are designed to help you develop things to write about or consider if you are struggling with where to begin. They are a guide, not a template.
Context: This is the historical situation in which the archival source was produced. You should
be thinking about some of the following questions to explain a source’s context.
Who created the source? (I.e. Gender, Race, Class, Occupation, Age, Sexuality, Status, etc.)
What are some examples from the source that tell you about the creator? (i.e. words they use,
phrases, tone, etc.).
Why was the source created?
- What was its purpose?
- What else was happening at this time, historically?
- Content: These are direct examples of things that you learn from the source.
- How is the source organized?
- What kind of source is it?
- What are the main terms and/or ideas in the source?
How is it structured? How does this shape content?
What is its function? How does this shape content?
- Historical Consequences: The ways this source is used to make an argument. Be sure to remind yourself of what you know about the historical consequences of the subject being examined in the source.
- What impact did this source have on society at the time?
- What historical changes does it represent? Continuity?
- How does it help us better understand the past?
- How did you come to your conclusions
