History 474 Dr. Weissfall 2023 Primary Source Analysis

History 474dr Weissfall 2023primary Source Analysisyou Will Prepar

History 474 Dr. Weiss Fall 2023 Primary Source Analysis: You will prepare two primary source analyses over the course of the semester. There are two purposes for this assignment. First, it will improve your critical thinking skills. Second, it will provide you with the experience of being a historian. Both align with the learning outcomes for this class.

Primary sources are the tools of history. Interpreting them is what we, as students of history--that is historians--do. Unfamiliar with the term primary source? That’s understandable! It’s a term historians use to talk about sources from the time (primary), sources by historians, usually written at a later time period (secondary), and in textbooks and encyclopedias (tertiary).

This assignment puts you in the role of the historian, rather than learning the history from an historian’s interpretation (secondary or tertiary). Here’s a video to help clarify the differences between the types of sources. Note that primary sources are often referred to as “documents.” That is how the primary sources are identified in the Women and Social Movements database. A primary source analysis (PSA) has four components, described below. After reading the primary source and discussing it in the forum with your peers, create brief answers to the following questions.

Note, you may choose a primary source from any week up to and including the week the PSA is due. Do a different primary source for the second PSA.

1. What is the primary source? Who is speaking/painting/drawing/writing? When and where is it from? What are some distinguishing features of the primary source? Help us ‘see’ it. Be specific. (Describe/Identify!)

2. What is the topic and overall content of the primary source? (Provide a general description.) What is this primary source about? What does it ‘say’? (Summarize!)

3. What is the theme of the primary source? Its point? To answer this question, consider the following: Does it put forth a unique point of view? Does it contain an argument for or against something? If it's a transcript of a conversation, what is the consensus? If it is a letter, what does it show about American women at that time? What are the opposing views expressed? Here you want to pay attention not just to what the primary source is about (as in question 2) but what the primary source’s writers, speakers, or producers were attempting to accomplish. Here is your chance to be a skeptic, to think about the reliability, the objectivity of the author(s) of an artifact of history. To make an informed assessment you will read other assigned primary sources and articles and watch the weekly lecture video and apply them in your assessment. (Assess!)

4. What is the historical significance (to US Women’s History) of the primary source? What does it help us to understand about a particular event, person, group, or time/era? Here it will help you to think a bit about what US women’s history events or developments or concepts led to the creation of this document or what events or developments this primary source set in motion or what it teaches us about its time (with regard to women’s rights, experiences and or gender roles). The other readings and the video lecture are helpful here. The result should be specific to the primary source and its context and time period.

Take care not to include a ‘cheerleader’ significance that could be said about many primary sources such as ‘trail blazing’ or “first woman to" (which is actually often not true). Stay away from ‘inspiration’ and ‘hero’ too as these are all often substitutes for analysis (not intentionally, but they make us feel we’ve done the historical analysis when we haven’t). (Analyze!) This guide is your "instruction sheet" for writing the Primary Source Analysis assignments. Questions in earlier discussion forums have helped you prepare for this assignment. Thinking about the primary sources we read this way will also help you learn to focus on what is important (not getting lost in a sea of words and facts) as you read on your own.

Remember, the four components are: 1.Description: Identify & Describe 2. Topic/Content--Summarize. 3. Theme/Argument/Viewpoint--Assess 4. Historical Significance/Importance--Analyze. You may wish to outline or create headings from the nouns listed above.

Then use the verbs (describe, summarize, assess, and analyze), as a self-check tool: have you done each? Do not number the sections of your assignment. Instead, dive into a discussion of the primary source that discusses the four components but does so in a brief essay format (1-2 pages). Use full sentences. For 1, be sure to provide a rich description of the primary source. Don’t just repeat the title. Assume an audience that knows something about the time period, but little about the specific primary source. Use brief quotes to back up your interpretations for 2 and 3. Be sure to identify clearly the primary source you are analyzing. You won’t need more than four paragraphs and if you are concise, may get the job done in 3.

And, remember to analyze (4). A rubric is also available. Students who wish to consider historical connections with some background reading in US Women’s history may read relevant chapters in Susan Ware’s American Women’s History: A Short Introduction. Here is the National Archives page on “document” or ‘primary source’ analysis.

Paper For Above instruction

The primary source analysis (PSA) is a fundamental exercise in historical methodology, designed to develop students’ skills in interpreting and contextualizing historical documents related to US women’s history. Through this assignment, students assume the role of a historian, critically engaging with the source to uncover its meaning, significance, and the perspectives it reveals about women’s experiences in a particular historical period.

To effectively analyze a primary source, students must systematically address four key components: description, topic/content, theme/argument, and historical significance. The description involves a detailed visual or contextual portrayal of the source—identifying who created it, when and where, and its physical or stylistic features. The topic or content summarization provides a clear overview of what the source communicates or depicts, helping to situate it within its historical context.

Assessment of the theme or argument requires students to decipher the primary source’s underlying message, perspective, or intended purpose. This involves critical thinking about the author's voice, possible biases, and the point they are trying to make, which may include evaluating opposing views or broader social debates reflected in the document.

Analyzing the historical significance involves connecting the source to larger developments within US women’s history. Students should consider how the document illuminates women's experiences, rights, gender roles, or social movements of its time, and what broader implications it might have for understanding historical change or continuity regarding women in the United States.

This process enhances skills in close reading, critical thinking, and contextual analysis, all essential to graduate-level history. The assignment encourages students to look beyond surface details and uncover the deeper meanings that primary sources reveal about the past and about gendered experiences in American history.

References

• Freedman, R. O. (2003). Women and Social Movements in the United States. University of Illinois Press.
• Ware, S. (2018). American Women’s History: A Short Introduction. Bedford/St. Martin's.
• Himmelstein, J. L. (1994). The Women’s Revolution in America, 1800-1860. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Gordon, L. (1990). Woman’s Body, Woman’s Voice: Selections from the Women’s Movement. Rutgers University Press.
• Sklar, K. (2010). Theflash of the Spirit: The Good Woman in American Life. Beacon Press.
• Whitney, L. (1998). American Women in the Civil War. New York: Dover Publications.
• Enstad, N. (2012). Ladies, Women, and Women’s Work: The Turn of the Century. University of Chicago Press.
• Yellin, J. (2005). Fallen Women and the Search for Justice. Oxford University Press.
• DuBois, E. C. (1998). Woman Suffrage and the Power of Politics. Cornell University Press.
• National Archives. (n.d.). Primary Source Analysis. https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/primary-sources