Primary source for use in analysis:
transcript from Doña Maria’s story found in Daniel James. Doña Maria’s Story: Life, History, Memory, and Political Identity. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001) pgs.
In a primary source analysis the goal is to understand not just what a document says but also why it says it. To do this well you need to understand how a document was created, the background of the person who wrote it, and the motivations of the author to create it. This is not always straightforward. You need to use context clues in the text and in the known historical record to help build a history of the document as well its author. After you have broken down those details then you can re-read the content of the document in new ways. Silences can become as important as statements in this process. For all primary source assignments you will conduct a basic primary source breakdown before answering questions about the content of the documents.
*In the following steps you should use well edited language and footnote citations to indicate any outside sources used to analyze these primary sources. As a reminder a footnote is needed whenever you quote another source, use facts or data from a source that are not common knowledge, or paraphrase another author’s ideas.
Step 1: Primary Source Breakdown
For step one address the following questions in 2-3 well constructed paragraph(s) detailing the historical context of the document and its author:
When was this document written? What is the most important political, social, cultural, or economic history surrounding the creation of the document? What do you need to know from the unit to better understand this piece of writing?
Who was the author of this document? What was this individual’s social, cultural, political, and/or economic position within society?
What biases/limitations/or choices does the author make in the document that limit or skew the content of the source?
Step 2: Primary Source Reading
For step two you need to address the following questions regarding the content of the document(s) in 2-3 well written paragraphs:
What are at least 2 principle purposes/uses/or main points in this document? One can be relatively obvious and the second may be more obscure or unintended by the author.
How does this document build on/change/or challenge the history covered in the rest of this unit?
What would be the best use for this document in terms of analysis? Is this a document that would allow you to conduct economic, political, social, cultural, or some combination of these four types of analysis? Be specific about the types of analysis and the evidence that you would use from this document.
