Overview
To learn about history, we read, watch, and listen to stories about those events. Historical inquiry is a process of investigating and examining sources by asking questions. Using a historical inquiry strategy allows us to interpret what the source tells us about the historical event. A historical inquiry strategy promotes critical thinking and questioning—critical skills for historians to have. SCIM-C is one strategy for doing historical inquiry of artifacts.
Directions
Use the SCIM-C approach to complete a historical inquiry of the following sources related to a historical event. This strategy uses a five-step process to determine what artifacts can tell us about a historical event. The steps are based on what you observe about the artifact and what you read in secondary sources. In Part One, steps 1 through 4 (Summarize, Contextualize, Infer, and Monitor) are used to analyze single artifacts. Part Two, step 5 (Corroborate) compares the analyses to develop a historical interpretation of multiple artifacts related to the event.
Event: World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893, Chicago, Illinois
Artifact A: Photograph of large Ferris wheel at the World’s Columbian Exposition [Chicago, Ill.] digital file from original
Artifact B: Image 200 – Image 201 of “The Best Things to Be Seen at the World’s Fair”
Artifact C: Image 112 – Image 116 of Six Months at the World’s Fair
Secondary Source: “First Ferris Wheel Designed for 1893 World’s Fair”
Secondary Source: “’Sell the Cookstove if Necessary, But Come to the Fair’”
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
PART ONE: SUMMARIZE, CONTEXTUALIZE, INFER, AND MONITOR (RESPOND FOR EACH OF THE THREE ARTIFACTS)
Summarizing
What type of artifact is it?
What is the subject matter or purpose?
Who is the author or creator?
Who is the audience or user?
Contextualizing
When was the artifact created or used?
Where was the artifact created or used?
What was happening in that part of the world?
What happened at the time the artifact was created or in the time period leading up to it?
Inferring
Whose perspectives or points of view does the artifact represent?
Whose perspectives or points of view does the artifact leave out?
What biases does the artifact represent?
What else does the artifact tell you about the event/subject beyond the basic facts?
How does this artifact emphasize an element of the event/subject that is relevant to issues today?
Monitoring
Check your work in steps 1, 2, and 3.
What questions and answers in the previous steps need to be re-examined and revised to more fully analyze the artifact?
How useful is this artifact for representing the event/ subject?
What information from other sources is needed to develop a historical narrative about the event/subject?
PART TWO: CORROBORATE ARTIFACTS A, B, AND C
Corroborating
What are the similarities between the artifacts?
What are the differences between the artifacts?
What is significant or meaningful about these similarities and differences?
What biases appear in comparing the different perspectives and points of view?
Are there any gaps in the evidence?
Are there any contradictions?
Is any additional research needed to clear up the contradictions and fill the gaps?
What to Submit
Use the Module Six Historical Inquiry Strategy SCIM-C Template to complete this assignment. Sources should be cited according to APA style.
Although Brightspace allows the addition of video notes in assignment submissions, you may not use the Video Note tool to complete this assignment.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/ds.14185/
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.bestthingstobese00flin/?sp=200
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.sixmonthsatworld00stev/?sp=112&st=image
https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=nhc_main&id=GALE|A130052319&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-ITOF&asid=53d595b9
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=211b4418-e3e8-4d94-b83e-3cc0236f0aaf%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=9305270526&db=khh
