Primary Sources

Wednesday September 26, 2012

     Today we discussed different types of sources.  Apparently there are several different degrees of sources such as intentional and unintentional.  An intentional source is something that is created to be used later or to record an event, belief, or opinion.  Intentional sources are things such as court cases.  An unintentional source is something that was create for personal use and the creator did not think that it would later be used as a source.  Unintentional sources can be things like works of art, letters, and diaries.  The diary of Anne Frank is one of the most well-known unintentional sources that almost everyone knows about.
     We also talked about the difference between external and internal sources and how to evaluate the validity of a primary source.  Before deciding to use a source a historian must make sure that they are aware of a few things.  The historian must know some basic information about the author such as how long after an event was the source written, the author's point of view, and the candor.  A historian must also be aware of the audience that the work is supposed to be aimed at.  The intended audience can often explain the use of language.  For example, if an author is writing a book for people who have never been taught about the Great Depression the book will be very basic and will go into details explaining the definitions and key players and events.  Now, if a book was written on the same topic but was aimed at people who primarily study that time period, the book will go into much more detail and it will not explain key terms or definitions because it is assumed that the audience is already familiar and knowledgeable about the topic.
     For today's class we were also supposed to read chapter four of "Doing History."  This chapter directly goes along with what we discussed in class, but in more detail.  The book explains that it is important to identify an author's purpose for writing, their tone and language, and the significance of what the writing is about.  It also talks about evaluating pieces of oral evidence, such as interviews and speeches.  The same things should also be considered (purpose, tone, point of view, author's background), but it should also include why the oral source was produced and why/how it has survived the test of time.  It also focuses on dissecting parts that people play, such as why a person is interviewing another person.  One of the most important things to remember is that you should always try to gain as much information about a source before you use it in your writing because it could actually contradict your argument, or not even be a valid piece of evidence.