What is a Primary Source?
- a primary document is a from a specific moment in time
- from a specific point of view
- in a stable format
Locating primary sources
- Discover what sources you might need (begin with secondary)
- Use appropriate databases to locate these sources
- use terms on the web like archive, digital collection.
Working with sources requires
- To understand who made the sourc
- understnad how it was made
- why it was made
- when it was mayde
- where it was made
Searching for the right source
- Understand your purpose (paper, project, display, exhibit)
- locate appropriate sources that answer your research questions
- access appropriate sources.
Archival History Research
“A manuscript collection is not a file of information. It is the fragmentary expressions of life, and unless these expressions are impinged against the background of other evidences of life, the archival, business, social and printed record, they cannot be altogether enlightening.” Garrison, american archivist, 1938, 105.
This quote is interesting. How do we teach the understanding of these “fragmentary expressions of life”
This is an early SAA article and has litte to do with instruction. It like much early arcticlial discussion focuses on big issues of arrangement and description. Specifically it contends that a manuscript collection maynot be archives, but it must be handled using archivial princples to better under stand it. The author contends that these are basically not archivial records. Laugh riot… But he’s quote is quite interesting in a literary sense. Espeically when taken out of context.
Proposal Text
Focus on engaged learning and how it can impact instructing students on the use of archivial material. Specifically focus on certian outcomes to assess this impact. Outcomes can include
- Archival Intelligence
- Historical Knowledge
- Artifactual knowledge
- basic information literacy skills
What are the best ways to approach teaching this information. (using pedagogies that work, tying into unique pedagogies, constant discussion with professor)
Focus on the needs of the student not the collections.