HOW TO READ A PRIMARY SOURCE TEXT
Throughout this course we will be reading a
number of primary source texts. These texts will form the core
of our evidence for learning about past cultures. There are some
basic skills you need to have before you begin analyzing this
textual evidence. These basic reading skills can be broken down
as the 'Five W's' -- Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
The
first, "Who", is not always easy to discover, particularly
as we go further and further into the past. Knowing who the author
of a text was is important for understanding the remaining questions.
For example, if you read something written by a taxi cab driver
and something by a bus driver about traffic in New York you will
have two different accounts of the same idea. Or, a man writing
about how the end of his relationship with his girlfriend will
probably not give the same story as a woman writing about the
end of the same relationship. Keep in mind that every writer has
a built in bias, a particular way of viewing the world and events.
Once
you know who wrote the text, the next stage is to determine what
does the text say. At first this has to be literal. You have to
understand the language and the words. You should always have
a dictionary nearby when reading these primary sources. If you
don't understand the words how can you possibly understand what
the writer wants to tell you?! Knowing what the text says, literally,
you can begin to ask other questions of the text and begin to
interpret it. For example, if I write that someone was killed,
am I saying the same thing if I write that they were murdered
or assassinated? The person is dead; that is the literaly meaning.
The next level is to ask how and for what reason this person died.
The
next question to ask is when was this written and timing is everything
in life. For example, if I had written in October of 1996 (as
Charlie Hayes is about the catch the final out) that the New York
Yankees are going to win the World Series. Is that very different
from writing the same thing in April of 1996 (as David Cone throws
his first pitch)? Haven't I said the same thing? Or is one a prediction
of events and the other a statement of fact?
The
next question to ask is where was this written. An account of
prison written by a doctor in Beverly Hills might be different
from one written by someone in Rikers Island Jail. The where is
also a clue to the language and the way that words were used in
the past as dialects change. At one point the phrase
"to be stoned" meant that someone was being punished
by the community by having rocks and stones thrown at them; nowadays
the meaning is very different.
Finally you need
to ask yourself why did this person write this text. What is the
point? Was the person only trying to convey information? To get
your vote in an election? To have you fall in love with them?
To persuade you to act in a certain way?
Keep these questions in mind as you read the primary sources, but also as you read the textbook.