In this assignment, you will closely analyze a primary source document in an attempt
to understand the period in which it first appeared and the attitudes toward
women and women’s activism expressed in the document.
Primary
sources are the raw materials historians use to understand
and interpret the past. The primary sources
we will examine in this course and in this assignment are texts and images
(letters, newspaper articles, journal entries, political cartoons,
advertisements, etc.) produced by people in the past. These afford us unique evidence of and
perspectives on the past.
Use the documents provided. Examine it carefully, and write a short paper (typed,
double-spaced) analyzing the content of the document. When you read (or look at) the document
considers the following:
1. Who is the author? How does this influence the perspective
expressed by the document? What does the document reveal about the author?
2. When was the document
created? Does this help to explain any
aspects of the document? Does the
document reveal anything about women and/or women’s activism in the period?
3. What was the original purpose
of the document? Do you feel that the producer of the document accomplished
his/her purpose? Why or why not?
4. What does the document reveal
about attitudes toward women at the time it was written? Try to explain the
reasons for those attitudes.
Do not be concerned if the document addresses a time period or subject
that we haven’t fully explored in the course.
What is most important is how sensitive you are to the historical
evidence and how well you probe the document for a glimpse of the past.
If you make a conjecture and support it with evidence from the document
and the conjecture, as a result, makes sense, you will be given credit for this
(even if the conjecture turns out to be false).
Don’t simply answer the questions listed above. Your document analysis must be
in proper essay form, and must have coherence and unity. It
must include an introductory
paragraph, a clear and focussed thesis, strong supporting paragraphs and a
meaningful conclusion.
In order to establish a persuasive and
well-supported analysis, you must make clear, specific references to the
document throughout your paper. You
must document all references using Chicago style format. Be
sure to provide footnotes (or endnotes) for ALL references to the document.
You are not expected to
do any outside reading in order to analyze the document. If you use any secondary
sources (e.g., scholarly articles from academic journals or books), these must
be thoroughly referenced in your paper.
Document Analyses will be submitted in hard
copy on their respective due dates at the
beginning of the class.
Notes on Document Analysis:
Document Analysis is
worth 20% of your final grade. It must
be 750 – 1000 words in length or 3-4 pages).
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