What previous historical arguments or interpretations is the author trying to refute or expand upon?

This assignment will be a two part.

There will be two primary sources to read and write on, and two secondary sources. Below is some information about what is asked of the assignment.
Please separate each source with the title name that the document will be labled as.

Primary Source 1 : Interview with Juan Loza
Secondary Source 1 : A Town Full of Dead Mexicans: The Salinas Valley Bracero Tragedy of 1963, the End of the Bracero Program, and the Evolution of California Chicano Movement

Primary Source 2 : “Boycott for Democracy” Poster
Secondary Source 2 : Chapter Twenty-Six A Generation of Leaders, but Not in the Fields The Legacy of Cesar Chavez

Purpose: This reading practice exercise is to encourage a daily and weekly habit of reading. Reading is essential to the discipline of studying and writing history.

Goal: To learn how to read like a historian.

Task: Write a one-page reading practice on one secondary source and one primary source from the readings due today. I recommend writing one paragraph on the secondary source and one paragraph on the primary source. Please write in full sentences and identify the authors by their names.

Content: Answer the guiding questions that are applicable:

How to Read a Secondary Source:

Understand the author’s argument. What is the author’s thesis? What previous historical arguments or interpretations is the author trying to refute or expand upon?
Understand the context in which the historian was writing. Does the historian’s time period have bearing on her interpretations? Does the historian’s geographical location have an influence on his work? Does the historian subscribe to a particular school of thought or methodology?
Understand the sources used. All history is based on primary sources. How deep and well-rounded is the body of sources the author used? If the sources were all written from one point of view, for example, this weakens any argument that the historian can make.

How to Read a Primary Source:

Who is the author and what is the author’s place in society (explain why you are justified in thinking so)?
Why do you think the author wrote it?
Does the author have a thesis? What is that thesis?
What is the intended audience of the text?
How might this text support one of the arguments found in secondary sources you’ve read?

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