HISTORICAL SOURCES
AN APPROACH TO SOURCES
Historical sources are varied and may include things from any of the other categories as well as artefacts, architecture, etc. The difference here is in how these sources are considered within the specific context of their creation, e.g. you could perform a visual analysis on a piece of propaganda from World War 2 that considered the representation, use of colour, and content, but if you considered this as an historic source, you’d be more interested in what this suggested about what was happening at the time and how this influenced it/ was influenced by it.
SESSION MATERIALS
After the taught session on Historical Analysis, you'll be able to find session materials on Moodle. There's also a brief overview video here: Historical Analysis
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
Read through the whole text and make sure that you understand everything. Check word meaning using the Oxford English Dictionary if you are unsure.
Do not simply describe what the source is saying, you need to analyse it.
Remember the “Who, What, Why, Where, When” questions.
Does your wider reading support the source, or say something different? What is the significance of this?
Make sure that you explain how this source is linked to your essay.
EXTRA RESOURCES
Cambridge's History Guide to Sources: https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/getting-started-reading-primary-sources
Historical Association Guide - Using Historical Sources: https://www.history.org.uk/student/resource/3211/using-historical-sources
Edge Hill Resources:
Images as Historical Sources: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/histlearn/resources/images-historical-sources/
Literature as Historical Source: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/histlearn/resources/historical-source/