Today’s Goals
- Identify some functions of the oral tradition and be able to discuss its similarities and differences with the written historical traditions of Western civilization
- Know the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
- Build knowledge about the Trail of Tears by examining multiple historical sources
Ceremony
by Leslie Marmon Silko
I will tell you something about stories,
[he said]
They aren't just for entertainment.
Don't be fooled
They are all we have, you see,
all we have to fight off illness and death.
You don't have anything
if you don't have the stories.
Their evil is mighty
but it can't stand up to our stories.
So they try to destroy the stories
let the stories be confused or forgotten
They would like that
They would be happy
Because we would be defenseless then.
He rubbed his belly
I keep them here
[he said]
Here, put your hand on it
See, it is moving
There is life here
For the people.
And in the belly of this story
The rituals and the ceremony
are still growing.
Re-establish Comp
Books: Start from the top!
Starter 1.6: Interpret the poem. Make a claim about its meaning and discuss where you see your interpretation in the language.
Small group
discussion: Answer yesterday’s
questions on a shared Google doc. Make
sure all names are on the doc. Share
with me.
- What are the similarities and differences between the oral tradition and written history?
- What functions does the oral tradition serve beyond the documentation of the past?
- In your opinion, is written history more objective than oral history? Can we view oral histories as “reliable sources”?
A primary source is a document or physical object which was written
or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an
experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
Some types of primary sources
include:
- ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or
translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters,
interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records
- CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama,
novels, music, art
- RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery,
furniture, clothing, buildings
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. They are written by someone who did not participate or witness the event (second-hand), often later in time. Secondary sources often reflect the bias of the author.
Some types of secondary sources
include:
- Books, magazine articles,
histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias, encyclopedias and
textbooks (although these last two are also sometimes considered tertiary…)
A tertiary
source is an index and/or textual consolidation of primary and secondary
sources. We generally don’t use them for academic research
except to get background info and locate primary and secondary sources.
Some types of tertiary sources include:
- Almanacs, chronologies, bibliographies
- Wikipedia and other encyclopedias, textbooks (These are also considered secondary. Why?)
- How do we characterize Wikipedia's tone? How are encyclopedias both tertiary and primary?
- What do we notice about the discourse?
- What perspective or bias does the author seem to have about the history?
- What perspectives could be missing?
- What questions does it leave you with?
Primary: Historical Documents