Presentation of Primary Source – CHST540 DA0

In this assignment, you will examine a primary source and present the analysis of your source
in the form of a presentation. The purpose of this assignment is for you to engage with a
historical primary source and present on the historical importance of this source to your
classmates. This presentation will be uploaded to the appropriate folder, and shared with your
classmates. In this way, your classmates will be able to learn about the primary historical
source from you. Choose a primary source (see list below).
1. Take some time to examine this source thoroughly.
2. Provide an analysis of the primary source (see the Analysis: Part I below).
3. Present your analysis in the form of a presentation. Here, you can get creative—this can
be in a form of a video, PowerPoint/Prezi presentation (with voiceover), or any relevant
visual online platform. If you have any questions, please reach out to me.
Presentation Requirements:
1. Presentation shall be NO LONGER THAN 10 minutes.
2. Submit your presentation to the appropriate folder. (Depending on the size of your file, you
may need to upload it to your Ryerson Google Drive and share the link to the appropriate
folder. Make sure that you enable the appropriate restrictions so that the file can be
watched but not downloaded. For more information about posting to Google Drive go to
Share audio and video using Google Drive – Toolbox – Digital Media Projects – Ryerson
University.)
3. Provide a short written abstract that introduces your topic/primary source and which can
be submitted with your presentation.
4. Submit a copy of the text of your presentation and bibliography.
Your presentation will be based on the following questions listed below. Not all questions may
apply to your source. You may have to do a little research to provide a historical context for
your source. Keep in mind the value of this source as a historical source and what we can
learn from it.
The Analysis: Part I
Primary sources are materials—documents, objects, videos, etc.—that originate in or near the
time period under study. Primary sources are the foundation of the majority of a historian’s
work. Each primary source must be considered on its own terms. This means that you need to
take under consideration the author, purpose of the document, and its audience. The simplest
approach to a Primary Source Analysis is to follow the “question” model. Please note that not
every question will have an answer, and sometimes the answers will overlap between
questions.
WHO?
Who wrote the document? What do you know or can find out about the author? How does the
author’s background impact their point of view? Was the author personally involved in, or
affected by, the events discussed in the document? Or what can we learn about the author from
the document—what can we infer about the author’s values or outlook on the basis of the
document?