Introduction to Primary Sources
Short Response
Historians study the past in two ways: using primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources consist of artifacts (like textbooks, journals, paintings, statues etc.) written outside the time period of study. A secondary usually relates or discusses information that was presented elsewhere. A perfect example of this is your text book. Your textbook (in this history class) is relating information from a wide variety of different sources and different periods in order to present you with information.
A primary source, however, is an artifact or piece of information with direct knowledge, information, or depiction created by a person who lived through or experienced the time period or event we are studying. Prime examples of primary sources include journals written in the time period of study, statues, paintings, music, receipts, etc. Primary sources are the main way historians recreate the past.
In this assignment, you will get your first taste of using primary sources like an historian.
In this assignment, you will:
Respond to the following questions in a fully developed essay (one containing an intro with a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and conclusion).
The paper must be NO MORE THAN 2 pages.
It must be in MLA formatting. If you do not know what MLA formatting is, go to https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html for a brief introduction.
You DO NOT need to use outside sources. In this assignment, you will read the documents below and then formulate your essay based on your answers to the questions that follow.
This assignment is worth 6 points total.
You can view the rubric under the turn-it in assignment.
This the questions you will answer in your short response #1:
- What role does Islam seem to play in 14th century Mali? How does this compare to Islam’s role in Ghana from the previous source in the 11th century?
NOTE: You will use your interpretations of the documents below to help you answer this question.