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Franklin Research Center - Teaching with Primary Sources

This guide contains modules for remote learning with primary sources held in the Rubenstein Library with collections from the John Hope Franklin Research Center

Introduction

This LibGuide is designed to provide exercises in teaching and learning with primary sources..

A primary source is a document, artifact, or record that provides an unaltered first-hand account of an event or activity created by someone at or near the time the activity took place. They are the everyday pieces of work that can be used better understand the past. While primary sources of today are often electronic or digital in nature: a Word document, an email, video recording, or social media post, the overwhelming majority of primary sources are analog: hand written or in print form. 

Inside each tab one will find a range of digitized primary sources from the Rubenstein Library's collections that document special topics in the history of the African Diaspora. There will be brief descriptions of the documents along with goals and key dates related to each exercise. Lastly, a document analysis worksheet accompanies each lesson with guiding questions and assists with making observations and taking notes.