Topics and Questions We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

Directions

1.    Go to a Web site that provides your primary text source, Jacob Riis (1890) How the other Half Lives: 
•    https://archive.org/details/howotherhalfliv00riisgoog
•    http://tenant.net/Community/Riis/contents.html
2.    Pick two chapters you find interesting and read them closely, taking notes that include the page numbers of text you will want to refer back to when conducting your analysis of this primary text.
3.    Analyze the text by drawing upon your knowledge of the period from the class readings, lectures and discussions. When analyzing the source itself, consider the questions below (adapted from Carleton College History Department, “How to Analyze a Primary Source”). You cannot answer all of these questions, but they should inform your analysis—these are the types of questions you should be exploring:

•    What is the purpose of the source? What are the goals of the author?
•    How does the author try to get the message across? What methods does he/she use?
•    What do you know about the author’s identity? Race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, region, political beliefs? Does any of this matter? How?
•    Who constituted the intended audience? Was this source meant for one person's eyes, or for the public? How does that affect the source?
•    What can a careful reading of the text tell you? How does the language work? What are the important metaphors or symbols? What can the author's choice of words tell you? What about the silences--what does the author choose NOT to talk about?
•    Does the source tell you what the author wanted to happen? Or does it describe what the author perceived?
•    Does it describe beliefs? Behavior?
•    Does the source tell you about the beliefs/actions of the elite, or of "ordinary" people? From whose perspective is it written?
•    What historical questions might you answer using this source? What are the benefits of using this kind of source?
•    What questions can this source NOT help you answer? What are the limitations of this type of source?
4.    Your paper should be approximately 500 words (typed, double-spaced) and will not include bibliography or footnotes (since we are all using the same source). However, you should:
•    include the author’s name, the title of the book, and the date of publication in the first paragraph of your analysis
•    be careful not to plagiarize on this assignment, as described on the course syllabus. Use your own words and ideas. Trust your own judgment. 
5.    Citation should be as follows:
•    If using the source from https://archive.org/details/howotherhalfliv00riisgoog/page/n28, ensure you refer to the relevant page number within the text of your essay (for example, 98). The page numbers can be found in the top left-hand side and right-side of the text.
•    If using the source from http://tenant.net/Community/Riis/contents.html, read “About the Hypertext Edition” which tells you how to cite when using the hypertext source (chapter and paragraph number). 
6.    Save your assignment in the format FirstnameLastname-AssignmentClass.docx. For example, JohnSmithAssignment1HIST2112.docx.
7.    Submit the paper using the Dropbox tool’s folder named “Assignment 1: Primary Source Analysis.” Refer to the Course Schedule for due date.