Instruction Services

Teaching with historical primary sources and rare secondary sources

Our instruction services include

• An introduction to archives and special collections and instruction on how to find and use our materials.
• Collaboration with us to design assignments and projects using primary sources.
• Activities in which students observe, analyze, and interpret primary sources.
• Guided discussions about a selected set of materials related to the course topic or theme.
  

We are delighted to collaborate on designing in-person, hybrid, or virtual sessions with Clarke Historical Library materials that will best fit your learning goals and student level. From a “show and tell” introduction to special collections to hands-on, experiential learning with selected historical materials, we are available to work with you to curate a group of relevant materials, formulate learning objectives, design in-class activities and take-home assignments.

Primary source research encourages students to develop a range of skills, both academic and personal. By engaging with primary sources, students begin to  

• Research, analyze, and synthesize types of information and sources.
• Think critically and connect documents to their larger context of meaning.
• Relate to history on a personal level.
• Engage with history as complex, uncertain, and contradictory.