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AFAM 205 | Survey of Race & Culture in Ethnic Lit

What's a primary source?

Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information.  Scholars analyze primary sources in order to answer research questions. Examples of primary sources vary by discipline.

Examples in the humanities:

  • a novel
  • a painting
  • a theatre performance

Examples in the social sciences:

  • a political, social, or economic theory
  • a dataset
  • the results of an experiment published in a peer-reviewed journal

Example in the sciences:

  • the results of an experiment published in a peer-reviewed journal

Historical Newspapers

Further sources for advertisements

Databases

Collaborative Bibliography

Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections, African American Studies

The Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes available primary source material documenting life at the University as well as collections representing regional, national and international issues. 

A small selection of material is listed below.

Regester and students in Johnston's Negro in U.S. History class, 1949United States Commission on Civil Rights, School desegregation in Tacoma, Washington: a staff report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1979.

The Black Panther, vol. III, no. 21, September 13, 1969: Black community news service.

Racist Stereotypes of African Americans (1902) - A chromolithographic embossed die cut print.

Sligh, Clarissa T., It wasn't Little Rock, 2005. (artist book)

Meador, Clifton, Long slow march, 1996. (artist book)

Bills of Sale for the Purchase of Slaves, 1835, 1837, 1845.

The Abby Williams Hill papers, 1880s-1930s, document the life and work of this female painter and social activist in the early 20th century.  Hill was especially interested in early education and documented her visit to the Tuskegee Institute and her interactions with Booker T. Washington (1901-1902).

The Archives & Special Collections holds a wide range of material documenting life at the University of Puget Sound; including photographs, Trail articles, and student and administrative papers.  A small selection of digitized material is available online.

Photo Credit: Regester and students in Johnston's Negro in U.S. History class, 1949 from A Sound Past