IDST 255: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies: Primary Sources

This site from the National Archives provides not only access to primary source documents, but also various activities and tools for understanding and using materials in the classroom.

"This resource has been designed for students and scholars of early modern English letters, history, theology, and philosophy--for anyone whose research will embrace original English manuscript sources in this period. "

Information on evaluating primary source materials is provided in this site from the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association.

Provides suggestions to help you read 18th century documents

"... provide strategies for analyzing online primary materials, with interactive exercises and a guide to traditional and online sources. “Scholars in Action” segments show how scholars puzzle out the meaning of different kinds of primary sources, allowing you to try to make sense of a document yourself then providing audio clips in which leading scholars interpret the document and discuss strategies for overall analysis."

Designed primarily as a resource for middle and high school students and teachers, the site contains interactive exercises to aid in the understanding of American History topics from the period of 1880-1920. It helps students in learning to analyze primary source materials, especially visual resources.

This site from the U.K. National Archives provides "online tutorials on Latin and palaeography will help you to read documents from the medieval period and beyond, through practical activities and useful examples."

"This website offers guidance in the deciphering of documents written in handwr​iti​ng styles or alphabets no longer in general use. The tutorials and​ materials gathe​red here are meant to help a varie​ty of people – students, researchers, historians, genealogists, and indexers – learn more about old scripts and how to make use of that knowle​dge to analyze and int​erpret the past. The concentration is on western European scripts, particularly those in use between 1500 and 1800. There is general introductory material about the history of writing and the development ​of different scripts (or hands) as well as extensive, and interactive, language-specific materials. ​"

Provided by the MLA, this site provides access to a collection of articles about primary sources and their use.

Guides to using and analyzing primary sources. Although these were designed for use by teachers in the classroom, the information provided will still help you analyze materials.

"The papers of the author, educator, and political philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) are one of the principal sources for the study of modern intellectual life. Located in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, they constitute a large and diverse collection reflecting a complex career. With over 25,000 items (about 75,000 digital images), the papers contain correspondence, articles, lectures, speeches, book manuscripts, transcripts of Adolf Eichmann's trial proceedings, notes, and printed matter pertaining to Arendt's writings and academic career. The entire collection has been digitized and is available to researchers in reading rooms at the Library of Congress, the New School University in New York City, and the Hannah Arendt Center at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Parts of the collection and the finding aid are available for public access on the Internet. "

"Legislation, regulations, guidance, and other policy documents can be found here for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and other topics.

Please note that in the U.S., the federal role in education is limited. Because of the Tenth Amendment, most education policy is decided at the state and local levels. So, if you have a question about a policy or issue, you may want to check with the relevant organization in your state or school district. "

Copy of the Title IX amendment from the Department of Justice. The site also provides access to additional information such as the Title IX Legal Manual and links to other government agencies with related information.

"In a 7-to-1 decision, the Court held that VMI's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional. Because it failed to show "exceedingly persuasive justification" for VMI's gender-biased admissions policy, Virginia violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. Virginia failed to support its claim that single-sex education contributes to educational diversity because it did not show that VMI's male-only admissions policy was created or maintained in order to further educational diversity. Furthermore, Virginia's VWIL could not offer women the same benefits as VMI offered men. The VWIL would not provide women with the same rigorous military training, faculty, courses, facilities, financial opportunities, or alumni reputation and connections that VMI affords its male cadets. "
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1995/94-1941