Exploring Primary Sources: Four Days in May: The Vietnam War Experience at UK

If you wish to complete this exercise online, split your students into four equal groups. Each group will work with one of the primary sources regarding the Vietnam War protests on campus in May 1970. Each tab contains a different primary source, background information to help students better understand the document, and questions to answer as a group. Each group should be assigned one tab or document and be allowed 15-20 minutes to read through the source, make notes, and answer the questions. The exercise will culminate in an overall discussion where each group responds to the questions and fits their primary source into the larger context of what actually went on during these events.

This allows students to not only work in groups and to learn more about these events, but to better understand the context and biases that are involved when doing research with primary sources. Each primary source document will represent a different point of view, was created for a different audience, and will contain underlying clues as to the motivations and prejudices of the group that created it. Focus on these learning outcomes throughout the exercise:

• Bias: Every primary source inherits the flaws of its creator. Unlike secondary sources, these do not go through extensive peer review. Encourage your students to understand whose perspective is being expressed and why.
• Audience: Each of these primary sources was created with a different audience in mind. Prompt your students to focus on who would be reading or hearing each piece. This will help them to make connections about bias and the purpose behind the documents.
• Curiosity: Encourage your students to look beyond these questions or documents. What resources online can they find related to these topics? What else do they reveal about the events surrounding the Vietnam War, student protests, or other related topics? Allow your students to take advantage of the tools available to them.

This is an outstanding introduction to primary source research, and the scaffolding approach of layering different views and perspectives should show your students the intricacies and necessary care when doing this kind of work. For more information or to schedule an in-person class visit to the Special Collections Research Center, please contact Matthew Strandmark using the button on the Home tab.

1. Brainstorm. List 10-20 words or phrases about the documents/items. (Start with the details of the documents, like topic, names, publication, etc. What do you find interesting? Strange? Do you find anything appealing or disturbing? Things you don’t understand or are unfamiliar with?)
2. Articulating Problems. Formulate 2-4 possible problems that could be developed from the above list of words and description of materials. (Problems can be found by looking for tensions between ideas, conflicts between your own experience and what the text/image presents, assumptions underlying the arguments of the text/item, or if you notice any gaps or missing information overlooked by the source).
3. Posing Fruitful Questions. List 2-4 open-ended questions for one problem that could lead to more in-depth research.
4. What is at Stake? Thinking about the description, brainstorming list, problems, and questions, write 2-5 sentences answering the following: So what? Why does this matter? Why would someone care about this topic and why?