Finding Primary Resources - Part II (Humanities)

'Primary material' can mean different things depending on your discipline. An earlier post covered primary materials in the social sciences; this one will focus on the humanities.

In the history field, primarily material generally refers to material created by an individual who lived through or witnessed a particular event. It could be a book written during the period/event, diaries, letters, photographs, etc. For example, a diary or letter written during the war by a soldier in WWII would be considered primary material. It could be published as an entity itself, or be included in a book on the topic (e.g. letters included in a general book on WWII).

In literature, a primary resource is the book, poem, play or short story. For example, Shakespeare's Hamlet is the primary item, while a book or article talking about the play is considered a secondary resource.

When searching for primary resources in the humanities, add terms like 'diaries', 'personal narratives' or 'correspondence' to your keyword search. For more information, see Trent's help section on primary materials.