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HIST 11A Latin American Mobilities (Carrillo): Primary Sources

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are original documents or artifacts created by a person who witnessed or participated in an event. They can be firsthand testimony or evidence created during the time period that you are studying.

Primary sources include these kinds of resources:

  • diaries, autobiographies or memoirs
  • letters, texts, blogs or emails 
  • interviews, oral histories
  • photographs or videos
  • newspaper articles
  • government documents or reports
  • contemporary surveys or opinion polls
  • movies, poems, novels, plays, art and music

You can find Primary sources in a lot of different places, both online and in person.  

Below are the slides from Monica Keane, Archives and Special Collections librarian, which will help you understand Primary sources and where to find them.  Also check out the Archives and Special Collections tab in this guide.

Slides from the Primary Source presentation