GUIDELINES FOR KUSMER ‘FOOTNOTE CHASE’ ASSIGNMENT

Your final fall-term assignment, a 3-5 page essay due in class on December 1, provides an opportunity to engage in historical research by finding and interpreting a primary source and evaluating its use in an historical monograph. Being an historian is like being a detective; we both have to figure out what happened in the past from partial and problematic clues. The historian’s task is especially difficult when the subjects – in this case, the homeless – did not leave their own written records. Yet finding good clues is only half the battle. Historians, like detectives, must interpret our clues correctly – and take care not to be misled by faulty assumptions or interpretive frameworks. Whenever we evaluate a work of historical scholarship, then, we must also evaluate the historian’s choice -- and interpretation -- of sources.

For this assignment, choose one or more footnotes from Kenneth Kusmer’s Down and Out, On the Road and “chase them down” by finding and analyzing the original source(s). If the footnote cites a recent work by an historian, look up that work and chase its footnote down -- or move onto a different citation in Kusmer until you're looking at a primary source produced before 1950. Many of the primary sources cited in Kusmer’s book are in Scott Library; others are available at the Toronto Reference Library, at the University of Toronto or online. You should be able to locate an interesting source without too much difficulty, as long as you allow enough time.

Once you have located the source(s) and made sure that it is a primary source produced before 1950, study it carefully. Then decide if you agree with the way Kusmer has used and interpreted it. Follow the guidelines in “How to Analyze a Primary Source.” Ask yourself: What kind of source is it? Who wrote it, and for what purpose? Who was the intended audience? Is the source typical or atypical of the writer/journal/genre? Does it support Kusmer’s argument? Could he have interpreted it differently? You might want to read ‘around’ the source. For example, you could read other articles in the same journal or another part of the book from which it is excerpted, or you could skim other works by the same author or other articles on the same subject (the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature or the online index of the New York Times can be helpful here.) You could also read something by other scholars who've written about the same subject or document. In short, be creative! Look for information that might cause you to read or contextualize the document differently from Kusmer.

Please bring your source (or a copy of your source) to class on December 1, along with a 3-5 page essay describing and analyzing the document and assessing Kusmer’s interpretation of it. Your assignment will be marked for effort and creativity, as well as content. As always, grammar and style will also be considered. Notes and rough draft must be turned in along with your essay. Late work will be penalized.