Explore and be curious! Our class sessions are interactive, hands-on opportunities to look at different kinds of materials. Challenge yourself to look (even briefly) at items that don’t initially catch your interest--you might be surprised at what you discover.
Our class sessions seek to be inclusive, offering multiple perspectives, viewpoints, or lived experiences, but may not include every voice for a number of reasons, including bias in collecting practices. Let’s talk about the voices that aren’t represented and why.
The background, experience, and knowledge you bring to this class session are valuable. There isn’t one right interpretation of a historical document. Please listen carefully and engage with everyone's responses respectfully.
The material you encounter in this session has the potential to be uncomfortable or upsetting. Be kind to yourself and recognize your limits. You can look at something else or take a break.
When working with primary sources, you may encounter racist, oppressive, or outdated language in the documents themselves or in the descriptions created by library workers. When we discuss these items, we will want to use terms that reflect the ways that people and communities describe themselves today.
How We Teach and Learn
