The boxed material in your textbook presents two or more items together—an original document with an image, a map with a table, two or more documents, or several images from the same time period. We group them to show just a small degree of the variation we find in a culture, time period, or geographical area. By comparing, contrasting, or just piling one piece on another, you will start to develop a more balanced understanding and a more honest portrait of history.
The boxes we discuss here focus primarily on the written resources; (copyright restrictions will often prevent our showing here the photographs that are in the book). As you cover the material in the box, compare the information. Do the documents support or contradict each other? Are the writers from the same social class? The same gender? Does the data in a table or graph support what you see on the map? What similarities do you see? What strikes you as odd? Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to develop an impression into a theory. The Main Idea button on each box page opens to supply key points that you will want to check against your own interpretation. |
