Worksheet for Feb. 16

Read Cohen, chapters 1-7, and look carefully at the endnotes as you read.

1) What seems to be the purpose of this book?

2) In chapters 2 through 7, identify the main type (or types) of source material for each individual chapter.

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

chapter 7

3) Examine Cohen's use of New York Herald articles, in chapters 2 and 3, to gather information about Helen Jewett's (Dorcas Doyen's) life. Cohen writes, "A close reading zeros in on subtle distortions and restores Jewett to the center of the story." (p. 48). What does she mean by this? Is she successful in this effort?

In addition to reading Cohen, find and photocopy one useful newspaper article on your potential research topic, from the period that you will be studying. (If you do not yet have a potential topic, find an article on any of the topics from the list distributed Feb. 2). Submit a copy of the article with this worksheet and answer the following questions:

4) How might this article be helpful to you (or to anyone examining this topic)?

5) What are the major limitations of this article?

6) How could you compensate for those limitations?