A recent study exploring the use of primary sources in university history departments has found that educators consider primary sources to be an invaluable resource in the classroom (Malkmus 2010). In addition, students have reported that they find primary sources to be much more engaging and beneficial to their learning than standard textbooks (Malkmus 2010). These findings support the growing popularity of active learning in the lecture hall. Years of research shows that using interactive teaching techniques increases student retention compared to the traditional lecture format (Gray and Madson 2007). Primary sources are the perfect tool to use in active learning exercises. However, these sources require a level of critical reading and thinking that first year students may not be familiar with. Psychologist William Perry suggests that high school students believe knowledge to be absolute (Malkmus 2010). Throughout university and/or college, students must learn that there is no one Truth, but multiple interpretations of fact based on perception (Malkmus 2010).
These studies suggest that it would be beneficial for professors to include a lesson that focuses on how to effectively read and analyze primary sources. Rather than using an authentic primary source, this blog suggests using a piece of popular culture to further engage students in such an activity. In 2014 a companion book to George R.R. Martin’s widely loved fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, was released. This book, entitled The World of Ice and Fire, expands readers’ knowledge of the history of Martin’s story-world. Martin has often spoken about his love for history, and many of the events in his book were inspired by real medieval events. It is no surprise then, that The World of Ice and Fire mimics certain medieval primary sources. The book is written from the point of view of Maester Yandel who wished to write “a history of deeds gallant and wicked peoples familiar and strange, and lands near and far” (Garcia and Antonsson 2014). Because of the style it is written in, The World of Ice and Fire becomes a perfect stand-in for a primary document.
There are a number of things readers of primary documents should be aware of. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is bias. Every author has their own opinions, beliefs and agendas that inevitably affect their writing in some way. A prime example of bias in a primary source is the Bayeux tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to and during the Battle of Hastings. However, this is a pro-Norman piece which fabricates an oath Harold Godwinson swore to William I.
In addition, authors may have limited knowledge of the events they are relaying. Many sources are written far after the event they describe, and the author must rely on other sources in order to fill in the gaps. This is also true of literature, where authors build off of previous works. This distance from the original source can also create dating problems. For example, the King Arthur legends developed from Celtic myths and the writings of Gildas. Author after author built and expanded on these stories until the true history was disguised under new literary conventions. The man, Ambrosius Aurelianus, a Briton fighting the Saxons, was transformed into Arthur, a king whose court was set in the High Middle Ages. Another complication of medieval primary texts is that story and history were not separate in the same way as today. It was perfectly acceptable for Geoffrey of Monmouth to include stories about King Arthur is his “History of the Kings of Britain.” The interesting and useful thing about The World of Ice and Fire is that it includes these issues, but it also draws the reader’s attention to them. Because of this, it becomes a nice stepping stone for first year students between the reading patterns they are familiar with, and the reading patterns they must learn.
The Harvard Library offers an excellent guide for students on how to conduct a close reading of a text. The guide outlines and explains six steps. These are:
- Preview
- Annotate
- Outline, Summarize, and Analyze
- Look for repetitions and patterns
- Contextualize
- Compare and contrast
The instructor may wish to explain these steps to their students. It may also be useful to formulate specific questions that relate to each step. The Smithsonian has an online resource about engaging students with primary sources that includes a list of potential questions for students. Though this list was not formulated with university students in mind, they can easily be adapted for a university class. Some questions may be “Who is the author?”, “When was this written?”, “When did this event take place?”, and/or “Are there any noticeable patterns in the text?”
Since The World of Ice and Fire is such a large book, I would suggest that the instructor pick specific sections that best demonstrate problematic elements of primary sources. A good place to start would be the Preface and the dedication page. The Preface introduces the author, Maester Yandel, while the dedication page shows when the book was written through the King it is dedicated to. This could be an interesting discussion point, because the authors chose to show that the book was originally dedicated to Robert, then Joffrey, then Tommen. It gives an idea of how long this text took to write, and that it has been a work-in-progress through most of the series.
Another useful section would be “The Arrival of the Andals.” Firstly, the events in this section happened in the very distant past. Instructors could ask their students “When did these events take place?” and “How do you think Maester Yandel got this information?” Interestingly, Yandel often makes reference to singers and story-tellers in this section, indicating they are a valuable source. He also cites religious figures such as septon, but dismisses their explanations in favour of his own more historically inclined answers. This is one of the areas in the book that draws the reader’s attention to the problems of history. Many authors of primary sources would not explore multiple explanations, but would choose one and stick with it. Instructors may wish to point this out to their students.
The sections of the book exploring the far-east may also be interesting to include, as Yandel has to rely solely on traveller’s tales. This promotes the question “Are these believable sources?” Such a discussion may become complicated by the fact that The World of Ice and Fire is grounded in a fantasy world. Some things that would be impossible in our own world, are entirely possible in Martin’s. That being said, the instructor can use this to inform students about traveller’s tales from medieval history, and the need to try to glean bits of truth from seemingly impossible narratives. For example, the instructor can cite John Mandeville’s discussion of the country of Hamson, a land covered in darkness. While this might seem fantastical, it is entirely possible that this was an exaggeration of the extended nights of the north.
While the first five steps Harvard Library outlines can be applied to The World of Ice and Fire directly, the sixth, Compare and Contrast, demands the instructor bring additional resources. An easy way to compare Yandel’s narrative with the “real” history of A Song of Ice and Fire, would be to use clips from HBO’s television adaptation, Game of Thrones. For example, have the students read “The Glorious Reign,” and begin a discussion of how King Robert is depicted by Yandel. Then, have the students watch a clip like this one:
After watching the clip, the instructor can then ask how the King Robert of the show compares with Yandel’s description. Another question to ask would be “Why would Yandel portray King Robert as he did?” in order to begin a conversation about bias.
An instructor may be tempted to try to avoid conversations about magic in this exercise, but some sections exploring the more fantastical elements may be worth using. For example, Yandel discusses the Others in his the section “The Long Night.” Ask the students whether Yandel seems to believe in the Others. The expected answer would be that he is skeptical of them because their presence is “harder to credit” (Garcia and Antonsson 2014) Then, contrast these sections with this clip:
After watching it, ask if this new information changes how they interact with Yandel’s narrative. Often additional or new information can change the way we see primary sources. For example, for a long time it was though that the accounts of King Richard III as a hunchback were part of Tudor propaganda. However, when Richard’s body was found and it was discovered he had scoliosis, historians had to re-evaluate their interpretations of primary texts.
Learning to critically read primary sources can be overwhelming for first year students. The belief that knowledge is concrete, instilled from a young age, can be a difficult one to break, barring their ability to identify common problems such as bias. An activity such as the one proposed above could ease this learning curve. Interacting with the familiar and beloved world of Game of Thrones will not only increase student engagement during a lesson about critical reading, it will also help them retain the information and strategies they learned.
The Digital Citadel 