3.3 Analyzing Letters and Diaries – Creating Local Linkages

Estimated time to complete this section: 38 minutes

Personal letters and diaries present possibilities for analysis as both literary works and as historical evidence. These documents, reflecting the candid thoughts, feelings, and observations of their authors, can provide a new perspective to local history narratives.

Letters and diaries share some points of difference, and one important similarity, as illustrated in the diagram below:

While letters and diaries provide first-person evidence of the past, it is critical to remember that they are also the creations of literate people who had the financial resources, time, space, and tools in order to write, reflect, and respond to the world around them. As technology becomes more accessible over time, library holdings may also include letters and diaries in audio and video formats; however, the considerations of time, space, and tools remain. This understanding will also aid in analyzing these documents, regardless of format.

3.3 Videos

Women’s Rights: Sarah Bagley’s Letters (Total Video Time = 9:02; video transcripts on page)
The Iran Hostage Crisis: Diary of Robert Ode (Total Video Time-all 4 segments: 27:11; video transcripts on page )

Considering Materiality: Thinking about the tangible components of letters and diaries	If you have access to the original letters or diaries How might you describe… the paper (texture, condition, weight, size)? the style of handwriting? the covers and bindings of the diary? any associated objects (envelopes, letter cases, letter clips, etc.)?
Considering Creation & Dimension: Thinking about the letter writers and diarists, and the ways letters and diaries are impacted by time	Who is the primary creator of this letter or diary? Whose cultural perspective do they represent? What biases might they have? For letters: To whom is the letter written? What is the relationship between the letter writer and the recipient? What were their intentions? Who saved the diary? Why? Who collected the letters? Why? Is this the only volume of the diary? Might there be other volumes located elsewhere? What is the time period covered by the diary(ies) or letter(s)? How is time distinguished in each letter or diary entry?
Considering Portrayals: Thinking about the ways in which letter writers and diarists write about events, relationships, and themselves	Which events are written about? Which events are ignored? How does the letter writer or diarist use formal language/informal language in their descriptions of people, places, events, or feelings? For letters: How might the letter writer’s relationship with the recipient affect what is written?
Considering Corroboration: Thinking about questions of time and position	How does the letter writer or diarist understand that the events they are describing are part of larger historical developments? Do they understand their own time as an era or turning point? If so how? If not, what might this suggest about the letter writer or diarist’s sense of their position in history? Does the letter or diary speculate about the future? What sources can you use to confirm events mentioned in letters or diary entries?

adapted from Steven Stowe, “Making Sense of Letters and Diaries,” History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/letters/, July 2002.

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