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ENGL& 102: Urban Legends, with Ryan DeMoss: Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are firsthand accounts or representations of events or periods of time, as well as original research and data. Primary sources for urban legends are unique because a retelling of an original story to evolve in original ways creates a primary version. For example, an interview with someone who grew up with a legend or a social media post passing a legend on would be primary.  A secondary would be any source that already tries to analyze, summarize, or evaluate one of those primary sources. For urban legends, here are some examples of primary sources:

  • The legend (original or retelling)
  • Poem
  • Social media post
  • Interview
  • Video
  • Image (photograph, painting, poster)
  • Film
  • Television show or episode
  • Short story

 

Resources