L2S3 –Civilisation des Etats-Unis

TD 3 – Methodology : the importance of paratext and context

Paratext refers to the materials associated with a document or object but distinct from it. They are usually produced
by someone who is different from the original author and are helpful to link the document or objet to a specific
context.
Context : the circumstances surrounding an event /document/object, which need to be taken into consideration to
fully understand it.
Paratextual materials are contextual elements that are usually written next to the document. The rest of the context
derives from one’s knowledge about a period, a topic etc… Let us take an example :

What can you do if you are only given the image ?

What do these elements add ? - Lakota ceremonial hair tie

- turkey buzzard feather and porcupine quill

- Rosebud Reservation, 2002

- picture used in class in 2023

Now, let us look at the document entitled « Jourdon Anderson Writes to His Former Enslaver »

1. What are the elements of the paratext ? How do they help answer the following :

- What is the type of document?

- When was it written (here the context comes into play) ?
- Where does the document come from ?
- Who produced the document?
- What is the target audience?
- What is the purpose of the document (why does the author write) ?

These are a ll the elements that you need to give in an introduction.

2. What is Jourdon Anderson’s situation in 1865 ?

3. What is Anderson’s answer to his former enslaver’s proposal ? How does he justify his answer ?

4. What about the tone of the document ?