Introduction 

Advanced liberal arts classes require you to read diaries and books, look at exhibits, examine paintings and photographs and then to make sense of it all. Professors assign these activities to encourage you to look at the class subject from a variety of different perspectives. They can't cover all the material or all the possible ways of examining the question in class. That's why they assign the reading and viewing of photographs, paintings, etc. And that's why it's important for you to do this work and assemble it on your own. 
 

You'll enjoy your studies most if you find what excites you most about the topic. Pick out what speaks to you in the material. Does something remind you of your own past? Does it link up with something you learned in another class? Does the material challenge something your parents had taught you as gospel? As you enjoy the book or song or photograph, however, you also need to preserve a critical distance that allows you to analyze it. You will find a new kind of enjoyment and get better grades if you learn to analyze -- to use critical thinking -- as you relish the material. You want to combine your analysis of primary and secondary sources to tease out what interests you and to increase your overall knowledge of the period you are studying. 
 
 

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