What is the National Covenant? Who wrote it and why? Who signed it? How can this primary source document be used to tell us more about early modern Scotland? How might a witch-hunt historian use it? Please refer to specific examples from the text.
In your textbook, Brian Levack focuses on law, politics, and religion in the Scottish witch-hunts. What makes this book a secondary source? Based on what you’ve read so far (chapters 1 and 2), what type of approach do you think he is taking in this book? What question(s) is he trying to answer? What kinds of sources is he using?
Unit 02 Questions
What is the difference between explanatory and exploratory frameworks? Can you see any problems with either approach? Is there one that sounds more interesting to you? Why?
Which type of approach (explanatory or exploratory) do you think each author in the assigned readings takes, and/or is there any overlap? What kind of questions are they asking?
Are any of these readings more successfully argued than the others? What makes these more convincing?
How can we use primary sources to support our arguments? What are the sources the authors are using? How do they use them/treat them differently? What can we learn from these sources? Which do you think is the best approach?