Draft Two- Part 3 and 4

Ok, so Mr Wright said that my parts one and two were fine, so here are my extended responses to parts 3 and 4.

3. Research intentions in relation to areas/texts to examine

I aim to select three opposing theories on the cause of the Salem witch trials to dissect and analyse for my project. At this stage I am interested in looking further into Linda R. Caporeal’s theory on convulsive ergotism, and the oppressive religious beliefs and customs of the Puritan religion. Through further investigation I intend to select another theory from the extensive list which I believe demonstrates the contrasting approaches to this historical issue.

There are also a number of books and websites that I intend to utilise sometime in the not so distant future- in particular this work The Salem Witch Trials : A Reference Guide by David K. Goss that Mr Wright found for me on e library, and Frances Hill’s books Delusion of Satan: Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials and The Salem Witch Trials Reader. I hope to get these books of www.bookdepository.com . I was unable to locate any books on the Salem witch trials at Penrith City Library, but I have been informed of inter-library loans and I would also like to visit Fisher Library at Sydney University.


4. Research intentions in relation to methodology

My history project focuses primarily on the historical debate over the cause/s of the Salem Witch trials, a controversial topic that has raged for over 300 years. From my research it has become clear that in order to deal with this issue I must focus heavily on the contrasting approaches taken by historians (and others) to try and why they have done so. My enquiry questions will hopefully be answered by continued research and investigation into the hypothesis' presented by various historians, and through my own ability to acknowledge that history is never black and white. Instead it is complex and there is no 'right' answer in relation to cause. Rather, an opportunity to better understand how a historical event is continually reviewed, revised, debated and theorised by historians is supplied.