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Richard Lettis: The Hungarian Revolt |
Preface
Each Scribner Research Anthology is a collection of written sources
upon a single historical, literary, or scientific topic- the Hungarian
Revolt, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; or extrasensory perception, for example.
Each anthology is designed to serve two purposes. First, each gives the
student access to important sources -texts, documents, letters, diaries,
essays, for instance- on a given topic. Some of these sources are otherwise
available in only a few libraries, some (manuscripts and historical documents)
in only one. In any case, the collection as a whole is not otherwise available
in one volume. Second, each anthology gives the student either all his
sources for a controlled- research paper or some of them for a library-research
paper. Each anthology can be valuable either for readings in courses in
history, literature, science, or humanities or as the basis for a research
paper in these or in other courses.
A controlled-research paper -a paper in which the student's search for
sources is limited to, and in certain ways controlled by, those sources
contained in one anthology- is not so noble an undertaking as a library-research
paper. But it is often more successful -more rewarding for the student
and easier for his instructor to teach effectively and judge fairly. Its
advantages for both student and instructor are often considerable.
For the student, it sometimes provides sources unavailable in his school
library, and it enables him to learn a good deal about research (selection,
interpretation, and evaluation of sources; quotation and paraphrase; and
documentation) without prior instruction in use of the library (and, incidentally,
without overtaxing the facilities and the resources of his library and
without loss of; or damage to, sources either irreplaceable or difficult
and expensive to replace).
For the instructor, it permits focus of class discussion upon a limited
set of topics. It enables him to track down the student's sources conveniently.
And -perhaps the greatest advantage of all- it enables him to judge both
conveniently and exactly how well the student has selected, interpreted,
and evaluated his sources and how well he has quoted and paraphrased them.
In many schools, a controlled-research paper is either a preliminary to
or a part of a library-research paper. A library-research paper is probably
the most difficult paper that the student can be assigned to write. The
problems that confront him are not simply those common to any paper-organization,
paragraphing, and transitions, for instance-and those (already mentioned)
common to all research papers. He has, in addition, the problem of using
the library well -of; for example, using the card catalogue, periodical
indexes, and other reference works. But, if the instructor assigns a controlled-research
paper as a preliminary to or, as it were, an early part of a library-research
paper, the student need not come to grips with all these problems at once.
Each Scribner Research Anthology is compiled according to the following
editorial principles. Each source that is not anonymous is prefaced by
a biographical note on its author. At the foot of the same page is a bibliographical
note. Each source is reprinted exactly as it appears in the original except
for (1) some typographical peculiarities, (2) explanatory notes, given
in brackets, and (3) omissions, indicated by ellipses ..... ."). And,
finally, for each source that has pagination in the original, page numbers
are given in brackets within the source itself -thus: "[320/321],"
where everything before the slash (and after the preceding slash, if any)
is from page 320, and everything after the slash (and before the next slash,
if any) is from page 321. For a source hitherto unpublished, no page numbers
are given; and the student who uses it should cite the page numbers of
the Scribner Research Anthology. Footnotes to a source are given as in
the original. Where the original pagination of a footnote is not evident,
its page number precedes it in brackets.
MARTIN STEINMANN, JR. General Editor
Bingham Bay, Lake Gogebic
August, 1960
"The times of that superstition which attributed revolutions to
the ill-will of a few agitators have long passed away. Everyone knows nowadays
that, wherever there is a revolutionary convulsion, there must be some
social want in the background which is prevented by outworn institutions
from satisfying itself... Every attempt at forcible repression will only
bring it forth stronger until it bursts its fetters."
KARL MARX
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Richard Lettis: The Hungarian Revolt |