Local history shares a focus on place and individuals with genealogy and some fields of academic history, but also involves particular approaches, questions, and challenges. In this section, we’ll explore what local history is and how to develop a local history project.
Estimated time to complete this section: 90 minutes
1.1 Readings
- Stephen Robertson, What is Local History? (Estimated Read Time = 15 minutes)
- Rebecca Onion, “What Happened Here?” Slate (2015). (Estimated Read Time = 5 minutes)
- Rebecca Onion, “The Athens of Ohio” Slate (2015). (Estimated Read Time = 10 minutes)
Examining the scope and character of local history gives us an understanding of how to approach developing a local history project. We can more effectively draw from and connect to the work of genealogists and academic historians when we are aware of how their questions and projects differ from local history. Equally, being aware of the challenges as well as advantages of being part of the place and community that is your subject helps in defining a project that is both inclusive and connected to wider contexts and broader historical issues.
Activity 1.1: Identify topics related to your place and community
Referring to the table in the reading by Robertson:
- Survey your collections of local history materials and those in other local institutions and make a list of possible topics for your digital history project. Use the questions below to guide you:
- What time periods do your collections cover? How varied are the topics?
- What types of materials do you have available? (Video, photographs, audio recordings, text documents, etc?)
- Are there local history materials that patrons frequently ask to view or access?
- Are there understudied or underrepresented narratives in your collections?
- What digitized materials do you have available? What materials do you have pertaining to local history (events, places, people) that could be digitized and made available to the public?