Pushing Past Comfortability

I think there is an important distinction to make for people when talking about history that is usually forgotten about. History encompasses so much more than learning the facts and figures about an event long ago. Through the subsections of history we get an all encompassing view of what life was like long ago. However, many do not realize the different ways historians collect their information. Looking at one source will never give you a complete understanding of events. Historians look at a plethora of sources just to scratch the surface when analyzing.

One of the many great resources for historians are oral histories. These first hand accounts of people's lives often give historians a glimpse of history that otherwise would be lost. Another important aspect of these oral histories is that it allows the historian to hear history from more than one point of view. Each one of these accounts allow the historian to see history from both sides of the same story giving them a more accurate depiction of that moment in time.

Oral Histories are often taken from those who have lived through and/or experienced some sort of traumatic event in their lives. These stories are often difficult to talk about for the subjects and hard to understand in the public eye. Oftentimes historians have a difficult time with finding ways to share these stories with the public. Society can become uncomfortable when they are confronted with history that is unpleasant. Furthermore, these oral histories put a face and a name to the event. Society has a much harder time ignoring the plight and discomfort of others when we can no longer disassociate. This hard hitting reality oftentimes is when most people not only retain the most information but also are emotionally affected by history.

Another new resource for historians has been Genealogy. This is an extremely useful resource to historians because it allows connections to be made through family DNA. It has become easier to follow a bloodline than ever before. With so many websites and archives we, as historians, are able to find connections that would otherwise have been lost. Through these websites more and more people are sharing their histories than ever before. Years from now we will be glad that we were able to accommodate so many stories in one concentrated place.

These are just a few of the resources that are becoming more available to historians. Cauvin states, “food, shopping and consumption, housing, health, criminality, poverty, and homelessness” are some other ways historians are beginning to look at the world around them to make connections and distinctions that were not originally a part of the narrative (Cauvin 2016, 97). This bottom-up look at the world around us that focuses more on the everyday lives of people is opening us up to the broader world around us. The world as a whole can be better understood by looking at the common lives of small towns and cities. As we progress technologically I know we will begin to find more resources that will inspire historians on their quest to transcribe and preserve history.

Cauvin, Thomas. Public History: A Textbook of Practice. Second. Routledge, 2022.

Horton, James Oliver. “Slavery in American History; An Uncomfortable National Dialogue.” In Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory, edited by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, 35–55. New York, NY: The New Press, 2006.

Kohn, Richard. “History at Risk: The Case of the Enola Gay.” In History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past, edited by Tom Engelhardt and Edward T. Linenthal, 140–70. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.

Linenthal, Edward T. “Anatomy of a Controversy.” In History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past, edited by Tom Engelhardt and Edward T. Linenthal, 9–62. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.