The Wynds of History: 1/31/10

Thursday, February 4, 2010

AHA - What We're Reading

I am finding the AHA's weekly blog post "What We're Reading" a very useful tool. A compilation of good articles and resources from across the history spectrum. When I can, I feature one or two here in more depth. This week, I recommend scanning the list yourself as there are several very interesting items, from a new children's museum in NYC to a retrospective on Howard Zinn to a request from the National Archive. Enjoy!
http://blog.historians.org/what-we-are-reading/979/what-were-reading-february-4-2010-edition

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From the age of seven, when I first "met" Elizabeth Blackwell, my fascination with people and places has led me to ask questions - who were they? where did they live? what did they think? how did they feel? how was she different from me?

I read every biography about a woman my elementary school had to offer, searching for those answers. I wasn't satisfied with the books that started with what someone had accomplished - her "famous moment" so to speak. I loved one specific series that started with a heroine's childhood and told a narrative story about her entire life.

While I now look first to primary documents and objects for answers, I'm still asking questions. While I still search to place an individual within a specific context and deduce motivations, I also now search for answers on how to share that information with others, in ways that spark spark imaginations and trigger more questions. I am simultaneously committed to preserving the stories, objects, and locations that give me and others a tangible, direct link to the lives we study.