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    Writing local history
    Writing local history
    Writing local history
    Ebook443 pages5 hours

    Writing local history

    By John Beckett

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This fascinating book looks at how local history developed from the antiquarian county studies of the sixteenth century through the growth of 'professional' history in the nineteenth century, to the recent past. Concentrating on the past sixty years, it looks at the opening of archive offices, the invigorating influence of family history, the impact of adult education and other forms of lifelong learning. The author considers the debates generated by academics, including the divergence of views over local and regional issues, and the importance of standards set by the Victoria County History (VCH). Also discussed is the fragmentation of the subject. The antiquarian tradition included various subject areas that are now separate disciplines, among them industrial archaeology, name studies, family, landscape and urban history.

    This is an authoritative account of how local history has come to be one of the most popular and productive intellectual pastimes in our modern society. Written by a practitioner who has spent more than twenty years teaching local history to undergraduates and M.A. students, as well as lecturing to local history societies, John Beckett is currently Director of the VCH.

    A remarkable book that will be of great interest to students and scholars of local history as well as amateur and professional genealogists.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherManchester University Press
    Release dateJul 19, 2013
    ISBN9781847795137
    Writing local history
    Author

    John Beckett

    John Beckett (Fort Worth, Texas) is a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin. Locally, he serves as the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and is a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. His blog Under the Ancient Oaks is part of the Pagan Channel of the multifaith website Patheos. John has been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals since 2003. Visit him at www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett.  

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    Reviews for Writing local history

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      Writing Local History – An Excellent IntroductionJohn Beckett, academic, historian and doctoral advisor has written what is one of the best introductions to Local History that there is. Local history has always been a popular in England and widely practiced by many amateurs and at one time looked down on by academia. This book aims to break down those barriers, especially with the rise of post-graduate University courses across the country. He examines how it has developed of the years, even when ignored, and the challenges it faces and how both academic and amateur lead the way in this branch of history.What he explains is how over the years the fusty antiquarian view of local history has exploded after the Second World War to the popular subject it is today. John Beckett admits that since the war local history has been democratised with a huge audience and how it can make a contribution to our national story.History is about peeling back the layers and that our past belongs in our present, and it must be remembered that local history encompasses a wide range of interests, concerns and outputs some excellent work. Beckett out lines this and what has happened in the past to local history, what the challenges are and how we need to overcome them. At the same time he sets out his vision for the future, especially in the age of the computer and access to material and sources gets easier every year.He also admits that while local history may seem parochial to some that it is still ‘proper’ history and a very credible subject to study. He also outlines that academics need to capture and facilitate the enthusiasm of the amateur practitioners to a greater understanding of our understanding of our past communities.This is an excellent book for all those interested in and wanting to gain more from English local history. This book should be recommended reading for all those involved in local history, its research and communicating out to the public.
    • 4/5
      An interesting overview of the changes to local history methods and publication over the last few centuries, including a look at how local history became so marginalised, and how it is now becoming more recognised. I learned quite a bit from it.

    Book preview

    Writing local history - John Beckett

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