Local history

Local historyis the study ofhistoryin a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively smalllocal community.It incorporatesculturalandsocialaspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small but a study of past events in a given geographical area which is based on a wide variety ofdocumentary evidenceand placed in acomparative contextthat is both regional and national.^[1]Historic plaques are one form of documentation of significant occurrences in the past andoral historiesare another.

Local history is often documented by local historical societies or groups that form to preserve a local historic building or other historic site. Many works of local history are compiled by amateur historians working independently or archivists employed by various organizations. An important aspect of local history is the publication and cataloguing of documents preserved in local or national records which relate to particular areas.

In a number of countries a broader concept oflocal loreis known, which is a comprehensive study of everything pertaining to a certain locality: history, ethnography, geography, natural history, etc.

Local contexts

Examples of local history books about people and monuments in theprovince of Pistoia

Local history tends to be less documented than other types, with fewer books and artifacts than that of a country or continent. Many local histories are recorded as oral tales or stories and so are more vulnerable than more well known issues. Artifacts of local history are often collected in local history museums, which may be housed in a historic house or other building. Individual historic sites are inherently local, although they may have national or world history importance as well. Many however have little overall historical impact but add depth to the local area.

Australia

Viewing resources in the local history collection, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

In Australia, local history is focussed on specific cities and suburbs or country towns and regions. In cities, local history might concentrate on aCBDand its bordering suburbs, on a specific suburb ormunicipality,or on an agglomeration of suburbs and municipalities (because local government boundaries have changed over time). Outside the larger cities, local history often examines regional towns and surrounding areas.

Records are typically stored at state libraries,public libraries,historical societiesand public record offices. For example, theState Library of Victoriaholds extensive local history records forMelbourneand other places inVictoria.Many otherMelbourne librarieshave local history collections, along with thePublic Record Office Victoriaand theRoyal Historical Society of Victoria.InNew South Wales,theRoyal Australian Historical Societyhas studied local history as part of its remit since its founding in 1901. It holds local history records along with theState Library of NSWand other state and local libraries and archives.

Historians have examined the ways local history has been written in Australia since the nineteenth century. Early on, the emphasis was on pioneer and settler history.^[2]The creative ways that local history contributed to making community has also been argued.^[3]Subsequently, local history,urban history,public historyandheritagewere closely connected in Australia.^[4]

United Kingdom

Saltash Museum & Local History Centre, Cornwall, UK

TheBritish Association for Local Historyin the United Kingdom encourages and assists in the study of local history as an academic discipline and as a leisure activity by both individuals and groups. Most historic counties in England have record societies and archaeological and historical societies which coordinate the work of historians and other researchers concerned with that area.^[5]

Local history in the UK took a long time to be accepted as an academic discipline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was widely regarded as anantiquarianpursuit, suitable for country parsons. TheVictoria History of the Counties of Englandproject begun in 1899 in honour ofQueen Victoriawith the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of thehistoric counties of England.The project is coordinated by theInstitute of Historical Researchat theUniversity of London.The first academic post related to local history was atReading Universitywhich appointed a research fellow in local history in 1908. There was a department of local history (but without a professor) atLeicester Universityfrom 1947.H. P. R. Finbergwas the first Professor of English Local History. He was appointed by Leicester in 1964.^[6]Local history continues to be neglected as an academic subject within universities. Academic local historians are often found within a more general department of history or in continuing education.

Local history is rarely taught as a separate subject in British schools. In 1908, a Board of Education circular had urged that schools should pay attention "to the history of the town and district" in which they were situated.^[7]In 1952, the Ministry of Education suggested schools should use local material to illustrate national themes.^[8]Within the currentNational Curriculum,pupils at level 4 are expected to "show their knowledge and understanding of local, national and international history".^[9]

TheAlan Ball Local History Awardswere established in the 1980s to recognize outstanding contributions in local history publishing in the UK (both in print and innew media), and to encourage the publishing of such works bypublic librariesandlocal authorities.^[10]

Local history can become a crucial component to policy-making and serve as a marketable resource and this is demonstrated in the case ofNorthern Ireland.Aside from its contribution to local development, local history is being used as a non-contentious meeting ground in addressing conflicting traditions by reinforcing shared past rather than adversarial political history.^[11]

United States

Dedication of the Ell Persons historical marker in Memphis, Tennessee

In the United States, local history is usually concentrated on any history of the place and people from a particularvillageortownship.^[12]Several villages and townships would comprise one county or county history. Library records are often divided by State, then county, then township/local history. TheAmerican Association for State and Local Historyis the professional association for history professionals, volunteers, museums, historical societies, and other history-related organizations and public history professionals

In the United States, 79,000 historic sites are identified as listings on itsNational Register of Historic Places.State and local municipalities often have additional landmark designations to cover sites of more purely local interest.

In addition, many regional and statehistorical societiesmaintain regional history and actively seek out missing historical collections.

A new form of local history is the movement of "If This House Could Talk"projects in various urban neighborhoods in the United States. These small scale locally generated history events encourage an interest in history and provide for open-ended participation by the general public. However, there is often no vetting or third-party review of the factual evidence that is presented, and therefore such presentations may require oversight by professional third-party history organizations if they are to be transcribed into ongoing collections of local history.

Slavic countries

Shyshaky Museum of Local Lore

In several Slavic countries there is a related study which may be translated from the local languages as "country lore" or "local lore". In addition to history, it also incorporates other local studies, such as local geography, nature, and ethnography.

In Russia local lore is known askrayevedenie(ru:Краеведение). It is taught in primary schools. There are also local lore museums known askrayevedcheskie muzei.In modern Russia the concept of "regional studies" (ru:Регионоведение) is also considered.^[13]

InUkraine,the study of local history and regional ethnography is known askrayeznavstvo(uk:краєзнавство). The National Union of Local Lore Researchers of Ukraine is a professional society for researchers of ethnology and local studies in Ukraine. It was founded in 1925 and has 3,000 members in 17 chapters.^[14]The society has published its journalКраєзнавствоsince 1927.^[15]

InPoland,the corresponding concept is calledtouring(pl:Krajoznawstwo), the term known since 1902. In modern Poland various organizedkrajoznawstwoactivities are carried out byPolskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze,roughly translated as "Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society".

Belgium

Even if the interest in local history is probably as old as the leisure activity that allows certain privileged people to take an interest in general history, the origins of local history in Belgium are linked to the existence oflearned societies.Shortly after the country's independence, a nationalist and romantic sentiment gave rise to a significant awareness of identity. From then on, learned societies (circles, academies, associations, etc.) whose objective in particular is the study of the local past and the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage, appeared.^[16]

References

^Kammen, Carol; Wilson, Amy (2012).Encyclopedia of Local History, 2nd ed.Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. pp. vii.ISBN 9780759120488.
^Hirst, John (1978). "The pioneer legend".Historical Studies.18(71):316–337.doi:10.1080/10314617808595595.
^Griffiths, Tom (1996).Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia.Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521483490.
^Davison, Graeme (2000).The use and abuse of Australian history.St. Leonards, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.ISBN 978-1864487206.
^J. A. Raftis. "British Historiography Decentralizes".Journal of British Studies,vol. 9, no. 1, 1969, pp. 143–151.JSTOR 175173.
^Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. pp.46–70.
^Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. p. 25.
^Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. p. 103.
^National Curriculum - level descriptions
^Local Studies Alan Ball Local History Awards Archived2011-05-06 at theWayback Machine Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals,published 2011-11-02, accessed 2012-05-06
^Hey, David (2010).The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 9780191044939.
^Stephan Thernstrom and Richard Sennett, eds.,Nineteenth-century Cities: Essays in the New Urban History(1970)
^Ю. Н. Гладкий, А. И. Чистобаев.Регионоведение. Учебник для студентов высших учебных заведений(Regional Studies. A Textbook for Higher Education Students) Moscow, Гардарики, 2003.
^"Історія Національної спілки краєзнавців України"(in Ukrainian). National Union of Local Lore Researchers of Ukraine.Retrieved20 January2015.
^"Краєзнавство"(in Ukrainian).Retrieved20 January2015.Individual issues of the journal are available fromWikimedia Commons
^"Une enquête sur le passé, le présent et le futur des cercles et sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie en Wallonie et à Bruxelles"(PDF).

External links

American Local History Network,United States.
Local Historyfrom theNational Archives,UK.
Local History Trailsfrom theBBC.
Waverly Lowell."Doing Your Neighborhood History".Preserving Your History. USA: Society of California Archivists.

Library guides

"U.S. local history: a research guide".Princeton LibGuides.USA: Princeton University Library. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-06-01.

[1] Kammen, Carol; Wilson, Amy (2012).Encyclopedia of Local History, 2nd ed.Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. pp. vii.ISBN 9780759120488.

[2] Hirst, John (1978). "The pioneer legend".Historical Studies.18(71):316–337.doi:10.1080/10314617808595595.

[3] Griffiths, Tom (1996).Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia.Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521483490.

[4] Davison, Graeme (2000).The use and abuse of Australian history.St. Leonards, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.ISBN 978-1864487206.

[5] J. A. Raftis. "British Historiography Decentralizes".Journal of British Studies,vol. 9, no. 1, 1969, pp. 143–151.JSTOR 175173.

[6] Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. pp.46–70.

[7] Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. p. 25.

[8] Finberg, HPR; Skipp, VHT (1967).Local History: Objective and Pursuit.David & Charles. p. 103.

[9] National Curriculum - level descriptions

[clip2010-10] Local Studies Alan Ball Local History Awards Archived2011-05-06 at theWayback Machine Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals,published 2011-11-02, accessed 2012-05-06

[11] Hey, David (2010).The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 9780191044939.

[12] Stephan Thernstrom and Richard Sennett, eds.,Nineteenth-century Cities: Essays in the New Urban History(1970)

[13] Ю. Н. Гладкий, А. И. Чистобаев.Регионоведение. Учебник для студентов высших учебных заведений(Regional Studies. A Textbook for Higher Education Students) Moscow, Гардарики, 2003.

[nsku-14] "Історія Національної спілки краєзнавців України"(in Ukrainian). National Union of Local Lore Researchers of Ukraine.Retrieved20 January2015.

[15] "Краєзнавство"(in Ukrainian).Retrieved20 January2015.Individual issues of the journal are available fromWikimedia Commons

[16] "Une enquête sur le passé, le présent et le futur des cercles et sociétés d'histoire et d'archéologie en Wallonie et à Bruxelles"(PDF).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]