So, a few years ago, I chose Far Away over Local History. Now, this isn't entirely true, because I continue to publish in Local History as well, and Canada is one of my minor fields. I always claimed that I preferred Far Away history, because the people you write about aren't potentially your neighbours. I was constantly nervous while writing my Honour's Paper, and while working on the political biographies project, because what if a family member reads something that they don't like? It was scary enough having a member of the organisation I wrote about act as my external for my honours defense.
But sometime it's rewarding. I just ran across a picture in on my computer that was sent to me sometime last year. You see, I had published an article on the Honour's Paper Organisation, and then I later received an e-mail from a man who identified himself as the son of one of the Organisation's founders, and a prominent figure in my writing. He was glad to hear more about his mother, and to have this chance to understand more about the organisation that figured so largely in his childhood. He told me some reminiscences about protests that she took them to, and answered a question that I'd had since I researched her. She'd moved away after a few years, and I couldn't find out anything else about her. It turns out that, after they'd moved to Toronto, she died of cancer, when her son was still young. And he sent me a picture (which blogger is defiantly not uploading for me right now.)
But I think that was the day that I decided to maintain my research interest in local history, and to stop fearing the fact that, even in my "far away history," I was writing about real people.
No comments:
Post a Comment