Mar 19, 2018

“A novice in the archives.” In any discipline, there will always be those who want to keep the membership exclusive, which is understandable. If you’re passionate about something, it’s difficult not to be protective, sometimes overprotective, toward it. History is no different.

One of the best mind exercises is thinking in different ways about familiar subjects and events. Before this class, I never thought of history as something that “belonged” to anyone. I’m OK with museum displays being behind glass or cordoned-off by ropes. History may belong to all of us, but historians and curators should protect the physical artifacts. Digital historical documents, though, are fair game for all. The only risk is the possibility of misrepresentation, but that existed even when all history was stored in print.

Dr. Lewis H. Steiner’s letter from Frederick. Md, dated September 1862, was interesting. I haven’t fully decided what to make of it. He was certainly a well-educated person, but maybe not in matters of military reconnaissance. Access to Steiner’s letter is a great example of the advantage of digital historical documents. Anyone can read it from anywhere. I can’t believe I take that capability for granted.

History as a possession is like water, in a way. Individually, we only use it briefly, but at the same time it’s shared with the world. Water can be a pure substance, or it can be polluted.

Mar 21, 2018

Class canceled due to snow.