John Edwards’ water cart on Walnut Street in Morgantown, c. 1892. Source: West Virginia and Regional History Center.
This course explores methodological techniques for researching the local, specific, and particular. For historians and public historians, research, interpretation, and writing are intimately linked. As such, the class will cover research and writing techniques, as well as strategies for linking local stories to larger historical narratives. Class meetings will be conducted across discussion-based seminars, workshops and field sessions. The goal is for students to become confident researchers and writers, with the ability to persuasively demonstrate why local history matters. [HIST 613]