This week, I am beginning the online course titled Approaches to Research: Archives and Sources. In this graduate level course, topics on understanding the location and nature of various document archives in Scotland and how to access the information will be covered in detail. Of special interest will be the extensive archive holdings of the university, including estate records such as the 90 or so boxes of Fetternear Estate records.
Through participation in the weekly discussion forums and online video meetings, the students in this course will not only learn from the experts, but from each other. The students are from a wide geographical locations, both in the USA and in the UK. Also, the students in the course have varying interests and areas of expertise, such as history, healthcare, law and genealogy, which should provide some interesting conversations.
It is important to put genealogical records into a historical and social context to better understand the conditions that shaped the families through history. Newspapers, court records and personal letters help “fill in the human side” of the genealogical story. Therefore, this course with its focus on a wide range of topics will be particularly important to pursuing the archives work of the Leslie Global Diaspora Foundation.
Lewis R. Johnson, Ed.D. FSAScot
Leave a Reply