Thread by @RWLDproject

Just about to get started on tonight's @ihr_history 'Historians across Boundaries' #HistoriansCollaborate seminar - and a wonderfully international crowd in, from Canada, via Europe, to Australia.

We're looking at historical collaboration has been carried out across the world!

First up, @familyhistorysh ... ah, should have been, but his laptop's just crashed! So Mary Stewart @BL_OralHistory is stepping in - thanks Mary!

Mary's discussion is 'Distant cousins, but somewhat estranged? Family interviews recorded by oral historians & by family researchers'

Mary's talking about intersections between family history & oral history - starting with the very personal: interviewing her mum!

How are family historians using oral history? A key question.

#HistoriansCollaborate

Ethical implications of interviews are coming across clearly - a running theme within the #HistoriansCollaborate discussions.

What can oral historians learn here from family historians, as they think about ethics in ways that oral historians might not be?

The affective dimensions of recordings are important and make recordings a method that we might have a different relationship with to, say, paper documents.

How will future listeners understand, hear and respond to our recordings?

#HistoriansCollaborate

Over to @familyhistorysh now, looking at examples of collaboration in practice. These are really rich - and too much for me to capture.

Recordings will be available a little after the seminar though!

#HistoriansCollaborate

The power of story-telling - from the past - is coming through.

@familyhistorysh - when you have the time (I know, I know...) please can you post some links to the projects? They sound amazing!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Up now, @TimCompeau on spatial mapping of loyalist migration following the American Revolution - a brilliant collaboration between all sorts of different groups, but family histories are at the heart of it.

#HistoriansCollaborate

And even better, one of the key aims is to get academic and family historians working together more collaboratively. Absolutely on for #HistoriansCollaborate.

Important to hear the recognition of different expertises is at the heart of the project. More: …grations-westernu.opendata.arcgis.com

Loving the everyday stories that family historians have captured, which otherwise largely evade the formal record. There's a huge power here.

#HistoriansCollaborate

Finally on to @TanyaEvans14, speaking at before 6am where she is (eek), on ‘Family history, community & collaborative history projects in international comparison’ - a great way to round off tonight's formal speakers!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Tanya's noted that our panellists tonight *should* have been presenting this work at the conference of the @pubhisint, had ... something not intervened - but it'll happen at some point!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Whilst progress has been made in terms of changing relationships between academic & family historians - there's still some way to go.

Tanya notes the importance of demonstrating the impact of collaboration, too.

#HistoriansCollaborate

As with all of these presentations tonight, really do check the recordings when they're available - they're too rich to capture here!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Tanya's made some really important points about how the sorts of public history & collaborative work we're doing are valued - or not - particularly in academic quarters.

#HistoriansCollaborate

How do we make productive & meaningful relationships with different communities, particularly (for the academic angle) with those outside higher education?

What a critical question.

#HistoriansCollaborate

And Tanya's book, out later this year, sounds amazing - look out for 'Family History, Historical Consciousness & Citizenship' (Bloomsbury).

#HistoriansCollaborate

Tanya ends on a plea for all historians and researchers of the past to really keep showing what we do and why - in a time of great threat, we need to be visible and work together.

Absolutely!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Thanks to @DrLauraKing for chairing tonight, too - sorry I didn't say that earlier!

#HistoriansCollaborate

Some great Q&A with the speakers, but Laura's just posted a final killer question - how has collaboration affected our own practice as researchers?

Just a small one, then, for people to consider in the last 5 mins! 😱

#HistoriansCollaborate