HIST8006 Practical Genealogy for Family Historians

2011

4.5

1 x 13-week negotiated program per semester

HIST8003 has been successfully completed

Graduate Certificate in Applied History and Heritage Studies; Graduate Diploma in Applied History and Heritage Studies

To be a practical family historian requires the development of a good understanding of genealogical research techniques using a range of simple tools effectively. The sheer volume of material that can be accumulated requires disciplined record keeping and maintenance, which can be advantaged by the use of specialised software. Some artefacts such as photographs require special storage considerations. The successful family historian will develop techniques to locate distant relatives who may share or hold material of interest in their research. The family historian must become skilled in the methodology involved in locating and accessing materials in local and distant archives, libraries and museums. Finally, participants in the topic will be instructed in the skills required to present their work in an appropriate form.

This topic aims to:

• develop an understanding of genealogical research techniques, of the keeping and maintaining of records, and of the methodology involved in accessing materials in local and distant archives, libraries and museums
• impart skills concerned with the presentation of findings in family history
• foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation that encourages students to both learn through collaboration and to become independent and critical thinkers

On successful completion of this topic students should be able to:

• understand the value of and use the common research tools according to accepted conventions - pedigree charts, family record sheets, research logs and sundry checking lists;
• show an awareness of the methodology in keeping records in an organised and systematic way;
• differentiate between a primary, secondary and tertiary record and their relative strengths and weaknesses;
• show skills in accessing remote, previously unknown family members with a view to gaining family knowledge;
• exercise skills in interpreting the records - extracting the facts, dealing with old handwriting, developing an awareness of terminology;
• show understanding of the differences between the basic repositories (archives, libraries and museums) and their objectives;
• apply appropriate techniques for accessing records in repositories using the four main SA repositories (SASL; SRSA; NAA; SAGHS) as templates;
• present their findings to an advanced scholarly standard