Exploring Archives
Choose one or more of the following categories to explore and use the links below as resources for your research journey.
- Family materials
- When researching family history, make sure to give yourself and your family members grace, as the process may bring up unexpected emotions or information
- Although this path in no way has to be strict genealogical research, it might be helpful to learn a bit about genealogy:
- Local archive/institutional repository
- What would you like to learn more about in your neighborhood, city, or town? Are there any local institutions, figures, locations, or historical events that relate to your writing interests?
- Creating your own archive
- Make a list of what you might want to include in your own archive if you haven’t already done so
Moving Ahead
Sketch out a plan for how you might like to proceed with this project. Consider the following:
- How much time and energy, and how many resources, can I put towards this work?
- What questions am I most interested in addressing through my writing?
- What types of resources (e.g. written materials, visuals, conversations) might be able to help me think through those questions?
- What feels like a good way to record your findings and respond with your writing?
Keep a journal of your thoughts and responses as you go through this research process. The entries can be diaristic, free writes, or more structured writing. Whatever feels best to you! Here are some prompts to think about in your process:
- What types/formats of materials are you finding in your process? Does the type of material affect your response to the content?
- What places, people, moments, language, or visuals stand out to you? Why?
- What further questions do you have?