Update to Follow

Now that the initial transcriptions are complete the various pieces of the project can start to move forward.  The week on November 30th our class will be discussing the progress people have made on their specific pieces of the project (a similar update will occur the week of February 1st).  Following this I shall update the blog with what people are working on and how aspects of the project are looking as we move into the winter.  In the long run however it looks as though we are aiming for a website launch around the 24th of March, 2011.

In other news the Chatham/Christ Church project is beginning to pick up.  A link to their blog shall be posted in the near future as well.

Transcription

The initial transcription process, though daunting at times, is remarkably rewarding.  Being able to allow others access to a primary source that was previously restricted to hands on use is one of the true callings of historians.  Through transcription, however, the historian is able to influence how the process occurs.  Punctuation, phrasing, illegible and missing words are unintentionally manipulated by the transcriber when attempting to put the document back together.  This is unavoidable unfortunately.  In order to delineate the original from the transcriber’s input we put changes in square brackets ([example]) so readers are able to pass judgment themselves as a photograph of the original will be included with our transcriptions.  No source can ever truly be pristine.

After the initial transcription process we face the issue of where and how to proceed.  As this is a class project it may be difficult to come up with any single solution to this but through individual portions of the project a large number of historical types may be wedded together to form the whole.  For myself social aspects of history are the key to understanding history in general as different areas (like politics and economy) can be understood and learned about through a social perspective as well as their own sub-fields of history—while, at least in my opinion, social history may be slightly more difficult to get at the other way around.  Despite this a holistic approach is usually the best option.  If a historian approaches a project hoping to find a specific element they most often will dig or interpret until they have found it, the same is true of the reverse.  By being open minded and not setting oneself up for particular interpretations a wider range of information becomes available.  

By having so many different individuals, mindsets, and perspectives working on a single project our class has the benefit of ‘forced holism’.  People innately interpret things based on their own paradigm and personal interest; as such the combination of people in the class will allow multiple sides to be seen.  The problem of wedding interpretations and gleaned information together is likely to arise but that is just another proverbial bridge the class, and any historian doing research, needs to cross and square off with.

Documentation and Research

While at the Oberlin archives our group, with the assistance of Tim and Devon (two graduate students from Western) and the assistant archivist, documented the Hiram Wilson letters.  We photographed the letters directly onto the computer so they could be taken at a higher resolution.  This would help to preserve the integrity of the letters and allow us to look at them more closely without losing anything or the image becoming too pixelated.  It will be the job of the class to improve the quality of the image and crop it to size so they can be uploaded onto the project website upon its completion.  We will also be transcribing the letters in order to provide a text version beneath the uploaded image.  We were instructed on using the archive’s database in order to gain access to related information as well.

On the main floor of the library we were able to use the Oberlin library website to use databases we do not have access to through Western.  Our group researched Hiram Wilson and emailed ourselves the information.  By doing this we will be able to continue using this information throughout the progress of the project.  Members of the group have been uploading the research they found to a secure wiki page so we may all utilize the information that we amassed while in Oberlin.

The transcription process is in its beginning stages and shall be blogged about in the coming weeks. 

Our Trip

On October 23rd a large portion of my Historian's Craft class set out for Ohio, leaving London around 2:45 pm.  The drive to Ohio seemed fairly long, though I read for the majority of the trip so at least it was productive.  It was dark before we arrived in Elyria-- where we would be staying for the night, but as we had not yet eaten dinner most of us headed over to the mall close by after we checked in to our hotel.

We split off in groups but about a dozen of us decided to go to the Harry Buffalo together.  The meal was wonderful and it was nice bonding experience since not everyone was well acquainted with one another.  I particularly knew no one, being a main campus student, but everyone was very friendly and we had a good evening together.  Once our bills were paid we headed back to the hotel (The Red Roof Inn) for the night.  I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Getting up early has never been a problem for me however I was not feeling very well the next morning.  I had a headache but after a shower, a bit of food, some Tylenol, and a tad more rest I was ready to go.

The drive from Oberlin to Elyria was not long.  As we entered the town you could really tell that it was centered around the college.  The campus was beautiful, with lots of green space between the buildings, and downtown Oberlin was conveniently located nearby (which turned out to be lucky for us later in the day).  At 10 am we met with one of the history professors from Oberlin College and she gave us a walking tour of the campus and surrounding area.  There were a large number of monuments through the town that were wonderful to see (pictures are posted and viewable on the Photograph page).  Prof. Lasser told us stories at each monument and our class would like to extend our thanks to her for showing us around Oberlin, it was a wonderful tour.

One of the highlights was United Church of Christ, which was the first church in Oberlin, established 1834.  This was the church the famous preacher from the Second Great Awakening, Charles Finney, preached at when he came to Oberlin.  His traveling pulpit and traveling bible are still housed in the church.

Mudd Center

After our tour we proceeded to lunch.  However our plan to eat at the dinning hall fell through as we quickly learned our information had been incorrect.  You could not eat there if you were paying cash, you needed tickets-- which were to be purchased at another building on campus.  So it was decided we would all find our own way for lunch and meet at the Mudd Center, which housed the library and archives at 1 pm.  A number of us decided to head to a diner we had noticed downtown, which I cannot remember the name of for the life of me.  The food was wonderful, just as it had been the night before.  Our group headed to the Mudd Center where we caught up with the rest of those on the trip, ready to help document the letters and do some research (this process shall be blogged about in the following week).

Once all the letters had been photographed and we had collected some research we decided it was time to head home, but not before we visited the candy shop (which turned out to have a lot more than just candy, it had everything).  Back on the bus we headed for Ontario; after crossing the bridge we stopped for food and were back on the road in no time.

We arrived back in London safe and sound, earlier then originally anticipated but on schedule with when we ended up leaving.  In all it was a wonderful trip.  Our class would like to thank Maxine from Community Based Learning, Devon and Tim, our bus driver, and the individuals at Oberlin College archive and library for being so welcoming and helpful during our visit.

It started with an email...

A couple of weeks before the school year began I received an email from the Community Based Learning office at Huron University College in London, Ontario regarding the class I was taking there-- History 3801E: Historian's Craft.  This email was to notify the class that there would be two possible opportunities to take part in Community Based Learning during the year in order to gain practical experience outside of the classroom.  One opportunity would be to work with Christ Church in Chatham, Ontario about it's history in regards the anti-slavery movement.  The other was a trip to Oberlin, Ohio to document abolitionist letters written by Rev. Hiram Wilson to key members of the staff at Oberlin College in Ohio.  This blog will be used to document the progress of the Oberlin project, which will be utilizing said letters to gain a better understanding of the anti-slavery movement in what is now southwestern Ontario as well as Hiram Wilson's role, and finally present this information to the public and academics alike.