It's sad to see how much of our history is not taught accurately. Too many important subjects have been glossed over, and the current anti-intellectual leadership in the country is trying to bury them even deeper. Thanks for pointing out these important resources.
Thank you for an assessment of these resources! Its very hard to find such thoughtful reviews of historical non-fiction works and I like how you related them directly to using them for your own historical context in your research. I’m putting them on my TBR list. One question, what is the latest on your book club? Last I heard, you were making some changes?
Got it! So, just in a holding pattern for now? I’m thinking of borrowing your model for a genealogy book club here at my library in the fall. I like the idea of working through a book a chapter or so a month. Cuts down on book costs and leaves lots of room for discussion and implementing concepts. We tried one this year where we read a gen society article or two per month and discussed. It was not enough reading and sometimes not enough material for a good discussion. Plus quite a bit of prep intensive.
You could go though each of the publicly available QuickLessons by Elizabeth Shown Mills as we did a few years back.
— You must have 3-5 dedicated panelists to submit homework in advance on “how the concept or research methodology Elizabeth discusses in this QuickLesson relates to my personal research.”
— Others will benefit from attending as observers, but may be too shy to have volunteered as a panelist.
— 3-4 of your 5 panelists will typically show up for any given week. This gives you 10-15 minutes to review their homework with them. As you noticed last spring with our book club, sometimes one requires more time while another takes less time. Be adaptable.
— Remind all participants about the ethics of observing the author’s copyright and avoiding plagiarism.
— Have your panelists submit their homework with any necessary documents by noon 3 days before the meeting meeting.
— Create a Word doc cover page providing a citation with link to the QuickLesson that inspired your study that month.
— The cover letter should also provide the date, time, and QuickLesson with link for the next* meeting, so all participants (panelists and attendees) may study it.
— NOTE: We want people to visit Elizabeth’s website to read and possibly print their own copy of each QuickLesson. In this manner, the author receives full benefit of people becoming familiar with her website.
— Include the reminder about copyright and plagiarism.
— Add each panelist’s homework in the logical order you’ve chosen. I make sure to rotate which panelist goes first, etc.
— Save as a .PDF so the printouts by attendees will be the same regardless of their printer. Your page 5 is theirs as well.
— Upload the PDF file to share via Google Drive or Dropbox. Be prepared to share the link every ten minutes during a virtual meeting.
— Two days before the meeting distribute the link to the combined homework via Google Drive or Dropbox.
— Do not go to the expense of printing the homework pages train participants to print their own copies as desired. Others may prefer to maintain their copy in digital format to annotate electronically before and during class.
Wow! Thank you for all the info! I am not sure I would have anyone who would commit to being a panelist. But I can ask!
I have been doing mine in person, because that is a requirement of the owner of materials. I was allowed to use it and make copies for my in-person attendees only. It was a society and they got permission from the individual writers for me. Too labor intensive, which is why I want to switch.
If I use a book the library already owns and have everyone buy their own copy I think that will work better for us. We can use the reference copy in class.
Like most library book clubs, I’m going to say “Heres the book info, and schedule of chapters for each month.” And leave it at that. If someone comes not having read it, they can just listen and learn, hopefully.
I wish I could offer it online as well, but managing both is a challenge in our space that I’m not ready to tackle yet! I usually have 8-15 people right now and thats doable. I can do online or in person, but hybrid slays me!
It's sad to see how much of our history is not taught accurately. Too many important subjects have been glossed over, and the current anti-intellectual leadership in the country is trying to bury them even deeper. Thanks for pointing out these important resources.
Thank you for an assessment of these resources! Its very hard to find such thoughtful reviews of historical non-fiction works and I like how you related them directly to using them for your own historical context in your research. I’m putting them on my TBR list. One question, what is the latest on your book club? Last I heard, you were making some changes?
The new edition of a publication I am anticipating has yet to be published. (Sigh)
Got it! So, just in a holding pattern for now? I’m thinking of borrowing your model for a genealogy book club here at my library in the fall. I like the idea of working through a book a chapter or so a month. Cuts down on book costs and leaves lots of room for discussion and implementing concepts. We tried one this year where we read a gen society article or two per month and discussed. It was not enough reading and sometimes not enough material for a good discussion. Plus quite a bit of prep intensive.
You could go though each of the publicly available QuickLessons by Elizabeth Shown Mills as we did a few years back.
— You must have 3-5 dedicated panelists to submit homework in advance on “how the concept or research methodology Elizabeth discusses in this QuickLesson relates to my personal research.”
— Others will benefit from attending as observers, but may be too shy to have volunteered as a panelist.
— 3-4 of your 5 panelists will typically show up for any given week. This gives you 10-15 minutes to review their homework with them. As you noticed last spring with our book club, sometimes one requires more time while another takes less time. Be adaptable.
— Remind all participants about the ethics of observing the author’s copyright and avoiding plagiarism.
— Have your panelists submit their homework with any necessary documents by noon 3 days before the meeting meeting.
— Create a Word doc cover page providing a citation with link to the QuickLesson that inspired your study that month.
— The cover letter should also provide the date, time, and QuickLesson with link for the next* meeting, so all participants (panelists and attendees) may study it.
— NOTE: We want people to visit Elizabeth’s website to read and possibly print their own copy of each QuickLesson. In this manner, the author receives full benefit of people becoming familiar with her website.
— Include the reminder about copyright and plagiarism.
— Add each panelist’s homework in the logical order you’ve chosen. I make sure to rotate which panelist goes first, etc.
— Save as a .PDF so the printouts by attendees will be the same regardless of their printer. Your page 5 is theirs as well.
— Upload the PDF file to share via Google Drive or Dropbox. Be prepared to share the link every ten minutes during a virtual meeting.
— Two days before the meeting distribute the link to the combined homework via Google Drive or Dropbox.
— Do not go to the expense of printing the homework pages train participants to print their own copies as desired. Others may prefer to maintain their copy in digital format to annotate electronically before and during class.
— Be relaxed & have fun.
See: https://www.EvidenceExplainef.com
Wow! Thank you for all the info! I am not sure I would have anyone who would commit to being a panelist. But I can ask!
I have been doing mine in person, because that is a requirement of the owner of materials. I was allowed to use it and make copies for my in-person attendees only. It was a society and they got permission from the individual writers for me. Too labor intensive, which is why I want to switch.
If I use a book the library already owns and have everyone buy their own copy I think that will work better for us. We can use the reference copy in class.
Like most library book clubs, I’m going to say “Heres the book info, and schedule of chapters for each month.” And leave it at that. If someone comes not having read it, they can just listen and learn, hopefully.
I wish I could offer it online as well, but managing both is a challenge in our space that I’m not ready to tackle yet! I usually have 8-15 people right now and thats doable. I can do online or in person, but hybrid slays me!