Introduction

The centerpiece of History 3801E “The Historian’s Craft” is a community-based research project that brings together the theoretical and practical aspects of the course material. In 2017-18, the project was a research partnership with the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society, Dr. Paul Ward (Edge Hill University), and Building African Caribbean Communities. The project was based on the methodology of James Walvin’s book, Slavery in Small Things.  Using material culture as a starting point, we worked with an object related to slavery and antislavery from the local collections of the CKBHS or the Oberlin College Archives.  Research findings and reflection on historical method and historiographical theory are gathered on this website. We also presented our research at the international conference, Writing Rights, Righting Wrongs: Transatlantic Narratives of Race  at Huron in April, 2018Through the project,  we tested the critical limits of historical research methods, asked epistemological questions at the heart of the creation of historical knowledge, and considered the place of History in public intellectual and cultural life. In the process, we contributed to a wider community of historical research.