Why write about my research on a website and blog? What is the point? Who will be interested? Why should you care? All good questions and in the case of the latter two you will be in a better position to judge than me. At the very least I can try to outline my reasoning for why I started this enterprise and what point I see it as having.
The idea first crept into my sub-conscious when I was carrying out research for my work at the IHR (Institute of Historical Research) last year. I came across a blog entry which talked about the historians resistance to opening up their profession online. In particular the blogger talked about the reluctance of historians to publish research online through open access rather than through restricted means of peer-review publications and the like. Now, I’m not sure I agree entirely with what was said in that blog post. Nor do I probably remember it accurately. But what did impress me was this idea of open discussion taking precedence over the urge and requirement to publish.
Publication is, of course, a driving force for the profession and as I’m early in my career it is of high importance to me. But putting that aside for one moment, I came into the profession wanting to talk about history. I wanted to engage with it on various levels. I don’t only want to aim towards producing polished pieces of research or giving papers to other academics (although that is part of it), what I want is to talk about my research as it is ongoing. The thoughts and processes of researching are in themselves fascinating. I have always enjoyed listening to how people come to their conclusions, although I find that it is rare that historians share those thoughts openly.
This brings me to the second, more recent influence that finally drew me to starting this website. At the beginning of August 2011 I visited Peterborough to attend a talk by Tess Gerritsen who had recently published a new thriller novel, The Silent Girl. Gerritsen choose for this occasion to talk about ideas – particularly her ideas and how difficult it was to come up with a good idea. Why did she choose this subject? Because in her experience novelists are rarely interested in the process of writing in terms of: where do you find it easiest to write? Do you use a computer or pen and paper? Do you drink coffee or tea to help your thoughts flow more naturally? And so on. Novelists are interested in each other’s ideas – their inspirations, the process of finding a good idea.
These are important reasons for why I am writing this website and blog. I would like to open up a discussion on the process of writing history both in terms of the sixteenth century scholars that I study and in terms of my own experiences in studying them. I think there is much that can be learnt and gained from that process. The twists and turns of research; the dead ends and unexpected avenues; the expression of ideas (sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes simply bizarre) are all part of the historians craft.
Whether or not any of this is interesting to anyone but me I can’t tell. I guess this is something that I will learn from the eventual success or failure of this site to attract interest. Either way I plan to enjoy the journey and, perhaps, learn a few things about my research habits along the way.
