Page Coming Soon… 🙂
In this new addition to the pages on this blog, I would like to tell you about the history research work and writing that I do, and believe me it is my pleasure to do so. History is just a serious hobby at present and I am just a serious amateur but I have indeed a passion for the subject that began when I was but a small pint-sized history buff and is as much a part of my DNA makeup as the colour of my eyes.
Most historians have a niche, a particular area of history that they specialise in. This is necessary because there is so much history that it is sadly impossible to be an expert in all of it. As I am still quite young, I have not yet settled on mine, though believe me I have pondered it. It is difficult because it is all so interesting! I like it all! Having said that, however, I do have particular interests that I am more drawn to. I do tend to be a big picture girl and like looking at the broad scheme of things as well as the patterns and themes that run through the past. I am particularly interested in the people and cultures and civilizations of the past, what they were like, how people lived, what they believed, and so forth. As such, ancient history stands about as a definite specific interest, along with archaeology, another passion of mine. The period between the Fall of Rome and the Norman Conquest in Britain that we call the Early Middle Ages is of particular interest to me as well because you have so much change happening with the end of the ancient world and the beginning of the Medieval, and the stage is being set and the pieces are being put in place for the Medieval Europe that was coming. I don’t just like to look at what happened, I am interested in why. I like to dig deep and understand core motivations, beliefs, ideologies, and so forth, behind the shiftings and decisions and civilizations of the past. I am also particularly interested in the history of Britain and the Middle Ages as well.
I believe that historical methodology, how we do history, is very important, and I am teaching myself as much as possible the methods of historical inquiry and research, analysis, evaluation, corroboration, and so forth. I ask lots of questions and dig for answers. I look for and study primary sources and read them with a critical eye, training myself to recognise bias, sensationalism, the author’s own view or school of thought, and particular ideologies, and to disentangle them from the facts. Each research project I do gives me a chance to put to practice these skills and hopefully improve them and develop them further.
Cait Pennington Holistic Wellness Coaching & Support 