Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 10.04 Women and Gender
Presentation #1 Title
Saving Lives: Finding, Documenting, and Preserving Women’s Stories
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Short Description/Objectives: Over two years’ time, one researcher identified, compiled, supplemented, and preserved nearly 900 women’s life stories. This session presents case studies from the project and engages participants in the research process, including evaluation and implementation of technological tools that facilitated successful research. Long Description: “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it,” (Art Williams) has never been more true than when applied to research inspired by hundreds of lost identities. Beginning with just a list of names, one researcher successfully chronicled the personal and professional lives of nearly 900 primarily Southern women, born 1880-1935, who graduated from a defunct East Tennessee diploma-level nursing program. Their stories, photos, documents, and recorded memories have been captured and preserved in a digital repository. Each unique biography contains themes that connect it to others’, regional, and national histories. Late 19th and early 20th Century research – especially women – is replete with challenges. The lost 1890 Census pales in comparison to lack of records, unrecorded name changes, and background stories created or hidden to fit social norms. Women, especially unmarried or with no surviving children, were easily forgotten over time. The research plan incorporated a wide range of traditional and modern resources: physical and digital document repositories, public and private databases, crowd-sourcing, written, voice, and digital communications. Results from advanced problem-solving and analysis constantly refined the plan. Simple technology solutions facilitated organization, investigation, cataloguing, and presentation of results. Drawing examples from the project as case-studies, participants in this session will step through the planning and implementation process, observe creative search techniques, analyze and annotate results, note developing patterns, and evaluate traditional and unusual resources. User-friendly, inexpensive or free technology tools, integral in each phase of the research, will be demonstrated.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Regional, national, and international award‐winning local and family historian, author, editor, and educator with more than 30 years’ “old‐school” and modern research experience and Master’s in Adult Education. Founder and current participant in long-term, on‐line genealogical and historical initiatives. Consultant for individuals and organizations on historical research, preservation, and problem‐solving.
Saving Lives: Finding, Documenting, and Preserving Women’s Stories
Short Description/Objectives: Over two years’ time, one researcher identified, compiled, supplemented, and preserved nearly 900 women’s life stories. This session presents case studies from the project and engages participants in the research process, including evaluation and implementation of technological tools that facilitated successful research. Long Description: “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it,” (Art Williams) has never been more true than when applied to research inspired by hundreds of lost identities. Beginning with just a list of names, one researcher successfully chronicled the personal and professional lives of nearly 900 primarily Southern women, born 1880-1935, who graduated from a defunct East Tennessee diploma-level nursing program. Their stories, photos, documents, and recorded memories have been captured and preserved in a digital repository. Each unique biography contains themes that connect it to others’, regional, and national histories. Late 19th and early 20th Century research – especially women – is replete with challenges. The lost 1890 Census pales in comparison to lack of records, unrecorded name changes, and background stories created or hidden to fit social norms. Women, especially unmarried or with no surviving children, were easily forgotten over time. The research plan incorporated a wide range of traditional and modern resources: physical and digital document repositories, public and private databases, crowd-sourcing, written, voice, and digital communications. Results from advanced problem-solving and analysis constantly refined the plan. Simple technology solutions facilitated organization, investigation, cataloguing, and presentation of results. Drawing examples from the project as case-studies, participants in this session will step through the planning and implementation process, observe creative search techniques, analyze and annotate results, note developing patterns, and evaluate traditional and unusual resources. User-friendly, inexpensive or free technology tools, integral in each phase of the research, will be demonstrated.
