Yvonne has this to say about her blogging:
This blog is a place of conversation and sharing. After I finished history honours at the University of Sydney in 2010 I wanted to pass on what I had learned to others who are interested. However, my learning has not stopped with the end of my university education. Since then I have worked as a research assistant on a project examining the history of teaching reading in Australia as well as some other projects. Currently I am researching the beliefs of Australian soldiers serving on the frontline in World War I. As this abstract about my initial research indicates, I am interested in what the soldier’s wrote in their diaries and letters about their beliefs.
Three elements form the core of my historical work:
- Thorough archival research, the bedrock of an historian’s job;
- The use of technology to gain historical insights and higher productivity in my work, which I discuss in my digital humanities blog, Stumbling Through the Future, and;
- Effective publicity of the work of historians drawing on my previous work in public relations and my professional use of social media.
I am a member of the Professional Historians Association of New South Wales. I have conducted Continuing Professional Development sessions for their members about how historians can use social media effectively for their professional development and publicity of their work.
This blog does not merely focus on my current research. I share the history I encounter in my everyday life through reviews of books that I read for pleasure and work, exhibitions I visit, conferences I attend, history of places I travel to as well as issues currently of interest to the public and profession. For the last couple of years I volunteered for the Australian Women Writers’ Challenge, looking after the genres of histories, biographies and memoirs.
This blog is part of my commitment to share what I have learned with anyone who is interested, but it goes further than that. Yes, there is much learning in the academy but there is also a lot to learn from so many other people. Family history is booming, people love reading biographies and many are engaged in activities ranging from historical re-enactments, local history to histories of organisations such as clubs and places of worship. Everyone has their own life story which includes knowledge of the past. I have much to learn from all this.
This blog is about listening as well as imparting. It is about collaboration and sharing. I hope that this site will contribute to this ethos. This blog is a place where the general public who is interested in history can mingle with professional and academic historians. Please feel free to share your observations and knowledge through comments on these pages
Blogs by Bahais 