HistoryLynx is a blog about resources and ideas of special interest to teachers and students. Its larger purpose is to promote a better understanding of humankind’s interconnectedness in classrooms and in the venues of public history. The Lynx values intellectual rigor and integrity, fairness and inclusiveness, and respect for cultural differences. While the perspective is historical, the strategy is interdisciplinary, drawing on the scholarship of several human-centered disciplines.
The lynx in HistoryLynx is an obvious pun. In the beginning we humans were hunters and gatherers–and historians of all stripes still practice skills similar to those of our earliest ancestors. The past is our prey and as we pursue it, we discover that gathering evidence from readily available sources must soon give way to tracking down what is more elusive. In short, metaphors of seeking and hunting, seizing and devouring (as we analyze the bounty of the hunt) are well-suited to our tasks . And insofar as our interpretations are contested, we compete in an intellectual arena.
The Lynx (the blogger) will focus its attention on links between the past and the present, between the local and the global, and among different peoples and cultures. For teachers HistoryLynx will present activities designed to encourage reading, writing and researching across the curriculum as a means of developing the skills and competencies that students need to thrive in the 21st century.
Who is the Lynx behind HistoryLynx? This blogger is an escapee from academe, an independent scholar, and an active member of a local historical society. Over the years I have had the opportunity to teach kindergartners, third/fourth graders, sixth graders, and high school students. For about a dozen years I taught at the college-level, including seminars for graduate students in M.A. programs. I have a Ph.D. from a major research university but currently I am not affilated with any institution of higher education. Readers will learn more about my background and interests in future posts.
RESOURCES
Bloch, Maurice. The Historian’s Craft. Trans. Peter Putnam. Manchester University Press, 1992. @GoogleBooks.
Carr, Edward Hallet. What Is History? Penguin Group, 2008.
Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History. 5th edition. Longman, 2010.
