Social History is not concerned with politics and wars, or kings and presidents, but rather with the lives of ordinary people. It is a view of history from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. Looking through the lens of the past will enhance your understanding of how people lived, worked and played in their daily lives. It is often the minutia of someone’s life that tells the story of who they were and what they believed in. Beyond names and dates, those who came before us have a story to tell, and by learning about their time and place and how they lived in it, we can add to our understanding of who they were.
The Social Historian is a longform story website featuring social history themed articles across the centuries and around the world.
Who is The Social Historian?
Barbara J Starmans is the author behind The Social Historian. She is a published freelance writer living in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada and has been doing family history research for the past 35 years. Barbara is a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies as well as an instructor for their intermediate research course on Social History. You will find selected clips from Barbara’s freelance writing on her author website and you can subscribe to her genealogy blog about her family history research on Out of My Tree Genealogy. Barbara enjoys keeping up with trending topics in genealogy and social history research and loves to share her latest discoveries. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.