Historians In the Vacuum
I thought I would come out of my long slumber to make a post about research that may prove helpful to some of my colleagues as we begin work on dissertations that will monopolize years of our lives.
Historians like Warren Susman constantly remind us that history does not take place in a vacuum – it is not solely the province of historians locked away in our ivory tower writing for a limited audience but instead suffuses the cultures we live in and therefore affects all our daily lives. Just as historians must remember that historical narratives do no arise in a vacuum, we must also remember that, as historians, we do not research and write in a vacuum either.
I am currently working on the prospectus for my dissertation, and at times have been overcome by feelings of inadequacy about my topic and my research. But, as I always tell my students, learning is not a solitary process. We often have our greatest breakthroughs when we overcome our anxieties and reach out to others for help.
For example, after a recent discussion with my advisor, I found the direction of my research completely changed. Simply put, she suggested a new way of searching for sources and source repositories that immediately led me to a new body of sources I’d never even considered before that will be crucial to my project. I felt excited and rejuvenated by this discovery.
Forming bonds with our colleagues and peers and reaching out to them, whether we feel confident or lost, is an important and perhaps understated part of the academic process. I would encourage all academics, from college freshmen to tenured professors, to remember and explore this important facet of our work as historians. History does not occur in a vacuum. Neither do historians.
