What is

LOCAL HISTORY ?
Local history is the study of history in a
geographically local context and it often concentrates
on the local community. It
incorporates cultural and social aspects of history.
Local history is often documented by local historical
societies or groups that form to preserve a local
historic building or other historic site. Many works of
local history are compiled by amateur historians
working independently or archivists employed by
various organizations. An important aspect of local
history is the publication and cataloguing of
documents preserved in local or national records
which relate to particular areas.
Local history tends to be less documented than other types,
with fewer books and artifacts than that of a country or
continent. Many local histories are recorded as oral tales or
stories and so are more vulnerable than more well-known issues.
Artifacts of local history are often collected in local history
museums, which may be housed in a historic house or other
building. Individual historic sites are inherently local, although
they may have national or world history importance as well.
Many however have little overall historical impact but add depth
to the local area.
Local history attempts to reconstruct the
history of a place to understand how the way
people lived connects to the community’s
present and future.
Why do we study Local History?
Local history reflects the reality that our lives
are shaped by particular places and that our
physical place in the world is a major
determinant to how our lives are lived. Local
history is the study of the everyday struggles
and triumphs of ordinary people.
The study of local topics allows for in-depth
research to connect the past with the present,
which is done more simply and with more
meaning than studying the national, faceless
masses. It allows for greater depth in studying
the history of our communities and the
relations to the people within them.
Why is it important?
History is typically taught with a focus on national
and international events, but ignores the places
students (of all ages) engage with most, their
neighborhoods. Involving students in local history
helps them to learn to analyze their place in larger
events. By understanding their part in history, people
become directly involved in their studies of the past.
By focusing on local history, students will learn to
question history as it has been taught and history as it
is being made around them.
Educational and historical Benefits of Local
History to students
Local history is a useful vehicle for building
partnerships with the local community in
which the school resides and it can help to
break down the barriers between school and
the world outside.
During field visits and project work in local
history, pupils will need to get in touch with
experts such as museum curators, archivists,
archaeologists, members of local historical
societies and the like.
This emphasizes the fact that history has a wider
significance outside the classroom: it is an on-going
business in which real people, professionals, earn a
living and the learning process extends beyond the
realms of history textbooks. Visits are a wonderful
way of letting pupils know that learning can be fun’
and it is ‘not a process that just takes place within the
four walls of the classroom. It encourages them to
make their own links with the outside world and to
take control of their own learning.