Historians count... Reading Race, Collecting Cultures - The Roving Reader Files

The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre is an open access University of Manchester facility. The Roving Reader Files category of blog posts is produced by Alison Newby (under the pseudonym The Roving Reader) in collaboration with Hannah Niblett (Collections Access Officer). The Roving Reader Files are designed as public engagement materials, the intention being to introduce research skills and terminology to the general user/reader in an entertaining yet informative manner by revealing hidden stories, making unusual connections and sharing insights into using the Centre's collection for research. The blog post 'Historians count...' explores the motivations of individuals who may spend many years conducting research. Highlighting the book 'Historians and Race. Autobiography and the Writing of History' (published 1996 and edited by Paul Cimbala and Robert Himmelberg), the post examines the motivations of eminent US historians of race relations Darlene Clark Hine, Mark Naison, Dan Carter and Eric Foner. Concluding from their words that historians bear a heavy responsibility in deciding what and who is to be remembered as 'important' or 'significant', as well as to conduct their research with as much objectivity as possible, it makes the case that the task of the historian is itself significant, and one upon which the opinions of millions depend.