After looking over several articles featured by the AHA, I was intrigued by two in particular. The first discussed in detail the ins and outs of H-Net, an online resource I unfortunately just learned about in the past month. Matthew Gilmore's H-Net: Digital Discussion for Historians really offered some great information on just how expansive H-net truly is. The variety of categorizations for different topics is very appealing for users, as this would increase the probability of success when searching for a specific topic. I think I will be utilizing this resource more in the future, particularly for the upcoming months and researching potential thesis topics. I can use this site to read about what might already be out there in the research world, and maybe put some feelers out if an area is lacking in research. Lately, I have been considering looking at illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Antebellum period, particularly in Charleston and Wilmington, and this resource and its accessibility is perfect for exploring this topic and gaining some "professional folk wisdom" on the topic.
The idea of "professional folk wisdom," as discussed by Daniel J. Cohen in Zotero: Social and Semantic Computing for Historical Scholarship, really appealed to me after having worked in a variety of research settings, both academically and professionally. Researching and reading about a topic can become overwhelming at times. Surrounding yourself with professionals and other academics who have experience in the topic is essential in providing some guidance and direction. Cohen notes that one can gain these little tidbits of knowledge from academics, professionals, endnotes, bibliographies, or even acknowledgements. Originally I was not familiar with Zotero, but it seems to be somewhat similar to H-Net, yet much more expansive its in offered information and resources. I do think that creating a bibliography can be a bit daunting and it is oftentimes difficult to sift through material that seems useful to your work from material that actually is useful. Having the material at hand, along with connections to other professionals and academics from whom to glean those bits of folk wisdom is certainly showing me how much history and digital really can go hand in hand.
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