Policy Press
Four How can historical knowledge help us to make sense of communities like Rotherham?
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Abstract
This chapter addresses the question of how historical knowledge can help one to make sense of communities like Rotherham. It first considers what counts as ‘historical knowledge’, and examines the limitations of historiography in producing histories at a local level, where issues of class, gender, and ethnicity are played out in people’s everyday lives. The chapter then explores how historians are expanding what counts for historical knowledge — in particular, the co-production of research, which can be defined as research with people rather than on people. It also provides some real-world examples of co-production in action. Finally, the chapter provides some arguments as to why historical knowledge matters.
Abstract
This chapter addresses the question of how historical knowledge can help one to make sense of communities like Rotherham. It first considers what counts as ‘historical knowledge’, and examines the limitations of historiography in producing histories at a local level, where issues of class, gender, and ethnicity are played out in people’s everyday lives. The chapter then explores how historians are expanding what counts for historical knowledge — in particular, the co-production of research, which can be defined as research with people rather than on people. It also provides some real-world examples of co-production in action. Finally, the chapter provides some arguments as to why historical knowledge matters.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xii
- Series editors’ foreword xiv
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Introductions
- What kind of book is this? 3
- Policy, practice and racism: social cohesion in action 7
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Community histories
- Introducing Rotherham 17
- How can historical knowledge help us to make sense of communities like Rotherham? 29
- Some poems, a song and a prose piece 33
- Who are we now? Local history, industrial decline and ethnic diversity 41
- Silk and steel 53
- History and co-production in the home: documents, artefacts and migrant identities in Rotherham 59
- Tassibee: a case study 69
- Identity 73
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Community ways of knowing
- Methodology: an introduction 87
- Collaborative ethnography in context 91
- Safe spaces and community activism 107
- Emotions in community research 115
- What parents know: a call for realistic accounts of parenting young children 123
- Where I come from and where I’m going to: exploring identity, hopes and futures with Roma girls in Rotherham 135
- Introduction to artistic methods for understanding contested communities 151
- What can art do? Artistic approaches to community experiences 157
- Using poetry to engage the voices of women and girls in research 173
- The Tassibee ‘Skin and Spirit’ project 183
- ‘The Rotherham project’: young men represent themselves and their town 193
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Communities going forward
- Re-imagining contested communities: implications for policy research 201
- What this book can teach us 205
- References 215
- Index 231
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xii
- Series editors’ foreword xiv
-
Introductions
- What kind of book is this? 3
- Policy, practice and racism: social cohesion in action 7
-
Community histories
- Introducing Rotherham 17
- How can historical knowledge help us to make sense of communities like Rotherham? 29
- Some poems, a song and a prose piece 33
- Who are we now? Local history, industrial decline and ethnic diversity 41
- Silk and steel 53
- History and co-production in the home: documents, artefacts and migrant identities in Rotherham 59
- Tassibee: a case study 69
- Identity 73
-
Community ways of knowing
- Methodology: an introduction 87
- Collaborative ethnography in context 91
- Safe spaces and community activism 107
- Emotions in community research 115
- What parents know: a call for realistic accounts of parenting young children 123
- Where I come from and where I’m going to: exploring identity, hopes and futures with Roma girls in Rotherham 135
- Introduction to artistic methods for understanding contested communities 151
- What can art do? Artistic approaches to community experiences 157
- Using poetry to engage the voices of women and girls in research 173
- The Tassibee ‘Skin and Spirit’ project 183
- ‘The Rotherham project’: young men represent themselves and their town 193
-
Communities going forward
- Re-imagining contested communities: implications for policy research 201
- What this book can teach us 205
- References 215
- Index 231
