Classes

       

Class Title: Introduction to Writing Family History
Instructor: A. Mary Murphy
Class Term: April 16-May 7, 2012
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Synopsis

Getting started is the hardest part. In this five-unit course, we will take those first steps and explore the many sources of information available to us when we write a family history. Sometimes, the secrets and answers are right in front of us.

Class Description

Each week, we will discuss a new source of information about a family's history—photos, words, kitchens, belongings—as well as where to look for that information and how to "read" it. Then we will write a short (500-1000 words) episode of the family story. The course sets specific research tasks but also makes room for individual ideas. The assignments and instructions will be posted in the course classroom (our Yahoo Group), and students will be encouraged to discuss their problems and discoveries using group emails. Completed assignments will be submitted to the instructor by e-mail, so she can offer feedback.

Outline

  • Unit 1: Photographs.
  • Unit 2: Words.
  • Unit 3: Kitchens.
  • Unit 4: Possessions.
  • Unit 5: What Else Have You Got?

Student Skills, Equipment, and Time Required

Beginners welcome. Students should be able to complete assignments using a word processor. E-mail and participation in Yahoo group are required. Students should plan to commit at least two hours per week to completing the planning and writing stages of each unit, but most will find that three or four hours are happily spent involved with their projects.

Tuition/Fees for this course

SCN members: $160. Non-SCN members: $200.

Instructor Bio

Mary Murphy A Canadian, A. Mary Murphy is a lifelong writer whose doctoral work was in life writing. Her group biography of her mother's family, Pierce: Six Prairie Lives, is forthcoming from Temeron Press. Her poetry collection, Shattered Fanatics, was published by BuschekBooks in 2007. Mary teaches post-secondary classes in literature and film, continuing education courses in life writing, leads field schools to Ireland, and has a freelance writing, editing, and mentoring business, Writing Life.