One of the many announcements that came out of the NGS2015 conference was the appointment of the new FGS Forum editors (and National Institute course authors) Julie Cahill Tarr and Jennifer Alford. You can read more about their new editorial positions on the FGS Voice blog.
Congratulations Julie and Jennifer!
Grunge Flag Of South Africa by zdiviv/Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce their latest course, Research: South Africa Ancestors Including Military Records written by South African genealogist Audrey Portman.
This course covers the history of South Africa, genealogical sources and repositories for searching your ancestors. General genealogical topics covered include birth, marriage, death, church records, cemeteries, newspapers, and more. Research examples are provided to give guidance on various types of research projects.
In addition, the course looks at major wars and conflicts, and the records they produced. Starting with the Boer Wars, World Wars I and II, and ending at the Korean War. In particular, records of the South African Constabulary, South African Defence Force, South African Air Force and the South African Police are covered.
This course provides researchers with the tools they need to research their South African ancestors. The first offering of this course is June 1, 2015. Learn more about it on our website.
Getting ready to serve the barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair (LOC). Lee, Russell,1903-1986, photographer. https://flic.kr/p/4juCaP
Looking for a course that adds to your understanding of your ancestor’s life? The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course written by genealogist and social historian Barbara J. Starmans, PLCGS, Research: Social History.
About social history Barbara Starmans writes,
“Social History is not concerned with politics and wars, or kings and presidents, but rather with the lives of ordinary people. It is a view of history from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. Looking through the lens of the past will enhance your understanding of how your ancestors lived, worked and played in their daily lives, and will add depth to your family stories. It is often the minutia of someone’s life that tells the story of who they were and what they believed in. Beyond the names and dates of genealogy, each of your ancestors has a story to tell, and by learning about their time and place and how they lived in it, you will add to your understanding of who they were.”
Research: Social History is an introduction to social history that will provide examples and resources of subject matter from many areas of interest to the social historian. Rather than being a comprehensive discussion of social history, the material is intended to inspire your research into the lives of your people and the times and places they lived in. Your ancestors, their families, and the society they lived in may be different from the examples given but only by researching the specifics of their lives, their communities, the world around them and the forces and influences that shaped their environment can you begin to know who they were.
You can learn more about this course by checking out our website.
Are you a professional genealogist or a personal historian looking to add video taped interviews to your services? Ready to enhance your current audio visual skills? Personal Historian: Video Techniques is the course you’ve been searching for!
Camcorder by suphakit73/ Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net
Personal Historian: Video Techniques was written by Carol Cassidy, a well-known expert in her field. Carol Cassidy has been using cameras and audio gear to record and share first-person life stories for almost 30 years. Her clients include PBS stations, the BBC, CNN, human rights groups and the United Nations. She has worked in 35 countries, often collecting first-person stories in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas. Carol holds a master’s degree from New York University. She is the author of a book of first-person interviews collected in conjunction with a PBS documentary series she produced and directed. She is the recipient of ten competitive fellowships, including one from the American Film Institute, one from the PBS Producer’s Academy, two from the (US) National Endowment for the Arts and three from the (US) Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Carol has taught film and video making at institutions including UCLA Film School, the International Film and Television Workshops in Maine and Atlanta’s Image Film and Video Center.
Personal Historian: Video Techniques is designed to introduce the basics of audio-video production for personal historians and genealogists, that is, people who want to use current digital audio and video tools to record, edit and share life stories. Audio-video productions encompass four phases of work: pre-production, production, post-production and delivery. This course is structured along these four phases.
Students with any level of audio-video experience, including those who are beginners, can learn from this course. There is great depth and variety to the practice of video biography. This course will help you build your skills and savvy.
Learn more about this course and register by going to our website. This course begins May 2015.
Open Sign Shows Grand Opening And Advertisement by Stuart Miles/Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Ask anyone who has tried their hand at running a small business. If you start it, they (clients) won’t necessarily come.
Marketing is the way to get the word out about your business, so that potential clients or customers will find you. As with most professionals, you may prefer to spend your time and energy doing what you do best—whether that is writing books of families’ histories, making video-biographies, or capturing oral histories for a business history—but in order to find clients, you must give adequate attention to marketing.
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course by Personal Historian Diane Dassow. Business Skills: Marketing Your Services is the latest course offering in the Professional Development Certificate to help you start and be successful in a genealogy business.
In this course, we will present the basic methods and topics in marketing, geared toward a small business owner like a personal historian or professional genealogist.
You can read more about the course on our website. The first offering of this 8-week course is April 2015. It is recommended that you have taken the course, Business Skills: Creating a Genealogy Business, or at least have written a business plan and started a business.