Trove and the history of childhood – combining microhistory and big data. Issue 4 (2nd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Swain, Shurlee; Musgrove, Nell; O'Neill, Cate; Thurley-Hart, Constance
• Is Part Of: History Australia. Volume 18:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 840
• Page End: 845
• Publication Date: 2021-10-02
• Subjects: History of childhood -- digitised sources -- Trove -- classified advertisements -- child welfare history; Australia -- History -- Periodicals; Australia; History; Periodicals; 905
• DOI: 10.1080/14490854.2021.1993742
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1449-0854

Abstract

Abstract: The experiences of children are notoriously elusive in the sources on which historians traditionally rely. This paper will discuss several projects in which Trove has expanded the history of childhood in Australia, uncovering a nation-wide trade in children through adoption advertisements, and enriching our knowledge of out-of-home care, and the many inquiries into its failings. Trove has democratised the practice of history – allowing care leavers and abuse survivors to research their own histories – and enabled new avenues for identifying microhistories. However, this article also argues that Trove-focused history without an understanding of context can be misleading.