Hello, I thought I should virtually introduce myself and say thank you for the thought-provoking comments on my academic research and work with CRT. Always good to know where one stands, and that people care about the way research is conducted. It’s clear from some of the perceptions of my profession (or, perhaps, of me) articulated here that some of my academic colleagues have not done a good job previously of communicating what they do nor of valuing the expertise of people outside universities. I realise that some academics have, as Joseph Boughey put it, ‘looked down on’ the research and knowledge beyond their ivory towers. I try to be a different kind of researcher, and am keen to learn from the vast body of work that has already been undertaken (properly credited, of course). I aim to champion this expertise within academic circles, and not just in the disciplines usually associated with this field. At a meeting of researchers (academic and non-academic) at my institution recently, I opened with some words of appreciation of volunteers and all those who work on and research canals, including a picture of local people clearing up after the floods caused havoc on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. As one poster here notes, I lecture in English Literature, so come to the issues from another perspective (often valuable in itself) – I’m particularly interested in the way Victorians represented the canals, but I do have broader interests in that period and in the longer history of the people of the waterways. I’m a Midlander living in Huddersfield – how could I not be?
Genuine question: which human stories of the canals do you think should reach wider public and academic audiences? And if you have any questions/comments about my work, you can either ask me here or drop me a line: j.matthews@hud.ac.uk.