genealogy Article What Is Genealogy? Philosophy, Education, Motivations and Future Prospects Bruce Durie Honorary Fellow, University of Strathclyde, 16 Richmond St, Glasgow G1 1XQ, UK; bruce@durie.scot Academic Editor: Philip Kretsedemas Received: 9 November 2016; Accepted: 2 January 2017; Published: 10 January 2017 Abstract: This article is a first attempt to generate discussion and academic analysis of the modus operandi of genealogy and genealogists. Genealogy is on the verge of becoming a recognised profession and an academic discipline, with one or more qualification routes. This article summarises the author’s philosophy, motivations and experiences in establishing educational/training courses and qualifications in a University context. Definitions of genealogy and related concepts are discussed, in the light of an epistemological analysis. Such philosophical considerations are rarely discussed among professional genealogists. It is hoped this article will be a stimulus to more enlightened debate of the epistemological and philosophical bases of family history-type genealogy. There is also a dearth of research into the motivations of amateur and professional genealogists, and almost no scholarly scrutiny of genealogy as an academic discipline. Nor can it be dismissed as “a branch of history”; genealogy and history are related but separate disciplines with overlapping skills-sets. Keywords: genealogy; education; qualification; profession; University of Strathclyde; Durie; genealogical proof; genealogical standards 1. Introduction Genealogy is on the cusp of becoming an all-qualified profession, and moving from an “amateur” (in the original sense of the word) pursuit to a “professional” activity, with one or more—often competing—routes to education, qualification, certification etc., and some resistance from a number of “certification” bodies which has generated a number of tensions, some of which are discussed below 1 . However, it is necessary to place this in context, with some definitions. These are not necessarily universally accepted, nor are they suggested as all-encompassing. But they are given so that reader will understand what the author intends to indicate by their use, and as a stimulus to further discussion and debate. It is also hoped that opening up a debate on the philosophical underpinnings to family history-type genealogy will lead to more discussion of this, and stimulate motivational research. 2. Definitions—What Is Genealogy? Genealogy is what genealogists do. That’s a circular argument, of course, but it serves as a pragmatic starting-point for a discussion of the “tight” definition of genealogy. It purposely ignores, for the moment, wider definitions such as those of Bernard Williams 2 . This is at once: a process or research methodology; a term for the outcome of such research; and the overall expression for the 1 This aspect—levels of educational attainment vs. certifications and “short courses”—will be more fully addressed in an upcoming Special Issue of Genealogy. 2 A genealogy is a narrative that tries to explain a cultural phenomenon by describing a way in which it came about, or could have come about, or might be imagined to have come about—paraphrased from ([1], p. 20). Genealogy 2017, 1, 4; doi:10.3390/genealogy1010004 www.mdpi.com/journal/genealogy