National Council on Public History

Caitlin Cohn, PhD Student, University of Minnesota

Proposal Type: Panel

Abstract: The edge I would like to explore is the discontinuity between practice in an older, more conservative cultural context and the emerging cultural context. People at the institution for which I work once held values that would be considered unacceptable today, yet in my research I have been asked to “celebrate” the institution rather than directly address some of the problematic aspects of our past (and, indeed, of the present). I would like to explore how the past should be portrayed and what the role of an employee writing this history should be, given that I was hired to write promotional history that, for the most part, will not be under my name.

Seeking: I would like to do a panel with two other panelists, although I would be open to some other kind of presentation as well. I work as a graduate assistant researching the history of the student buildings at the University of Minnesota. My project involves creating various types of content, with the main focus on developing essays for a webpage for the 75th anniversary of the student union. For the 2014 conference, I propose conducting a panel with historians (either more established or other emerging scholars) who have worked on projects where they were essentially forbidden from addressing certain topics that might reflect negatively on the institution’s past. How have other historians navigated these issues? I would also be interested in including a panelist who was in charge of a project but felt that certain issues should not be addressed or who insisted on addressing difficult issues despite resistance from the institution. The institution does not need to be a university, although if there were sufficient interest, I would be happy to have a panel that focuses on these issues within the context of a university. The university I work for claims to be viewpoint neutral.

Part of my research involves working my department’s archive, which is not equipped to be accessed by the public and does not have published finding aids. I have been told that certain topics that I uncovered, particularly relating to institutional racism and anti-Semitism several decades in the university’s past, were not to be written about. Being censored made me deeply uncomfortable, but as most of what I am writing is not to be published under my name and belongs to the university, I feel unable to challenge what I have been told.

Clearly, there is a difference between the work that one does as an individual and the work that one does for an institution, but where is the ethical line? How does someone, particularly in a position without a great deal of power, challenge the idea that it is acceptable for an institution to represent itself only positively? Should exceptions be made when one is writing a piece that is meant to celebrate a historic date in an institution’s past? How might one think about addressing difficult issues in a way that is honest and accurate, but not overly negative? Is that even possible, and if so should we strive to avoid negativity or is providing balance more important? How might talking about these issues differ in an institution that is “viewpoint neutral” versus one that is not?

Related Topics: Memory, Place, Archives

If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Caitlin Cohn, cohnx037[at]umn.edu

If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion