William Stoutamire, Independent Historian

Proposal Type: Panel

Abstract: I would like to propose a session, either a panel or a roundtable, on the ways in which what we would now call public history was practiced on the “edges” of American (and/or colonial) expansion. Ideally, I would like to move this discussion beyond the American West, which is my own region of focus, and onto a more international stage. Such a session could consider a number of issues:

  • How was public history employed as an aspect of colonialism or expansion? Was this intentional or unintentional?
  • What were the consequences for indigenous groups? How did these developments relate to indigenous histories and impact native livelihoods?
  • How can an understanding of sense of place/history inform our thinking on the role of public history in new colonial and/or Western communities? Do new communities inherently search for an identity routed in place or past?
  • What role(s) do scholars (ex: trained archeologists) and settlers play in these debates? How might we reframe the traditional historiographical divide between these groups?
  • Where can we identify the legacies of these activities? How might this affect the work of public historians in these areas today?

My particular study exams how the creation of American national monuments in the early 20th century was motivated, in part, by the desire of local communities and the larger nation state to establish, through invention/imagining, as a sense of place and history, perhaps even lay claim to an antiquity, in the early American West. I consider how public historical efforts enabled communities and the nation to take ownership of these sites and, in turn, the consequences of these efforts on indigenous groups and the telling of their histories.

For more information, or to discuss this topic further, please visit my website at www.wstoutamire.com.

Seeking: I am hoping that this early proposal system will help me find two or three others who might like to participate in such a discussion on the history of ‘frontier’ or ‘colonial’ public history.

My own thoughts on these issues are, of course, only in their formative stages at this point. So I would also appreciate any constructive feedback and would be happy to participate in a discussion via email or on my website.

Related Topics: Preservation, Memory, Place

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: William Stoutamire, wstoutamire[at]gmail.com

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

Discussion

3 comments
  1. Denise Meringolo says:

    I, too, am interested in how various threads of past behavior and nation building relate to the formation of public history as a field. I think you need to identify more carefully several things: first, what do you want the audience of public historians to know about the connection between expansion and nation-building and our current field? second, what particular KIND of public history are you talking about? finally, what particular public historians would most benefit from this analysis?

  2. Jean-Pierre Morin says:

    I’m not quite certain as to the intent of this proposal. Is it an examination of how Public History is being used to advance Colonialist/settler-centric perspectives?

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