Caught in the Middle: Public Historians, the Government, and the Public

Emily McEwen, Historic Resource Specialist, Orange County Parks

Proposal Type

Roundtable

Seeking

Seeking Additional Presenters
General Feedback and Interest

Abstract

As public historians serving both the state and the public, we often feel “caught in the middle.” We find ourselves navigating between government entities, their interests, and stewardship aims, and our desire and professional goals to actively engage the community which we serve. We propose a roundtable discussion comprised of government-affiliated public historians at the local, county, state, and federal levels. As a roundtable, it is our goal to discuss case studies from each level of government, both successes and lessons learned, in order to help one another problem solve this sometimes tenuous relationship and begin to brainstorm best practices for effectively engaging the community while upholding the goals of the governing agency.

Seeking

Emily McEwen (PhD, Historic Resource Specialist , Orange County Parks) and Susan Hall (PhD, Historic Resources Board, City of Huntington Beach) are looking to put together a roundtable panel for the 2017 NCPH conference entitled “Caught in the Middle: Public Historians, the Government, and the Public.” Orange County Parks manages over 65,000 acres of parkland across Orange County, CA, including seven historical parks. Historic specialists preserve and interpret the structures, landscapes, and collections of these sites for the public’s education and enjoyment. The Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board is comprise d of city-appointed liaisons, providing expertise and knowledge to help encourage and promote public awareness of the city’s historic resource s. Board members act as liaisons between the City Council and other local, state, and federal groups and agencies whose interests involve historic issues. We are looking for additional participants to join our roundtable discussion that work (or have worked) as public historians in affiliation with city, county, state, and federal agencies from across the country. Please read below for more information on our proposal.

Government-affiliated public historians are often faced with uncertainty an d unique challenges, struggling to effectively achieve their employers ’ missions while simultaneously maintaining their own ethical aims as public historians. It is the goal of this roundtable to discuss the chal lenges, rewards, and significance of mediating between the government and t he community we serve as public history professionals. The discussion will consider such topics as: effective community engagement, how to make change within bureaucratic systems, and issues arising from serving as the face o f the government’s official historical narrative. By discussing a diverse set of case studies from public historians working at varying level s of the government, our roundtable will begin to grapple with potential so lutions to problems raised and examine best practices for moving forward.

Questions we would like to discuss include:

How are experiences similar/different based on location and government level?; Examples of successes and challenges when moderating between government and the public and why did they succeed/fail?; What communities do we serve?; How can we be more nimble in responding to our changing communities?; Can “letting go” of some control lead to more public engagement? If so, how?

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: Emily McEwen

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

All feedback, and offers of assistance, should be submitted by July 3, 2016.