Pamela Curtin, Graduate Student – Public History, West Virginia University

Proposal Type

Working Group

Seeking
  • Seeking Additional Presenters
  • Seeking Specific Expertise
  • General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
  • Place
  • Memory
  • Environment
Abstract

This working group or structured conversation aims to explore the power of place and public memory, the transformation of physical places, and the role of the public historian in the middle of this conversation. Changes such as urban renewal and development can rewrite the narratives of local history and public memory. Often, the ordinary places are the most at-risk. In light of these changes, historians and local communities to reflect on the past and look toward the future. We face difficult questions regarding historical significance, practical use of physical space, and what is worth saving.

Seeking

This panel topic was imagined by graduate students and faculty at West Virginia University who work closely with endangered historic neighborhoods in our home city. We work toward telling diverse stories of places that have long histories but are now considered run-down and useless. Additionally, we see the rapid transformation of neighborhoods generating a variety of strong emotional responses from locals, students, and alumni. We hope to build upon our conversations by collaborating with others who have had similar experiences or can offer new insight.

We are seeking feedback and additional participants, perhaps those involved in historic preservation, urban planning, or studies of memory and the meanings of place. We would like to get a sense of others’ experiences and identify the most effective end goals the public history field should address.

What should our role as public historians be in places undergoing transformation? What is the role of shared authority? How do we involve or best serve the public? What interpretive strategies and mediums are the most effective to tell stories of places at risk or lost? How could our work spark real change in the ways in which local places are transformed?


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: Pamela Curtin

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.

COMMENTS HAVE CLOSED. PLEASE EMAIL THE PROPOSER DIRECTLY WITH ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR OFFERS TO COLLABORATE.

Discussion

1 comment
  1. An article on the NCPH blog this week might be of interest to you: “A Washington Neighborhood Uses History to Plan its Future,” by David Rotenstein, http://ncph.org/history-at-work/a-washington-neighborhood/

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