Anne Lindsay, Assistant Professor, California State University, Sacramento
Proposal Type
Pecha Kucha
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking Specific Expertise
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
- Civic Engagement
- Teaching
Abstract
This session explores the skills we can’t teach in the classroom and celebrates the realities of work in the field. It ponders the question, how can we prepare students for “other duties as assigned.” Those duties might take some interesting forms – brides, overflowing toilets, helping individuals find the truth behind a lost loved one, collecting stories at the site of a tragedy, or working with unanticipated partners. These are all the moments that fall into the gray areas of public history. How do we get our students ready for this world without scaring them off?
Description
This proposal is for a fun session. Each PechaKucha will be a compact story to share about “other duties as assigned”, those on the job moments that grad school didn’t cover but that teach you so much. They can be triumphs! They can be horrors! Some will end with the writing of reports. Overall, the goal is to explore those unanticipated areas of the day to day of public history and talk about how we prepare students for the realities of a job which requires nimble, patient, and creative professionals.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Anne Lindsay, [email protected]
If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
I love this idea. Particularly for those who work at small institutions and sites where you have to be ready to be the curator, janitor, ticket salesperson, volunteer coordinator, PR person, fundraiser, grant writer, and so much more. I think it’s important to prepare public history students for all of these roles and to help them build practical skills for budgeting, grant writing, working with governing boards, etc.
Thanks for the feedback! I hope we can have a good discussion on how we accomplish this!
This is a fabulous idea for an NCPH session, as you are hitting on one of the main issues professionals in the field have with academic training programs. I think a key for you will be finding additional presenters that span the country as well as size of institution. “Other duties as assigned” is not just a small museum/historical organization issue. I’d very much like to be part of this session, but the work schedule at my institution is not conducive to April-May conferences. If you need assistance connecting with museum and history professionals in the Midwest or Southeast, please let me know. I may be able to assist you.
Thanks for your feedback! I agree, this faces us across the sub-disciplines and occurs in different formats in all types of institutions. Yes, I would love to have some help identifying possible presenters! Can you have them email me? Or could you email me with some names directly? [email protected]
Wonderful idea, there is so much that they just don’t prepare you for in class, it would be great to have a forum to actually discuss it and see what we can do about preparing students for some real world experience.
Thanks for the feedback! Would you like to join us?
Very practical session! It easily invites audience participation, for every public historian will have a story to tell. Also promises to be very fruitful for educators, who are always eager to learn new ways in which to further prepare students. Definitely would attend this session!
Hi Anne, we met briefly at the last NCPH Conference. I think this sounds like a great topic and idea! I am submitting a panel proposal already so I am not sure if that is accepted — whether I would also be able to participate in a Pecha Kucha session or not. But, I can definitely relate to this topic since I found myself in the role of managing a condolence collection project at our university in the wake of a tragedy that occurred in our community. I also was recently in Orlando documenting the responses to the Pulse Nightclub shooting and the one-year memorial anniversary events. If I can be of help in some way, let me know. I would be interesting in attending and possibly participating.