286 Search Results Found for

  • The utility of an international vision of public history

    […] one, in the October 2009 American Historical Review Forum on Truth and Reconciliation in History, makes the case for how historians can contribute to reconciliation efforts in more advocacy-oriented roles after historical injustices.  He notes a global truth commission trend in the investigation of local histories in the American South (Greensboro, Wilmington, and Rosewood), connecting […]

  • Letters from Chile: A dead dictator's homage, a public history movement (Part 1)

    This past Sunday, June 10, the right-wing Corporation 11 de Septiembre held an homage to the dead dictator Augusto Pinochet under the auspices of a documentary screening at the iconic Teatro Caupolican in Santiago Centro. That day it was answered and challenged in sometimes violent ways by diverse sectors of society and weeks before when […]

  • History Communicators: The next step

    In January 2015, I introduced the idea of History Communicators on this blog. “History Communicators, like Science Communicators,” I wrote then, “will advocate for policy decisions informed by historical research; step beyond the walls of universities and institutions and participate in public debates; author opinion pieces; engage in conversation with policymakers and the public; and […]

  • Public history and the campus anti-racism protests

    As I’ve read obsessively the news of campus protests these past few weeks and shared support for protesters both publicly on social media and privately in email conversations with college administrators, I’ve been challenged to think deeply about my position as both a public historian and a faculty member at a state university. In my […]

  • Letters from Chile: A dead dictator's homage, a public history movement (Part 2)

    /continued from Part I At the outset of this series, I proposed two seemingly simple questions in hopes of unpacking the complexity of sites of memory and how they “engage citizens in human rights issues” vis-à-vis the past.  What type of historic work is taking place?  And who is doing that work?  A look at […]

  • Private memories, public memorials: the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide

    As part of my dissertation research on the memorialization of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, I have encountered silences in related memorials and in the archives. These silences have led me to ask: What role might oral testimonies play in remedying the silences that surround official attempts to memorialize mass atrocity crimes? And what can oral […]

  • "APUSH" re-revised

    In a surprising turn of events, the College Board re-revised the Advanced Placement United States History curriculum framework, releasing its newest version at the end of July. While the move by the Board, which had instituted a public comment period seeking feedback on the framework back in February, is not overly surprising, the reaction among […]

  • No mere morality play: Why we need Confederate memorials now more than ever

    Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of posts addressing recent debates over Confederate memory and symbolism in the wake of the shooting of nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. In the wake of the June 17 shooting tragedy in Charleston, SC, numerous cities, institutions, politicians, and members of […]

  • Thinking like a community: Beyond shared authority

    I recently attended an event in Boston’s South End neighborhood called “Sharing our Stories: The Power of Place,” a sensational evening sponsored by the Tenants Development Corporation, Inc. and the Center for Art and Community Partnershipsat the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.  Nationally renowned jazz/blues singer, historian, actress, and lifetime resident of the South […]

  • Interpreting the past, wrestling with the present

    Last year, I served as research resident at the National Public Housing Museum (NPHM), which focuses on the history of public housing across the country but especially in its home city of Chicago. The NPHM will one day occupy the last remaining building from the New Deal-era Jane Addams Homes in the Little Italy neighborhood. […]