Zachary Hottel, Graduate Student, Appalachian State University
Proposal Type: Panel
Abstract: The stereotypical public history graduate student sits in the classroom or library all day devouring books and lectures devoted to theories on how to lead a historic organization and educate the public. At Appalachian State University in Boone NC the reality is quite different. There masters students have a different experience. Student’s projects, research, and internships often break through traditional boundaries, redefine existing scholarship, and help grow the public history field. This proposed panel would present three different projects to show how on edge graduate students at App State are.
Seeking: The three presenters in this proposed panel would cover a wide array of topics. The three projects chosen present the challenges and rewards of creating a history pin online channel/exhibit for the Appalachian Statue University Belk Library Special Collections, a material culture analysis of fishing lures and their connection with American waterways, and a review of an internship creating a new museum in small town Virginia.
These three subjects discuss various pressing issues in the field of public history. The material cultures papers review the challenges of interpreting objects and discovering their hidden meanings. The history of fishing lures is understudied by scholars. For graduate students, tackling such an important topic is unique and challenging. Understanding the methodology involved, the challenges faced, and the conclusions reached, will help public historians as a whole better understand the place of this topic within our field of research.
Digital media has become an essential part of public history, and through the efforts of the university the vast majority of public history graduate students have been receiving on the edge instruction on the use of a wide array of digital tools. One of these tools is the website and app History Pin. As part of a digital history class students created a history pin channel and online interpretation for portions of the Appalachian State University Belk Library Special Collections. Unlike many graduate history projects, this one was almost entirely student led. Individuals designed the channel, selected the materials to be used, secured the necessary media, and produced all interpretation. Analysis of this project helps historians understand an innovative digital history tool, and the ability of historians to work side by side with collection managers and libraries to further the amount of information available to the public.
Finally this panel will analyze the creation of the Historic Shenandoah County Courthouse Museum in Woodstock Virginia. An AppState public history graduate student interned with the sponsoring organization to create this museum. This work included all exhibit planning, research and construction, development of all management plans, volunteer training, production of marketing materials, and the entire online presence. This presentation would analyze the challenges that come with creating a new museum and especially those that come when the lead, an only, staffer is an interning graduate student.
Developing this proposal requires some additional feedback. Areas that we would appreciate help developing include the title, the type of panel we wish to conduct, the direction we should take to develop some of our subjects, and whether or not we are “on edge” enough. Anything to assist us along these lines or in general would be more than welcome.
Related Topics: Digital, Museums/Exhibits, Material Culture
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: Zachary Hottel, zachhottel[at]gmail.com
If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Each of these three interesting projects would lend itself well to a self-standing presentation as a poster, a format which NCPH makes a point of encouraging and highlighting at its conferences. I believe the call for posters will be going out closer to the actual conference dates.