CFP-Archives Month call for blog post pitches
23 July 2019 – Krista McCracken, Kristin O'Brassill-Kulfan, and Nicole Belolan
As part of American Archives Month, History@Work will be running an October series dedicated to the publicly-engaged work done by archivists in the U.S. and abroad. Do you want to share your thoughts and experiences with us about archives and public history?
Submit your blog pitches about archives and public history by August 13, 2019!
Archivists are important advocates of public history, and public historians who specialize in different areas may not be familiar with archivists’ efforts to decolonize archives, assist community members interested in maintaining their own collections, and other areas of critical practice. As such, this series will focus on archival practice, archival labor, and archives as public history. We see this series as an opportunity to share information and forge connections among and between archivists and other practicing public historians.
Original blog post pitches are welcomed on a range of topics, including (but not limited to):
- Community-engaged archival practice
- Archives and digital technology
- Archival work as public history (including “how-to’s”)
- Archives as spaces of activism
- Archives and diversity and inclusion
- Behind-the-scenes posts on archival labor
- Reflections or connections to archives-related articles published in The Public Historian
History@Work posts are between 800 and 1200 words. Post should be written in accessible language and avoid jargon; we prefer hyperlinks and citations integrated into the text over footnotes. We strongly prefer posts that include images. You can read more about our typical editorial process and style here: https://ncph.org/history-at-work/guidelines/. A sample of past History@Work posts that have featured archives include:
- GVGK Tang, “Project Showcase: Still Fighting For Our Lives,” January 15, 2018.
- Tammi Kim, “Archiving the 1 October web,” April 17, 2018.
- Marla Miller, Christine Crosby, and Stephanie Rowe, “Advocating for Archivists,” August 16, 2018.
In addition, prospective authors may choose to respond to, or get inspiration from, this sample of articles about archives from The Public Historian:
- Wendy Duff, Barbara Craig, and Joan Cherry, “Historians’ Use of Archival Sources: Promises and Pitfalls of the Digital Age,” The Public Historian, Vol. 26 No. 2, (Spring 2004): 7-22.
- Nathan Masters, “Report From the Field: The Los Angeles Archives Bazaar,” The Public Historian, Vol. 35 No. 4, November 2013: 60-64.
- Christopher D. Cantwell, Stuart Hinds, Kathryn B. Carpenter, “Over the Rainbow Public History as Allyship in Documenting Kansas City’s LGBTQ Past,” The Public Historian, Vol. 41 No. 2, May 2019: 245-268.
Pitches for original posts, which should be between three and five sentences long and may include images, are due by Tuesday, August 13, 2019. First drafts for accepted pitches are due by Monday, September 2, 2019. Questions and pitches can be directed to guest editor and archivist Krista McCracken at [email protected]. Submissions from international archivists are encouraged. The series will be edited by Krista McCracken and Kristin O’Brassill-Kulfan.
View the Word and PDF versions of this Call for Pitches, and please help us out and circulate widely!
~Krista McCracken is a public historian and archivist at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, as well as a member of the NCPH Board of Directors. Kristin O’Brassill-Kulfan is a public historian and scholar of early American social history at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she directs the undergraduate Public History Program. Nicole Belolan is the Co-Editor of The Public Historian and the Digital Media Editor for the National Council on Public History and is based at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers in Camden, NJ.