On December 21, 2020, as part of the omnibus spending bill, Congress approved a National Museum of the American Latino (along with a Smithsonian Women’s History Museum).[1] This approval came after a previous effort was blocked by Senator Mike Lee of Utah who argued that such efforts to create new museums were divisive and that the existing Smithsonian buildings—not separate new ones—were the appropriate places to explore histories of Latinx people and women. Read More
Over the past several years, many of us have participated in conversations about the prevalence of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the public history field. This behavior has occurred at conferences, in workplaces, and in educational settings, among consultants, audiences, frontline workers, students, and others. Read More
From around the field this week: NCPH announces receipt of NEH grant, the Association of African American Museums invites proposals for their 43rd annual conference, the Society for History in the Federal Government announces upcoming Friday Colloquia in lieu of a 2021 annual meeting, and the American Association for State and Local History announces two webinars. Read More
Editors Note: How do historical sites reckon with landscape within interpretive plans? Mary Biggs joins us to explore how one former plantation space in North Carolina uses the landscape on which formally enslaved people worked and lived to reconceptualize visitor experience at that site. Read More
The Old Idaho Penitentiary was the site of seven riots and disturbances and some of the structural damage from these actions is still evident today. For years, the exhibits and signage on display at the Old Idaho Penitentiary Historic Site never discussed the riots, so in early 2019 it was determined that the site’s latest exhibit should explain the damage still visible to visitors, contextualize the actions of prisoners and administrators, and connect historical situations in corrections to current affairs. Read More
As a public historian for twenty years, I often look back on my time in the classroom and the daily debates on the definition of the term “public history.” Recently, I find myself reflecting more often on these classroom conversations from decades ago. Read More
From around the field this week: Mount Vernon offers 2021-2022 fellowships; the American Association for State and Local History calls for proposals for their annual conference; and the American Historical Association hosts two webinars.
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 is as good a time as ever for every museum and historic site to devise strategies to make public history more accessible. For public historians—as with many other industries related to travel and tourism—this year has been filled with chaos, uncertainty, prolonged furloughs, and unemployment. Read More
The K-25 History Center’s oral history facility is a quiet room near the main entrance, equipped with an easy-to-use interface that makes leaving an oral history simple, yet provides high-quality results. This latest advance in technique is yet another example of the important role of oral history in capturing Oak Ridge history. Read More
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From around the field this week: Mount Vernon offers 2021-2022 fellowships; the American Association for State and Local History calls for proposals for their annual conference; and the American Historical Association hosts two webinars.