Making Public History More Accessible During Times of Uncertainty

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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

Bringing History Indoors during a Pandemic

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Editor’s note:  How have local communities interacted with historians during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic? This post introduces the History Indoors project by two graduate students at the University of Essex. History Indoors helps bring a wide array of historical topics to a general audience around the UK and the world. Read More

Roads Not Taken: record-making in historical perspective

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In 1814, philanthropist Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831) spearheaded the establishment of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA. One of his earliest actions, as president and librarian, was to create and maintain the society’s records. He dedicated a volume to documenting gifts, and decided what information to include in the records, for the sake of posterity. Read More

Ride or Die: the “Oregon Trail Live” Q&A

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Editor’s Note: Today we welcome Michael Salgarolo and Kylie Holloway to discuss their Oregon Trail immersive game that brought history and leisure together as a way to experience the US West and challenge the colonial foundations of the famous video game. Read More

Editor’s Corner: Burdens Borne, and Raised

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Editors’ note: We publish The Public Historian editor James F. Brooks’s introduction to the November 2020 issue of The Public Historian here. The entire issue is available online to National Council on Public History members and to others with subscription access. Read More