22 December 2020 – Amy Tyson 5
Editor’s Note: Miles Harvey is author of The King of Confidence, A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch, which tells the story of James Jesse Strang, a 19th-century con man, who—as a self-proclaimed prophet and king of the universe—led a sect of the Mormon faith called the Strangites. Read More
17 December 2020 – Jeremy Diamond
Indigenous People, covid-19, digital media, community history, collaboration, education, international, Canada
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
15 December 2020 – NCPH Office
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.
15 December 2020 – Nick Sacco 1
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
10 December 2020 – Ray Smith
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
02 December 2020 – NCPH Office
From around the field this week: the National Park Service offers grant opportunities; the Missouri Conference on History extends their proposal deadline; Public History Collaborative hosts a live Twitter event.
01 December 2020 – Michael Sewell and Steven Bishop 1
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
26 November 2020 – Taylor Noakes
Washington, DC, felt familiar in a way that didn’t make sense; I had never been there before.
I am originally from Montreal and am now pursuing a master’s degree in public history at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Growing up in Canada, the son of an American citizen, I always felt like I had a foot on both sides of the border. Read More
24 November 2020 – Alea Henle
material culture, Digital humanities, collections, historical societies, research, collections management, archives
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
19 November 2020 – John R. Legg
Indigenous People, methods, American Indians, public engagement, decolonization, media, games, memory, sense of place, Q&A, politics, pioneers, LGBTQ history
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