This year marks the Semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, an event that announced a new nation in formation and triggered global, far-reaching consequences. Since 2021, the National Council on Public History (NCPH) and the National Park Service (NPS) have co-sponsored plenaries at the NCPH annual meeting to discuss the long and complex legacy of the quest for independence. Read More
From Around the Field this week: The Call for Papers for the Society for History in the Federal Government’s annual conferences closes soon; Cities in certain US states are eligible to apply to be a American World War II Heritage City; Chicago Women’s History Center is welcoming proposals for its conference, “Women’s Health Justice: Recovering the Past to Shape our Future”; SUNY Brockport is offering a 10-part Public History Webinar series; the Call for Proposals for the Oral History Association’s annual meeting closes soon Read More
From Around the Field this week: The application window for many NCPH awards is closing; The American Association for State and Local History is hosting the final two sessions of its virtual 6-week Core Issues Briefing Series; The application window for the Daughters of the American Revolution America 250!Read More
“Wait—there are Black people in Boston? I’ve never met a Black person who’s actually from Boston.”
As a second-generation Black Bostonian, every time I hear that question the statement says far more about cultural assumptions than it does about actual demographics. Read More
From Around the Field this week: Nomination window for the Association of African American Museums 2026 awards closes January 16, 2026; The American Association for State and Local History is offering a 6-week Core Issues Briefing Series; The Call for Proposals for Pasados closes January 15, 2026; Bloomsbury has published an updated version of Organizing Archival Records; The Indiana Association of Historians call for papers for its annual conference is open until January 16, 2026Read More
The University of North Alabama’s (UNA) summer study abroad experience in Scotland demonstrates that regional universities can create meaningful international public history experiences for their students. Co-led by public historians from UNA and archaeologists from Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the program gives students a rare opportunity to work directly with international heritage institutions, applying classroom skills to research, interpretation, and community engagement.Read More
From Around the Field this week: Abstract submissions for Slavery North are closing; The Organization of American Historians is hosting the last lecture of its Lectureship Program; The Society for History in the Federal Government is accepting nominations for its awards until the end of the year; Germinate is accepting submissions for its winter quarter series of postsRead More
The National Park Service’s ability to interpret the breadth of American history that is reflected in its more than four hundred sites is fragile. The fate of one of these, the Blackwell School National Historic Site, serves as an example of how quickly gains made in this effort can be undone. Read More
Editors’ Note: We publish The Public Historian editor’s introduction to the November 2025 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.
Our special issue, “Cemeteries, Graveyards, and Massacre Sites,” guest edited by Lily Anne Welty Tamai, considers burial grounds and sites of mass violence as important sources for public historical research. Read More
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