15 March 2019 – Priya Chhaya 2
Where I am at home, only the sparsest stars
Arrive at twilight, and then after some effort.
And they are wan, dulled by much travelling.
The smaller and more timid never arrive at all
But stay, sitting far out, in their own dust. Read More
14 March 2019 – Philip V. Scarpino 1
Editors’ and author’s note: The Council of Past Presidents of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) began conducting oral histories with founders of NCPH in 2015. This blog post, the second of a two-part series, was inspired by interviews with Dr. Read More
13 March 2019 – David Rotenstein 1
In January, History@Work published Heather Carpini’s important essay on competing histories. Carpini’s appeal for historians to dig “deeper, past the obvious sources, into the lives of the people who shaped, and were shaped by, a certain place” is an essential call to action. Read More
12 March 2019 – Nancy Finlay
Immigration, 2019 annual meeting, elections, Hartford series 2019, community history, archives, race, conference, gender/sexuality
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of pieces focused on Hartford and its regional identity which will be posted before and during the NCPH Annual Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut in March.
The Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library houses some remarkable records pertaining to Connecticut’s capital. Read More
11 March 2019 – Anne Mitchell Whisnant
One of the best things about NCPH is its openness to experimenting with new approaches to fostering conversations among public historians and facilitating reflection about public history. The NCPH “mini-con” program of small, topically focused regional gatherings, supported with funding from the NCPH endowment, epitomizes this agile and creative spirit. Read More
08 March 2019 – Jessica L. Adler
veterans, methods, NEH, memory, collaboration, museums, education, government, oral history, projects
Army nurse Norma J. Griffiths-Boris returned from Vietnam not just with haunting memories of unpreventable death—smells of burned flesh, sights of traumatic head wounds—but also with a powerful impression of her non-traditional work environment. At war, she and fellow nurses held positions of authority. Read More
06 March 2019 – Tom Van Dewark 3
In the eyes of the uninitiated, historians spend their days flitting between worn library stacks and museum backrooms. They sermonize about a long-dead past and boast a novel, but not necessarily practical set of skills. By this interpretation, the work of contemporary historians does little to impact the modern world. Read More
05 March 2019 – editors
From around the field this week: Make sure your voice is heard by providing public feedback to the NPS on their proposed changes to the National Register; proposals are due at the beginning of May for the DAR’s 2019 symposium; registration is now open for AASLH’s March webinar on budgets Read More
04 March 2019 – Sarah A. McDonald 2
The Shelby County Historical Society and Museum (SCHSM) is a small organization situated in rural western Iowa. For over fifty years, the SCHSM has stood as a point of pride for community members. Founded by local citizens eager to collect and preserve the history of Shelby County, the museum’s collection consists mainly of items, ranging from household objects to antique cars, related to life in rural Iowa. Read More
01 March 2019 – editors
collaboration, TPH 40.4, museums, MDOC Q&A, scholarship, Montpelier, race, The Public Historian, slavery, methods, public engagement, community history, sense of place
Editor’s Note: Want to know more about what it takes to develop an award-winning exhibition about the lives of enslaved people at a founding father’s historic site? We did, too! In this series, we will learn more about what went into the new permanent exhibition The Mere Distinction of Colour (MDOC) at James Madison’s Montpelier (JMM) in Virginia. Read More