Historical thinking and the place of history in public policy development

24 February 2017 – Jean-Pierre Morin

For the past seventeen years, I have worn two hats every day that I’ve gone to work. The first one is my historian hat, as I’m the staff historian for the Canadian department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs where I research the history of the institution, prepare materials for public consumption and answer questions relating to the 260-year history of Canada’s policies towards Indigenous peoples. Read More

Public history in the classroom

22 February 2017 – Elizabeth Belanger

Over the past weeks my project colleagues have provided glimpses into public history’s “Radical Roots.” In these posts, key figures and sites have emerged: Gene Weltfish at the American Civilization Institute of Morristown, the campers and counselors at Camp Woodland , and Louis Jones at Cooperstown Graduate Program.  Read More

Ask a consulting historian: Patrick Cox

20 February 2017 – editors 1

Patrick Cox, Ph.D., is an award-winning, nationally recognized historian, author, and conservationist. A sixth-generation Texan who resides with his wife Brenda in Wimberley, Texas, he is president of Patrick Cox Consultants, LLC. His firm specializes in historical research and projects for individuals, corporations, legal firms, and nonprofit organizations. Read More

The Women’s March on Washington: A practical resistance

17 February 2017 – Melissa Marietta

On November 9th, I put my kids on the bus and cried in the shower. I was embarrassed by my own visceral reaction to the news of the election and tried to recover for my day in the office. What I soon discovered, however, was that I was not alone in my shock, grief and anger. Read More

Broadening our understanding of the roots of public history education

15 February 2017 – Rachel Donaldson 6

How closely is public history tied to academic history? Judging by the historiography of public history, it would seem that the answer to that is “very”; after all, the generally accepted view is that the field came into its own in the 1970s directed by formally trained academic historians. Read More

Around the field Feb 14, 2017

14 February 2017 – editors

From around the field this week: A new Chief Historian for the US National Park Service; conferences on oral history (Australia), women’s history (Texas and Indiana), religion and public memory (Canada), museums and human rights (Argentina); summer field schools in Italy/Greece and Ukraine; big new book on museum blogs. Read More

Project Showcase: Mapping the Fourth of July

13 February 2017 – editors

For more than two centuries, Americans have come together every July 4th to celebrate national unity. What happened during the deeply divided Civil War era? How did Americans commemorate their nation’s birthday as the nation was falling apart? A new project called Mapping the Fourth attempts to answer these questions. Read More

Curating punk rock

10 February 2017 – Matthew Barlow 8

I was reading in The New Yorker a few weeks ago about the “museumification” of rock music. The article was about an exhibit on the Rolling Stones in New York City, Exhibitionism!, and the curator, Ileen Gallagher, was talking about her experiences at the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Read More

Going public

07 February 2017 – James F. Brooks

Editor’s note: We publish TPH editor James F. Brooks’s introduction to the February 2017 issue of The Public Historian. The entire issue is available online to National Council on Public History members.

I write surrounded by residues. One month ago, a national election laid waste my faith in the sense and sensibility of many of my fellow citizens. Read More

Ask a consulting historian: Alicia Barber

06 February 2017 – editors

Alicia Barber is a writer, historian, and consultant living in Reno, Nevada. Founder of the multi-faceted historical consulting firm Stories in Place, she edits the website and app Reno Historical and serves on the NCPH Consultants Committee. Read More