Around the field May 18, 2016

newspaper-in-fieldFrom around the field this week: Summer schools focusing on rare books and America’s political fault lines; World War I centennial continues in Nova Scotia; special journal issue asks about echoes of past prejudices in contemporary refugee crisis; grants for creation and preservation of collections and reference resources. Read More

Around the Field May 10, 2016

newspaper-in-fieldFrom around the field this week: Soundscapes and archaeoacoustics at 2017 international conference on Malta; best practices for interpreting slavery at Guston Hall in Virginia, U.S. later this month; nominate an outstanding public historian for the AHA Herbert Feis Award by May 15. Read More

Out of the academy and into public service: Changing expectations and new measures of success

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In June 2014, when I finished my PhD in history, with a research emphasis in public history, I thought I was pretty hot stuff. And rightfully so. I had worked for eight long years slogging through coursework, exams, conference presentations, fellowship applications, TAships, a year of research, and a solid year and a half of dissertation writing to achieve my goal. Read More

Around the field May 3, 2016

newspaper-in-fieldFrom around the field this week: Housing politics and the archive in London; oral history with vulnerable narrators; Massachusetts conference on advocacy for history; UX for public historians; summer courses on restoration and digital technologies for cultural heritage. Read More

Whither diversity?

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Ask people what diversity within an organization or institution means and you’ll get many answers–responses so disparate, you wonder how anyone can identify a common thread or focus.

In 2015, the National Council on Public History created a Diversity Task Force to address the paucity of professionals of color engaged in public history in general and NCPH in particular. Read More

Digital community engagement across the divides

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In 2008, the Journal of American History published a conversation among several historians regarding the future of digital history. William G. Thomas III  said, “We might imagine a more proximate collaboration in which historians team up with [community] groups. The Web 2.0 movement might allow historians and the public to make history together rather than separately. Read More