15 April 2015 – Aleia Brown 7
I have always thought of public history as a tool to assist us in mediating unchartered territory. More specifically, museums can serve as public forums to tackle persistent forms of oppression that have escaped clear resolve. This vision seems particularly relevant today. Read More
14 April 2015 – editors 4
Are there too many public history programs? Where is the field going, and what can professional organizations do to ensure that it remains vital in the years to come? For the past year, a task force organized by the National Council on Public History (NCPH), the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the American Association for State and Local History has investigated questions about the current landscape of public history training and employment. Read More
13 April 2015 – editors 1
It’s the week of the National Council on Public History Annual Meeting, and you’re getting ready to jet off to the Volunteer State.
You’ve watched the requisite Tennessee-based movies: The Thing Called Love, Inherit the Wind, and The Blind Side. Read More
10 April 2015 – Morgen Young
In early 2014, a small historical society outside of Portland, Oregon, circulated a request for proposals (RFP). Having received a grant from their local government, they sought to hire a curator for a one-year contract. The duties of the curator included: inventorying and assessing collections, developing and implementing a policy and procedural structures for managing collections, creating an interpretative plan, developing a public services strategy, and staffing the museum every weekend. Read More
09 April 2015 – Dan Kerr 1
methods, social justice, community history, publicity, collaboration, human rights, gentrification, politics, conference, ethics, advocacy, Hardball History
On May 30, 1995, wearing an orange construction helmet, I stood behind a makeshift barricade on E. 13th Street in New York City. Hundreds of squatters faced off against larger numbers of riot police who were armed with a tank and supported by snipers on the surrounding buildings. Read More
08 April 2015 – Julie Rogers
Public historians rely on images, audio, and film to engage the public and interpret the past. But almost every professional has experienced confusion over copyright restrictions or faced expensive licensing agreements. Some of us may get by with using images from the public domain, but many historical images remain under copyright. Read More
08 April 2015 – editors
To submit an item for the News Feed, send an email to: news[at]publichistorycommons.org
CFP: “Whose Regional and Local Histories?”/ Centre for Regional and Local History (CRLHR) conference – Sept. 11-12, 2015, Middlesbrough, U.K.
DEADLINE: April 30, 2015
CFP: “Global Perspectives on the Holocaust” – Oct. Read More
07 April 2015 – Jenks Society
Editor’s Note: This series showcases the winners of the National Council on Public History’s awards for the best new work in the field. Today’s post is by the students of the Jenks Society for Lost Museums, creator of a unique exhibition in the Brown Public Humanities Program. Read More
03 April 2015 – Kathy Shinnick 1
(Editor’s Note: This post is the second in a series on the Amsterdam Museum. To read the first post, click here.)
“The stadiums are getting fuller and the churches emptier.”
This observation, from Amsterdam Museum director Paul Spies, served as the inspiration for the museum’s intriguing, controversial, and, at times, humorous temporary exhibit Football Hallelujah! Read More
02 April 2015 – Cynthia Renteria 1
museums, education, human rights, training, politics, advocacy, race, social justice, conference, public engagement, ethics, community history, Hardball History, sense of place, collaboration
Hardball history that places historians at the center of politics, advocacy, and activism can be a difficult journey, but it can also be inspiring. My introduction to public history coincided with the 2006 unveiling of a controversial downtown revitalization plan in the city of El Paso, Texas. Read More