Tag Archive

community history

Project Showcase: The Lost Stories Project

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Lost StoriesThe Lost Stories Project seeks out little-known stories about the Canadian past, transforms them into inexpensive works of public art installed on appropriate sites, and documents the process by way of a series of short films. Along the way, forgotten moments from Canadian history come to light, and viewers have an opportunity to see the choices made when a story transforms into a work of art. Read More

Investing in public history students

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Last September, an undergraduate approached me to inquire about potential internship opportunities.  As a new faculty member in a department with no formal public history program, there were few established connections with local community partners that I could tap.  Yet the main obstacle to placing this student in an internship was her need for income; as a single mother, she had to support herself and her son.  Read More

Genealogy from below

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Editor’s note: In “On Genealogy,” a revision of the plenary address delivered in October 2014 at the International Federation for Public History’s conference in Amsterdam, Jerome de Groot argues that widespread popular interest in genealogy, and the availability of mass amounts of information online, challenge established historiography and public history practice. Read More

Historic preservation shines a light on a dark past

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Editor’s note: This post continues a series commemorating the anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act by examining a past article published in The Public Historian, describing its significance and relating it to contemporary conversations in historic preservation. 

Between 2011 and 2014, the city of Decatur, Georgia, demolished 200 public housing units built in 1940, under the auspices of slum clearance. Read More

Exhibiting a unique artistic legacy at the South Side Community Art Center

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Editor’s Note: This post is part of a special online section accompanying issue 37 (2) of The Public Historian, guest edited by Lisa Junkin Lopez, which focuses on the future of historic house museums. The contributions in this section highlight the voices of artists who engage with historic house museums as sites of research, exhibition, and social practice. Read More

Responding to Baltimore: A role for public historians? (Part 1)

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Events in Baltimore during the last couple of weeks following the death of Freddie Gray apparently after a questionable arrest have precipitated a great deal of commentary, ranging from the thoughtful to the bloviating. Likewise, interest in a more activist, civically engaged public history has been generating considerable discussion, both descriptive and hortatory. Read More

Hardball history: Knowing the people's history requires being on their side

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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

Hardball history: Choosing sides

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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

Hardball history: On the high road without any shoes

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leyva1“You know who has money to help you.” I responded to this truth by listing three millionaires from whom I would not accept funding for Museo Urbano, the public history project housed in the Department of History at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Read More