Reflecting on texts: Cervantes's advice for historians
07 February 2014 – Will Walker 1
One of my life goals has long been to read Don Quixote in the original Spanish, and I recently embarked on this monumental, even quixotic, task. Read More
Tag Archive
interpretation
Rethinking a local historic site
17 January 2014 – Cassie Ward 2
Every day I am asked, “You’re a public historian–what the heck is that and what do you do all day?” I smile from ear to ear, climb on top of my soapbox, and begin to talk about how fortunate I feel to have turned my love of history into a challenging and fulfilling career. Read More
Cold War civil rights at Gettysburg
06 November 2013 – Jill Titus 1
In July 1963, tens of thousands of visitors flocked to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle widely touted as the turning point of the American Civil War. Despite the profusion of toy souvenirs and 19th-century garb, the fact that this anniversary coincided with heightened street confrontation over civil rights, increased international condemnation of racial injustices in the US, and shifts in Cold War politics did not go unnoticed. Read More
Art, history, and interpretation
28 June 2013 – Mekala Krishnan 4
I recently started a new position at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a Curatorial and Interpretation Fellow, for which my Public History degree from American University has been (and will continue to be) invaluable. Understanding art through history and vice versa is one of the joys of curatorial work in an art museum, but interpreting cultural, historical, religious and aesthetic context to a wider audience can be a real challenge. Read More
Two sides of the same coin: Standing at the intersection of Hollywood and history
22 March 2013 – Jessica Cochran
Pick up a penny. On one side, we observe Lincoln as he was; on the other side, Lincoln as we have chosen to remember him. Public historians face the challenges and rewards of interpreting history for a population obsessed as much with “authenticity” as “legacy.” Read More
Lessons in interpreting controversial history at a Southern heritage site
15 March 2013 – Evan Kutzler 1
Part of what drew me to the University of South Carolina’s Ph.D. program in history in 2010 was the opportunity to engage with controversial topics while pursuing an M.A. in public history along the way. The summer after my first year in the program, I found a part-time job with a private non-profit organization looking for someone to produce a new guidebook for an historic property it managed: a farmhouse located on a former plantation in the hills of one of the Border States. Read More
Teddy Roosevelt's rocks: Speak softly and carry a big history
29 July 2011 – Will Walker
The recent reviews of Ken Burns’ National Parks film in The Public Historian got me thinking about the NPS site in my hometown, Oyster Bay, Long Island. Sagamore Hill was the home of Theodore Roosevelt for most of his adult life, and it was where he died in 1919. Read More
The history in kidlit
02 June 2011 – Melissa Prycer
When I was a kid, I spent most of my time in the nineteenth century. It all started with the “Little House” books. My grandmother read them to me, and they became the very first chapter books that I could read all by myself. Read More
The curated boutique
16 August 2010 – Mary Rizzo 3
As an avid reader of fashion magazines and blogs, I’ve noticed a curious trend over the past few years. Upscale boutiques are described as “curated,” selling “discerning” and “careful” collections of items. Are they just borrowing the language of museums or is something else at work when the worlds of retail and curation collide? Read More