Tag Archive
08 September 2014 – Mary Rizzo 6
I’d never held a duck decoy in my hands before and certainly not one that was important enough to be in a museum’s collection. It was my first day as education curator at the Tuckerton Seaport Museum in Tuckerton, New Jersey, and along with Jackie Stewart, the director of the folklife center (it was her first day, too), I was organizing a small exhibit for the nature center. Read More
30 July 2014 – Jean-Pierre Morin 1
methods, international, profession, International Federation for Public History, NCPH Board Member Posts
In recent years, there has been a sort of awakening within public history. This awakening has been very noticeable during the annual meeting of the National Council on Public History, especially during the past four years. Where the attendance has traditionally been comprised of American practitioners and scholars (and a fair sprinkling of Canadians), the number of non-North American participants has been steadily growing. Read More
21 July 2014 – Mary Rizzo 4
Editor’s Note: This is the third piece in a series on the “crisis” in the humanities. A post introducing the series can be found here.
When the American Academy of Arts and Sciences makes the case for federal support for the public humanities in its Heart of the Matter report, it relies on arguments about the potential for civic engagement. Read More
23 June 2014 – Mary Rizzo 4
methods, public engagement, profession, NCPH, The Public Historian, pulling back the curtain, NCPH Board Member Posts
At this spring’s National Council on Public History annual meeting in Monterey, California, outgoing NCPH President Bob Weyeneth proposed that it was time for historians to let the rest of the world in on our trade secret about history: that it isn’t a static set of facts, but a matter of “interpretive fluidity” that demands a continual reassessment of what we know about the past. Read More
11 June 2014 – Dee Harris 2
I’ve never considered myself a Luddite. I’ve had a smartphone for more than eight years, I occasionally post to Facebook, I’m signed up for a few blogs, and an e-reader has completely changed my reading habits. But when it comes to the fluttering noises of the little blue bird known as Twitter, the Luddite in me comes out. Read More
11 March 2014 – Denise Meringolo
My public history courses are complicated.
Over the eight years since I took over as Director of Public History at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), I have found myself juggling and re-juggling course content, trying to achieve just the right mix of reading, discussion, research, and practice. Read More
03 March 2014 – Brian Joyner 7
Several years back, I was a new public history practitioner working for the National Park Service (NPS). A series of fortuitous events led me to the NPS: a stint at a historical society, a freelance job for the Smithsonian, an informational interview with the NPS Office of Diversity and Special Projects, and a quick gig with a partner organization. Read More
29 January 2014 – Denise Meringolo 1
Recently, I went with a group of friends to see Yoga: The Art of Transformation at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC. The exhibition includes representations of yoga practice in sculpture, painting, icons, and illuminated manuscripts across 2,000 years. Read More
23 December 2013 – Anne Mitchell Whisnant 1
It’s holiday time, and I’m turning from teaching and work to gift-giving. As in most years, my shopping includes making financial gifts to organizations I support. In the past, I’ve focused on political advocacy and service groups rather than professional societies like the National Council on Public History. Read More
20 December 2013 – Morgen Young 3
I have long admired the Australia Council of Professional Historians Associations (ACPHA). It promotes the profession of history and the work of its members by keeping consultants’ registers, offering employment services, and maintaining a scale of fees. I have often wondered if some of these benefits could be replicated in the United States by NCPH. Read More