Tag Archive

profession

Speaking of the survey (Part 4): Perceived weaknesses of The Public Historian

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This is the fourth in a series of posts about the findings of our summer 2012 survey on the current state and possible future directions of The Public Historian journal and other NCPH media.

from Linda Shopes, member, NCPH journal advisory group:

As a member of NCPH’s task force considering the future of The Public Historian and its relationship to other NCPH media, I reviewed responses to question #4 of the Council’s recent Public History Readers Survey: What do you think are the weaknesses of The Public Historian? Read More

Speaking of the survey (Part 3): Diversity and challenge in public history's information landscape

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people looking at pageThis is the third in a series of posts about the findings of our summer 2012 survey on the current state and possible future directions of The Public Historian journal and other NCPH media.

from Rob Townsend, Deputy Director, American Historical Association:

The Public History Readers Survey demonstrates the wide array of information sources that now dot the landscape of our professional lives, and the challenges that the National Council on Public History faces as it considers the future of its publishing program. Read More

Speaking of the survey (Part 2): What role for the NCPH journal?

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people looking through magnifying glassThis is the second in a series of posts about the findings of our summer 2012 survey on the current state and possible future directions of The Public Historian journal and other NCPH media.

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from Robert Weyeneth, National Council on Public History Board President:

A number of folks are busy analyzing the information gathered by the NCPH Readers Survey conducted this summer on the future of its journal. Read More

Mind in the marketplace (Part 5): Defining success

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fireworksWhat does it mean to be “successful” as an independent consultant? There are, in fact, many ways to succeed in this undertaking.  The answer depends on how you define “success.”

The simplest measure of all is survival.  Lots of people who try consulting aren’t able to make a go of it in the long run.   Read More

Independent Research for the Independent Consultant Part 2: Making Your Clients’ Interests Your Research Interests

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In Part I, I talked about balancing your consulting work with your own research work. Setting aside the fact that pursuing your own research in addition to your consulting work may throw the rest of your life out of kilter, you will have to assign a rather high priority to your own research—after your clients’ needs, of course—if you want it to come to fruition in the form of publications. Read More

Fail better? Failure and public history

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black and white arrowsI’ve been thinking about failure and public history. Failure—and mistakes more generally—aren’t concepts we like to consider. The word is intertwined with feelings of shame and humiliation, private emotions which are the antithesis of the public nature of public history. Many people’s impulse is to hide failure or “spin” it, the clichéd strategy of “making lemons out of lemonade.” Read More

Independent research for the independent consultant, Part 1: Making time

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Prompted by Adina Langer, my colleague on the NCPH Consultants Committee and one of the editors of this blog, I am going to relate how I have pursued a research agenda independently of my work for clients. Admittedly, my career as a historical consultant has been somewhat eclectic, but I hope that you may find at least some of what I have to say applicable to your own situation. Read More

Help wanted: Thoughts on the recent boom in academic public history jobs

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people looking aheadIn recent years, the number of tenure track academic jobs in history has dropped to some of the lowest levels in 25 years. In response, Anthony Grafton, James Grossman and Jesse Lemisch have suggested that historians shift their attentions outside of the ivory tower, with Grafton and Grossman encouraging PhDs to get jobs in public history and Lemisch calling for historians to create new public history opportunities. Read More

Mind in the marketplace (Part 3): A practical primer

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What kind of knowledge and skills do you need in order to create a viable historical consulting practice?

Becoming a consultant requires more than simply deciding to work for yourself.  It requires the shift to a new mindset, because as an independent consultant you become a creature of the marketplace Read More