Tag Archive
09 January 2020 – Dillon Maxwell 8
In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold wrote, “There is an allegory for historians in the diverse functions of saw, wedge, and axe.” The saw works across years to pull out “little chips of facts”; the wedge splits wood into collective views; the axe lops limbs for the “peripheral rings of the recent past.” Read More
29 August 2019 – Sharon Leon
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series that illustrates the role of the NCPH Endowment in supporting the work of the organization. To find out more about how the NCPH Endowment Fund supports the work of public historians and to make your gift, please visit: https://ncph.org/giving/endowment/ Read More
24 July 2018 – Dan Ott, Rachel Boyle and Stella Ress
working group, new professionals, Capitalism, advocacy, conference, social justice, ethics, entrepreneurialism, collaboration, economics, sustainability, profession, consultants, employment, funding, 2018 annual meeting, NCPH
“So, how do we solve the problems of capitalism?” Read More
13 April 2018 – Debra Reid
It’s an exciting time for public historians interested in putting the farm-to-fork movement into historic context. Recent books, including Interpreting Food at Museums and Historic Sites (2015), Interpreting Agriculture at Museums and Historic Sites (2017), and Public History and the Food Movement: Adding the Missing Ingredient (2018), demonstrate that public historians are bringing new insights to bear on interpreting agricultural history and food history. Read More
16 March 2018 – Billy Marino
community history, memory, sense of place, environment, sustainability, 2018 annual meeting, Las Vegas Series 2018, preservation
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of pieces focused on Las Vegas and its regional identity which will be posted before and during the NCPH Annual Meeting in Las Vegas in April.
Cold War-era historic sites challenge public historians to strike a balance between the need for preservation and the need for continued use. Read More
17 November 2017 – Joana Arruda
sustainability, government, international, politics, NCPH, National Park Service, advocacy, public engagement, environment
On May 13, 1918, less than two years after the National Park Service (NPS) was established, U.S. Interior Secretary Franklin K. Lane wrote to first National Park Service (NPS) director Stephen T. Mather regarding ways in which the new federal agency could interpret and expand its mission. Read More
28 October 2016 – Cathy Stanton 2
As I’ve watched the groundswell of protest at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota over the building of a new pipeline carrying “fracked” oil from the massive Bakken oilfield, I’ve been surprised by the lack of mention of what seems to me to be one of the most striking things about this action: the fact that it’s taking place on the same reservation where Sitting Bull was killed in December 1890 by federal Indian agency police who came to arrest him as part of an attempt to suppress a wave of Indian resistance. Read More
11 September 2015 – Kelsey Mullen
Newporters like to boast that their city is home to the largest concentration of American buildings pre-dating 1800. It’s a hard claim to verify, but tallies aside, the City-by-the-Sea in Rhode Island is undoubtedly a patchwork of architectural delights reflecting its history as a powerful colonial entrepôt, a Gilded Age resort, a naval base, and currently a vibrant tourist destination. Read More
19 September 2014 – Adina Langer 1
On August 24, 2014, the temporary exhibition Lake Effects closed its doors after a ten-month run at the Michigan Historical Museum. Attempting to absorb as much Great Lakes culture as I could before relocating to the southeastern United States, I visited the Michigan Historical Museum with my family in July. Read More
08 August 2014 – Will Walker 1
Coming out of the Smithsonian Metro station on the National Mall, we were immediately drawn to the massive flower plaque bursting with colorful fabric art. Its sound beckoned us, as hundreds of bamboo wind chimes rattled in the breeze. In China, “flower plaques are decorated bamboo structures used for celebrations such as business openings, weddings, or anniversaries.” Read More