mark barron, Iowa State University
Proposal Type
Working Group
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking Specific Expertise
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
- Public Engagement
- Teaching and Training
Abstract
This working group will explore how public history fits into the model of an engaged university, defined as an institution of higher learning whose mission is to educate and improve the lives of citizens, both inside and outside of a classroom setting.
Description
In an era of “fake news,” accelerating racial injustice, and growing inequality in wealth and education, the public historian stands in a valued position. Who, after all, is in a better place to educate an audience on historical issues, provide much-needed context, and facilitate discussion than a trained historian who focuses on public engagement? Has there ever been a time when the training of the public historian has seemed so urgently needed?
Two years ago, I arrived at Iowa State University, one of the earliest land grant institutions, to work as a public historian in extension and outreach, a cooperative service that seeks to improve the lives of Iowans through educational programs and research studies. The extension and outreach model was born from the Progressive Era, and for much of its history, has focused on agricultural practices, youth education, and community and economic development. In recent years, extension programs across the country (including Iowa) have begun to include humanities-based scholarship into their public services. At Iowa State, we are currently preparing public history projects and programs to address present-day issues, such as immigration, race and ethnicity in America, and deindustrialization. The idea is to confront the present with a historical perspective. We are also working to provide historic preservation expertise to rural and underserved communities that might lack the resources to adequately document and maintain their historic pasts.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Mark Barron, [email protected]
All feedback and offers of assistance should be submitted by July 1, 2018. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Mark,
I am interested in participating in this working group. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help facilitate a proposal for the conference.
Jennifer Dickey
Kennesaw State University
Jennifer,
It’d be great to have you on-board. Please send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll add you to the list.
Best,
Mark
As a community college instructor of history, it would be amazing to field discussions on how junior colleges (whose mission is directly tied to relevant, skills-based education) can more adequately engage and train general education and major students to consider the present issues cited in your description as they relate to historical topics and relevance to their lives through public history.
Joshua,
It’s great to hear from you. That’s an excellent point about the roles community/city colleges play in both education and public engagement. They often have deep historical roots in their communities and teach a diverse student population.
I know I’d be interested in hearing more about how two year colleges are confronting present-day issues through public history.
Mark
Hi Mark and Joshua,
I was very excited to read this working group proposal and your comments regarding an interest in how community colleges fit this topic. As a community college professor, I have incorporated aspects of public history into my coursework as part of my college’s initiative to connect our students with the community.
Mark, I would like to hear more about how you envision this working group and how I might contribute. I don’t have a website per se, but my Twitter feed provides some insight into my students’ projects and college @camachov_m
Hi Vanessa,
I envision the working group will consist of about 8 participants. We’ll have short individual introductions covering who we are and why we’re interested in the idea of an engaged university. From there, the working group will discuss topics (with one another and with attendees) based on our own ideas and perspectives.
I’m hoping for a wide range of thoughts on what an engaged university looks like, how it works, and what kinds of things it does. What I find exciting about the concept is that there is no one model of an engaged university – each one is positioned to meet the needs of its location and its communities. The mission to educate and engage and collaborate might be the same from one school to the next, but how it is achieved can differ from school to school.
After reading yours and Joshua’s comments, perhaps I should think of a better suited title without “university.” Maybe the “engaged public institution” or something.
If you’re still interested, send me an email and we talk some more.
Best,
Mark
Sounds like there is a strong working group in progress here! It also seems as though we’ve got a number of people already thinking about the roles of cultural and educational institutions within their (local and larger) communities, especially Tim Grove’s proposal about historical thinking and also Jack Pittinger’s. You might want to connect with them in some way. I mentioned on Jack’s proposal that it might be useful to raise the question of what kinds of things different cultural/civic/educational institutions are able to do, and what their limits are. This might help us move toward a clearer sense of how these institutions fit together in a kind of civic ecology, rather than seeing them (as we often tend to do) only in comparison with others in their particular “silo.”
I am very interested in participating in this working group. I emailed Mark a while back, but I wanted to jump into the public comments as well. Along with the excellent points above about the role of community colleges, I’d like to throw out a few other issues to consider:
1. What role can and should the *regional* university play in plans for publicly engaged education? It seems like we have a very interesting emerging theme of thinking about the opportunities and limits for engagement at different scales in the U.S. higher education ecosystem (elite universities, flagships/land grant unis, regional, SLACs, community colleges). If anyone could speak to this from an administrator’s perspective, that would be very interesting.
2. How do funding and broader issues of political economy within higher education shape engagement strategies, for better and for worse?
3. How to balance the positive benefits of community engagement with other trends–privatization, rising inequality, skyrocketing tuition–that threaten to turn higher ed engagement into just another top-down academic initiative?
Apologies for the long comment, but these are just a few thoughts. Really looking forward to seeing how this develops!
If you still need participants I would be interested in participating. I work as an archivist for a public library and visiting lecturer of public history at a state college.
I have been to working to connect history students to events and what I call practical history. In addition, I also serve as a internship site for the college I teach at and look for ways to connect public history beyond the classroom to make it more real and see how events can be placed in a wider context when looking outside of the classroom.
Hi Erik,
Sorry for the late reply. Having an archivist’s perspective would be really interesting. Can you email me at [email protected]? Look forward to talking to you more about your work.
Mark
I understand that this is already a large group, but I would be very interested in participating. I teach an introduction to Public History course at the University of Tennessee (upper division, undergraduate). Influenced by recent events and an NEH Summer Seminar with the Georgia Historical Society (2017), I focused this year’s class on race. My course name is: “The City as History: Introduction to Public History.” My students read important works on race and memory, served as interns at local historical sites and organizations, and crafted exhibits and presentations based on their readings, internships, and field experiences.
Thank you,
Patricia Rutenberg
University of Tennessee
Hi Patricia,
Your class sounds really interesting – especially the focus on current events. I’ve been toying with the idea of “investigative history” to give deeper context to present-day issues. It’d be great to talk more. Can you email me at [email protected] for info about the group?
Best,
Mark