Brandi Burns, Boise City Dept. of Arts and History
PROPOSAL TYPE
Collaborative Conversation
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
- Seeking Specific Expertise
RELATED TOPICS
- Advocacy
- Government Historians
- Public Engagement
ABSTRACT
Government historians form a fascinating sphere of the public history field. From federal history programs to municipal programs and place-based museums and historical societies, public history professionals working “for the people” form a tremendously significant portion of our field. The financial support of a local or federal government entity can provide stability to public history programs during the financial crossroads the field finds itself after a worldwide pandemic.
DESCRIPTION
The goal for this session is to create a collaborative conversation between panelists and the audience about government-sponsored history programs in local communities. Through this conversation, my hope is that commonalities and differences will become readily apparent and the conversation can lead to a model, or models, for locally funded public history. I see panelists contributing to an article (perhaps in The Public Historian journal) that explores the potential models that exist today of tax-supported public history programs. The article could then be used by community advocates to create similar programs in their own communities to fund local history.
I’m looking for a few more panelists (2-3) to contribute that are currently working in government-funded history programs (i.e. a city museum, a state history agency, a federal agency, a historic site preserved with federal or local government monies, etc.). I’m particularly interested in finding panelists that work in programs supported by municipal funds.
I’d also appreciate any general feedback members have and their interest in a session like this to prepare for the final submission.
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: Brandi Burns, Boise City Dept. of Arts and History, [email protected]
ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 1, 2021. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Patrick Moore, Director of New Mexico Historic Sites, would be a great person to connect with as a potential additional presenter, [email protected]. Let me know – [email protected] – if an intro email would be helpful.
This isn’t municipal, but the Homestead National Monument (Nebraska) has their hands in a lot of community history projects, including an ongoing Black Homesteaders project. Mikal Eckstrom is the point person for a lot of this work and could point you in the right direction.
I’d also suggest connecting with Jim Bertolini, a Historic Preservation Planner, City of Fort Collins, CO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-bertolini-20424041/
This sounds like a very interesting topic. I would suggest reaching out to Chris Haley at the Maryland State Archives. He runs the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland history project. He can reached at [email protected]