PROPOSAL TYPE
Traditional Panel
SEEKING
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
- Seeking Specific Expertise
- Seeking Additional Presenters
RELATED TOPICS
- Memory
- Place
- Social Justice
ABSTRACT
This panel considers issues of inclusion and representation when considering the history of the state of Utah. The session asks who should be the custodians of Utah’s past, and who should they include in its history. Should authorities, professional historians and others, be the mediators of people’s understandings and memories of the past? Are members of communities the ideal documenters of their people’s stories? Additionally, should researchers focus on the powerful? Do alternative histories offer a balance to the attention on elites? These issues are especially pressing in a state where the dominant religious population feels “peculiar” and persecuted, while marginalized communities can be largely invisible.
DESCRIPTION
I would like local historians and other researchers to discuss these issues. I have a few people in mind to invite, but I would love the input of the conference organizers to help develop this session.
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: Pepper Glass, Weber State University, [email protected]
ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 7, 2023. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Hi Pepper,
Our Peoples of Utah Revisited team might be a great addition to this conversation. Check out the work here: https://history.utah.gov/public-history/peoples-of-utah/
If it makes sense to connect, feel free to reach out at jenniferortiz(at)utah.gov
Hi Pepper,
I have a student working on the history of the DUP and its museums who might be a good addition to your panel. Send me a message and I can get you in touch.
I don’t have a specific helpful idea, but I always like to see something interesting like this on local history and its specific challenges and rewards at our conferences. It would be particularly compelling if you could have a mixture of folks who have experienced forcible marginalization in Utah to be involved, if they are willing to share their takes on these questions
Hi Pepper,
A great (and big!) idea here. I’ll echo Jennifer’s advice on the Peoples of Utah Revisited. I’d also recommend reaching out to members of some of the marginalized groups you’re thinking about (akin to what Kristin is saying). Darren Perry is active in preserving history related to the Northwestern Shoshone. Perhaps he or someone he knows would want to be involved here.
I am currently working on an oral history project focusing on the Latinx population in Utah. I relatively new to the field of public history and am contemplating submitting a proposal. It would fit nicely with your panel.