National Council on Public History

PROPOSAL TYPE

Community Viewpoints

SEEKING

• Seeking Additional Presenters
• Seeking General Feedback and Interest

RELATED TOPICS

• Museums/Exhibits
• Place
• Public Engagement

ABSTRACT

Recent increases in migration to the United States, particularly from crisis‑affected countries such as Syria, Sudan, and Iraq, have raised challenges related to language access and participation in public life. This research examines a community‑based public history initiative in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina that uses storytelling, museum and library visits, pamphlets, and historic sites. Images and comics generated with artificial intelligence tools supported storytelling and multilingual access, with historical interpretation shaped through the author’s public history work. Drawing on community feedback, the project shows how care‑centered public history can support social participation during times of uncertainty.

DESCRIPTION

This proposed presentation builds on a community‑based public history initiative in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina that engages refugee and immigrant communities through storytelling, museum and library visits, pamphlets, and visits to historic sites. The project examines how public history practice can respond to migration, displacement, and social strain by centering care, access, and shared authority. A key goal of this work has been to counter refugee isolation by creating opportunities for sustained engagement and by connecting participants with American history through place‑based and narrative approaches. A central component of the project involved training undergraduate and graduate students at the University of North Carolina whose families are from the Middle East. These students played an active role in planning and facilitating programs and received hands‑on training in public history skills, including community engagement, ethical interpretation, storytelling, and work within cultural institutions. Because the students speak Arabic and share cultural knowledge with participants, they were able to build trust, support communication, and navigate cultural contexts more effectively. Their continued participation allowed the project to maintain continuity over time and support ongoing relationships with refugee communities. Through this model, the project addressed refugee isolation by fostering connection, dialogue, and engagement with American history in museums, libraries, and historic sites. Participants encountered U.S. history as something they could discuss and relate to their own experiences. The presentation will also briefly reflect on the use of visual materials, such as images and comics generated with artificial intelligence tools, as supports for storytelling and multilingual access, with historical interpretation shaped through the author’s public history work.

At this early stage, I am seeking feedback from the NCPH community on refining the proposal and its format, particularly as a Community Viewpoints or Roundtable 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:
Heba Abd El Salam, University of Missouri, [email protected] 

All feedback and offers of assistance should be sent by June 5, 2026. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.

Discussion