PROPOSAL TYPE
Roundtable
SEEKING
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
RELATED TOPICS
- Museum/Exhibits
- Public Engagement
- Social Justice
ABSTRACT
Much of public history practice has been based around the concept of “shared authority,” in which public historians work in conjunction with communities to define and collaborate on historical interpretations and projects. Nearly fifty years after the concept emerged as a public history ethos, it is time to ask some lingering questions. What does “Sharing Authority” mean in 2027? Does it look the same for all community partners? Is it time to revise this concept and come up with new understandings of how knowledge of the past is interpreted? This roundtable looks to present situations where shared authority works and where it does not work, with a goal of identifying themes that result in each outcome.
DESCRIPTION
We hope to bring others into a conversation about what shared authority looks like for public history practitioners in the present moment and into the future. We welcome others who have contributions to make to this conversation.
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:
Brian Murphy, Florence Arts and Museums, [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.
This is a big conversation. You might consider putting this topic forward as a working group, rather than a roundtable. Shared authority is such a core concept, it feels like any robust conversation on what it means in 2027 – potentially even proposing revisions to the how we practice it – would benefit from a greater variety of perspectives than a roundtable would traditionally provide.