Public History Education and Environmental Sustainability

Facilitators: Melinda Jette, Franklin Pierce University
Andrew Kirk, University of Nevada – Las Vegas

In the twenty-first century, climate change, a growing world population, and the need to live and work with finite natural and financial resources should compel public historians to tackle the complicated and politically charged notion of sustainability. The broadly accepted definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.” That sentiment strongly resonates with public historians’ efforts to preserve historical resources and interpret history for present and future generations. Many members of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) have been advocating some sort of action, personal and professional, for several years. In short, promoting values of environmental sustainability falls squarely in line with the NCPH activities, programs, structure, mission, and Long Range Plan.
Participants will present their case statement, followed by discussion, and agreement of a list of action steps and resources to prepare for a webinar and workshop in the future. We will also communicate with relevant NCPH committees. Sponsored by the NCPH Committee on Environmental Sustainability.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.