Indigenous people want museums to heed TRC’s calls to action

Sophia Reuss recently wrote an article on  how "Indigenous people want museums to heed TRC's calls to action: Cultural institutions have an important role to play in Canada's reconciliation process."  Reuss' piece looks at the role museums and archives play in caring for and presenting materials relating to Indigenous communities and the need to the … Continue reading Indigenous people want museums to heed TRC’s calls to action

Reading: Interpreting LGBT History At Museums and Historic Sites

Months ago as part of a National Council on Public History annual conference workshop I received a copy of Susan Ferentinos book Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites.  I started reading the book months ago but somehow it managed to get lost in my to-read pile until fairly recently.  This book examines queer … Continue reading Reading: Interpreting LGBT History At Museums and Historic Sites

Public History on Stage: Theatre and the Past

The latest issue (Vol. 34, No. 3) of The Public Historian finally arrived at my house this week.  The issue presented a number of interesting field reports and case studies, many of which focused on areas of nontraditional historical practice.  One article which drew me in, was "Theatre: A Neglected Site of Public History" by … Continue reading Public History on Stage: Theatre and the Past

Rolling the Dice With Guided Tours

Our group with our tour guide at the Ermatinger SiteInterpretation can make or break a museum visit.  Context, signage, and interpretation strategies are essential to creating a heritage environment which is inviting, educational, and ultimately enjoyable.  Properly trained interpretive staff can infuse a visit with enthusiasm, context, and information that isn't always accessible to the … Continue reading Rolling the Dice With Guided Tours

Personalizing Traditional History

Family, voice, sense of place, and time travel.  According to Benjamin Filene, these are the core themes in history created by non professionals, all of which are driven by a personal and emotional approach to the past.  Filene's recent Public Historian article, "Passionate Histories: 'Outsider' History-Makers and What They Teach Us," grapples with the development, … Continue reading Personalizing Traditional History

Representation of the Indian Wars and Networking Galore

The second session I attended as part of #ncph2012 focused on the reinterpretation of the Indian Wars by the National Parks Service (NPS).  The panel contained a number of NPS service staff who worked at specific parks and at the upper management level.The main desire to reinterpret many historic sites has arisen from many Forts … Continue reading Representation of the Indian Wars and Networking Galore

Academia Meets Community in a Battle of Understanding

Last week I attended a presentation that was part of a community commemoration event.  The lecture touched on the history of a minority community one, that the speaker was not part of.  Many of the audience members were part of this community and were offended by the approach the speaker took to 'their personal history.'  … Continue reading Academia Meets Community in a Battle of Understanding

Community and Relevancy in Rural Museums

The latest issue of Curator: The Museum Journal was recently posted online.  This issue contained a number of interesting approaches to issues in the museum field.  One article I found particularly interesting was Rhianedd Smith's "Searching for "Community": Making English Rural History Collections Relevant Today."  The article can be read online here.  Smith's work focuses … Continue reading Community and Relevancy in Rural Museums

Chief Vann House: Conflicted Interpretation and Restoration

Tiya Miles article, "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation: Race and the Making of a Southern House Museum", that recently appeared in The Public Historian, volume 33, issue 4, presents an intriguing examination of the role racial perceptions can play in heritage interpretations. Miles' work focuses on the Chief Vann House State Historic Site in Georgia.  … Continue reading Chief Vann House: Conflicted Interpretation and Restoration