New Directions in Active History: Institutions, Communication, and Technologies

There is less than a week left to submit papers to the New Directions in Active History conference.  The conference will be held October 2-4, 2015 at Huron University College in London, Ontario more details about the conference and the  CFP are below: The term “active history” carries with it a diverse range of meanings. … Continue reading New Directions in Active History: Institutions, Communication, and Technologies

Moral Goodness and Venereal Disease: Sexual Health Education in Ontario

My latest post, "Moral Goodness and Venereal Disease: Sexual Health Education in Ontario" can be see over on the Activehistory.ca site. The post looks at the introduction of sexual health education into Ontario schools in the early 1900s and traces the changing nature of the sexual health curriculum to present day.

Collaborative History and Virtual Peer Networks

I recently wrote a short post on historical trauma and self-care.  Shortly after writing that post I read Shurlee Swain's Public Historian article "Stakeholders as Subjects: The Role of Historians in the Development of Australia's Find & Connect Web Resource."  Swain's article reflected on the challenges of creating the Find & Connect digital resource that … Continue reading Collaborative History and Virtual Peer Networks

Digital Community Archives: South Asian American Digital Archive

The recent issue of The Public Historian featured an article, "Seeing Yourself in History: Community Archives and the Fight Against Symbolic Annihilation", by Michelle Caswell.  The article looks at the development of the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) and the role the archive has played in preserving the marginalized history of the South Asian … Continue reading Digital Community Archives: South Asian American Digital Archive

Public History and Environmental Engagement: Scotland’s Coastal Heritage

The recent special issue of The Public Historian focused on public history and environmental sustainability.  This issue builds on the sustainable public history theme that was the focus of the 2014 National Council on Public History conference and the digital collection Public History in a Changing Climate which appeared on the Public History Commons.  The … Continue reading Public History and Environmental Engagement: Scotland’s Coastal Heritage

Contested Public History and Public Engagement

The Spring 2014 issue of The Public Historian focused on contested histories, addressing controversy through public history, and the relationship of controversy and commemoration.  Christine Reiser Robbins and Mark W. Robbins' piece "Engaging the contested Memory of the Public Square, Community Collaboration, Archaeology, and Oral History at Corpus Christi's Artesian Park" is an excellent example … Continue reading Contested Public History and Public Engagement

Ask A Slave Web Series

The winter issue of The Public Historian included an interview with Azie Mira Dungey the creator of the "Ask A Salve" web series.  Dungey was a living history first person interpreter at George Washington's Mount Veron, where she portrayed Caroline Branham an enslaved housemaid.  The web series draws on her experience working at Mount Vernon … Continue reading Ask A Slave Web Series

Decolonial Public History and Shared Authority

The winter issue of The Public Historian  contained an article by Katrine Barber titled "Shared Authority in the Context of Tribal Sovereignty: Building Capacity for Partnerships with Indigenous Nations."  Barber's article addresses the challenges of Indigenous and non-Indigenous public history projects, historical colonial practices, and the idea of shared authority and decolonial public history practices. … Continue reading Decolonial Public History and Shared Authority

Virtual Tourism and Audience Engagement

A recent issue of The Public Historian contained an interesting article, "#VirtualTourist: Embracing Our Audience through Public History Web Experience" by Anne Lindsay.  The article highlighted the ongoing challenges that cultural heritage sites in engage new and diverse audiences.  Lindsay focused on the potential of institutional web presence in the development of audience and donor … Continue reading Virtual Tourism and Audience Engagement

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