A number of members from my writers group are participating in this years National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo before, participants aim to write 50 thousand words in the month of November, the idea being that a time frame forces you be consistent in your writing practice and can help … Continue reading ‘Tis the Season for Writing
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
Friday Links
It's Friday and it is pouring rain outside. I figure the weather calls for some public history cheer. The #whatshouldwecallarchives Tumblr feed is fantastic. It animates and pokes fun at a lot of common archival problems and concerns. A college of mine recently spoke on CBC radio's Points North program about the work the Shingwauk Residential … Continue reading Friday Links
Community Knowledge and Active Listening
This week I am spending a lot of time outside of the archive. The archive is hosting a group of concurrent education students as part of a trial summer institute experience. The basis for this summer institute is providing an education setting that focuses on experiential learning in relation to Aboriginal heritage and Northern Ontario. … Continue reading Community Knowledge and Active Listening
Food Memories and Public History
The latest issue of The Public Historian, "Time's Tables: Food in Public History" had a special focus on the interaction of food and public history. Reading the issue made me hungry and intrigued by the complexity of intertwining food into conceptions of the past.I particularly enjoyed Adam Steinberg's article "What We Talk About When We … Continue reading Food Memories and Public History
Compatible or Incompatible? Public History and the PhD
It has been three years since I completed my MA in public history. Since graduating I have been involved in a number of interesting and professionally rewarding projects. I've continued to learn new skills in each volunteer or paid position I've undertaken. I also really enjoy my current position working with Residential School archives.Despite all … Continue reading Compatible or Incompatible? Public History and the PhD
National Film Board of Canada and Public History
Earlier this week one of my colleagues hosted a professional development presentation on the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada. Since that presentation, which mainly focused on how to get the most out of the NFB database, I've been thinking a lot about the applications of NFB material in instructional or public history settings.I've always … Continue reading National Film Board of Canada and Public History
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
Canadian Heritage Cutbacks
This week has been filled with announcements of program cancellations, staff reductions, and budget restrictions. Many of these announcements have been related to Canada's heritage field and have the potential to drastically impact heritage sites, archives, and history preservation across the country. The major announcements include:Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has announced a 20% reduction … Continue reading Canadian Heritage Cutbacks
Active History Celebrating Three Years
Head on over to ActiveHistory.ca to check out a great summary by Jim Clifford on the past three years of the Active History site. It's hard to believe that it was four years ago, in 2008 when I traveled to York University for the Active History symposium. Since the symposium and the development of the … Continue reading Active History Celebrating Three Years