Inspirations from Public History: Recommendations for Collaboration and Community Outreach Drawn Across Disciplinary Boundaries

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  • Interpreting Race in Public: Collaborations Between Historical Archaeologists and Public Historians (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Modupe Labode.

    Public historians and historical archaeologists often share goals of communicating knowledge about the past with the non-specialist public.  However, public historians and historical archaeologists rarely collaborate or communicate with one another about their approaches to stakeholders and the past. To indicate how such collaborations enhance public interpretations of history, I will first briefly describe my experiences, as a public historian, of working with historical archaeologists on...

  • Shared Authority, Reflective Practice, and Community Outreach: Thoughts on Parallel Conversations in Public History and Historical Archaeology (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kathryn L Sikes.

    Over the past two decades, publications in public history, museum studies, oral history, historic preservation, and historical archaeology have often followed similar trajectories in seeking to serve a diversity of stakeholders connected to historic sites and promoting discussion of poorly documented and marginalized communities. This paper traces these parallel theoretical concepts and ethical considerations and examines how public archaeologies of the recent past may benefit from closer...

  • Sharing the Interpretive Center at Colonial Williamsburg: Archaeologists, Historical Interpreters, and Descendant Communities (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Meredith M. Poole. Ywone Edwards-Ingram.

    Archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg has always involved African Americans in different levels of its practice.  Members of this community have worked behind-the-scenes and in more public roles at the museum since its founding in the late 1920s. This presentation addresses the unique ways in which archaeologists have worked with African Americans, and how this interaction has allowed archaeologists to reach descendant communities.  Examples from past and ongoing activities are used to illustrate...

  • Traditional Associations?: Public History, Collaborative Practice, and Alternative Histories (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Erin K Devlin.

    In recent years, public historians have placed increased emphasis on collaborative practice—the need to reach out to an expanded array of community stakeholders, the desire to share authority through co-creative planning processes, and the effort to create engaging experiences for visitors. These developments have been motivated, in part, by an effort to diversify the public history landscape and to incorporate non-white and non-elite histories into public memory. This paper will explore the...

  • What's So Different About Public History? (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kristen Baldwin Deathridge.

    When historical archaeologists discuss public archaeology, does their use of "public" imply the same things as intended by public historians? As more archaeology undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in public history coursework (and public history students enrolled in archaeology courses), how is this relevant to their training? This paper will provide a brief review of public history’s development as a distinct field, noting current trends in civic engagement. It discusses the...