Shared Authority, Reflective Practice, and Community Outreach: Thoughts on Parallel Conversations in Public History and Historical Archaeology

Summary

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 adherence to the principles and pedagogies of related fields. It also considers how and why public outreach for archaeological sites necessarily diverges in practice in significant ways from that of other fields commonly included under the broad umbrella of public history. How should those distinctions be communicated effectively across disciplines? Finally, this paper reflects upon strategies for disseminating project results to interdisciplinary professional audiences in the aim of wider public impact.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Inspirations from Public History: Recommendations for Collaboration and Community Outreach Drawn Across Disciplinary Boundaries

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 143