Interpreting Race in Public: Collaborations Between Historical Archaeologists and Public Historians

Summary

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 projects interpreting Native American and African American history. I will then discuss practical, institutional, and disciplinary factors that facilitate or constrain such collaboration. My presentation will conclude with my observations about how these interdisciplinary collaborations complicate and enrich public interpretations of race and have the potential to counter racially-biased narratives.

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): 289