The National Park Service and Civic Engagement

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward T. Linenthal
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
National Park ◽  
Public History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Inclusive Process ◽  
American Experience ◽  
Regional Director ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Education Agenda ◽  
Historic Landscape

Edward T. Linenthal reflects on the several years he spent as a Visiting Scholar with the Civic Engagement program of the National Park Service. Linenthal conducted seminars on issues in public history for NPS staff at various sites around the country. Civic engagement has been characterized by NPS's former Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust as "a refocusing of current efforts at partnering with communities, expanding our education agenda, telling the 'untold stories,' and working with communities and partners to preserve sites that represent the fullness of the American experience." Linenthal discusses the particular challenge of creating a more inclusive process in the shaping of NPS's work and the equally challenging task of creating a more diverse historic landscape.

Pulling from Outside, Pushing from Inside

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-292
Author(s):  
Anne Mitchell Whisnant ◽  
Marla R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Public History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
The State ◽  
National Council ◽  
American Historical Association ◽  
Park Service

In 2011, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) released Imperiled Promise: The State of History in the National Park Service, a multi-year team-authored study commissioned by the NPS Chief Historian. The study offered twelve findings assessing strengths and challenges facing history practice across the agency, and made almost one hundred recommendations that aimed to support that work. The report’s fifth anniversary offers an opportunity to review how Imperiled Promise’s proposals have fared. We find that, although the report has been positively received and many of its perspectives and specific suggestions embraced, the persistent structural issues it identified continue to hinder full realization of the parks’ promise. The OAH, National Council on Public History (NCPH), American Historical Association (AHA), and other professional associations, as well as their members, must continue to advocate strongly and consistently for NPS history.

Present at the Creation: Robert M. Utley Recalls the Beginnings of the National Historic Preservation Program

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen K. Foppes ◽  
Robert M. Utley
Keyword(s):  
Historic Preservation ◽  
National Park ◽  
Public History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Joint Chiefs Of Staff ◽  
Park Service ◽  
The Creation

This article, the product of an interview with Robert M. Utley, is part of the Pioneers of Public History series. It chronicles Utley's life and his accomplishments as a pioneer public historian. The interview begins by covering Utley's early years and his growing love of history. It then treats Utley's extensive career as a public historian, ranging from his role as a military historian for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to his many years working for the National Park Service. Utley also comments on the evolution of the field of public history.

The National Trail

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Denson
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Public History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
History And Memory ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Cherokee Removal ◽  
Cherokee History

In the early 1980s, the National Park Service began exploring the idea of creating a national trail dedicated to Cherokee removal. The planning and designation of this national trail became a catalyst for a variety of public history projects across the South. While the Park Service, itself, devoted scant resources to the initiative, the national trail became a framework in which local groups of commemorators pursued dozens of public history ideas. This final chapter describes the creation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, paying particular attention to the ways in which the federal project influenced public memory in local communities. The national trail idea led local commemorators to emphasize their communities' Cherokee history, even when that Cherokee history was quite negligible. This chapter examines the expansion of removal commemoration since the 1980s as an expression of a contemporary American obsession with issues of history and memory. It also places the national trail in the context of recent "history wars," public debates over the interpretation of the American past.

Philanthropy and the National Park Service

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Vaughn ◽  
Hanna J. Cortner
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Park Service

A Question Of Relevance

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-123
Author(s):  
Michael A. Capps
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Educational Component

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is an example of one memorial site that has successfully managed to retain relevance for nearly one hundred years by adapting to changes in scholarship and the expectations of its visitors. Initially created as a purely commemorative site, it has evolved into one where visitors can actively engage with the Lincoln story. By embracing an interpretive approach to managing the site, the National Park Service has been able to add an educational component to the experience of visiting the memorial that complements its commemorative nature.

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