Queer Public History in Small-Town Wisconsin

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-93
Author(s):  
Christopher Hommerding
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Public History ◽  
Small Town ◽  
History Of Sexuality ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ways Of Thinking

This essay examines the interpretation of the lives and work of two queer men, Robert Neal and Edgar Hellum, at the Pendarvis Historic Site in the small town of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Using this interpretation as a case study, the essay addresses how public historians might more fully incorporate the history of sexuality into historic site interpretative models. It suggests a number of strategies for helping visitors think critically about the history of sexuality and how our current understandings of sexual identity are not always useful or accurate ways of thinking about queer pasts.

The Queerest House in Cambridge

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-69
Author(s):  
Hilary Iris Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Public History ◽  
Historic Sites ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
Historical Interpretation ◽  
House Museums ◽  
The Past ◽  
House Museum ◽  
Historic House ◽  
History Of

One of the great challenges for public historians in LGBTQ history is finding and developing interpretation of the history of sexuality for public audiences at current historic sites. This article answers this challenge by repositioning historic house museums as sites of some of the most important LGBTQ public history we have, by using the Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a case study. At this house museum, we can re-see historical interpretation through a queer lens and take on histories that have been until recently “slandered, ignored, and erased” from our public narratives of the past.1

MODERNITY AND THE SELF IN THE HISTORY OF SEXUALITY

2006 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1211-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. COCKS
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
The Self ◽  
History Of Sexuality ◽  
Modern History ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
History Of ◽  
Gender Patterns ◽  
Field Of Inquiry

Recent work in the modern history of sexuality, now an established field of inquiry, is characterized by particular approaches to the interpretation of modernity and selfhood. In general, and in contrast to previous approaches, the books under review treat modernity as a localized process with specific effects. Sexual identity is understood in a similar way, as a phenomenon bounded by locality, class, age, nationality, gender, patterns of sociability, and other contextual factors. As such, speaking of sexual identity as a unitary entity, or as something that has historically been structured by an opposition of homosexual/heterosexual, no longer makes sense. In fact, the homo/hetero binary is of much more recent vintage than has been hitherto thought. These histories of sexuality challenge historians of all kinds to rethink the nature of categories like selfhood, identity, and modernity.

Collecting Folk Histories

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-75
Author(s):  
William S. Walker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Public History ◽  
New York State ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Student Community ◽  
History Of

This article explores the shared intellectual tradition in folklore, public history, and oral history of involving students in community-based field research. This case study of the collaborative research New York State folklorist Harold W. Thompson and his students undertook in the 1930s contributes to ongoing efforts to enrich our understanding of public history’s genealogy. It also demonstrates that a counter-tradition to the “lone genius” model of humanities research emerged through faculty-student community-based research projects in history and folklore.

Slavery Tourism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayo Holsey
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Public History ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Cape Coast ◽  
Radical Interpretation ◽  
Atlantic Trade ◽  
History Of

This chapter presents a case study of the slavery tourism industry in Ghana, tracing its development and noting some of the struggles it has faced. Based around the dungeons in the Cape Coast and Elmina castles used to warehouse slaves bound for the Atlantic trade, Ghana’s slavery tourism industry emerged in the 1990s through complex negotiations among different interested parties. The chapter notes in particular the disjuncture between Ghanaian understandings of the history of the slave trade and that of international and especially African American tourists. It also critiques the tourism industry’s focus on the triumph over slavery and considers the ways in which such an emphasis forecloses the possibility of a more radical interpretation of history. Finally, it places Ghanaian slavery tourism within the broader context of a global public history of slavery.

National Council on Public History Keynote Address, 2015

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Tiya Miles
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Native American ◽  
Public History ◽  
Keynote Address ◽  
National Council ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
The Public

As public historians, we grapple not only with the “what” of history making (subject and argument) but also with the “how” (process and relationships). We strive to develop projects that are dialogic and collaborative in nature, and to widely share the results of our work with the public. In doing so, we often chart new academic territory, making our way by trial and error and taking risks. By focusing on a Native American and African American historic site as case study, this essay explores how the aim to illuminate ways in which history matters in the present often drives us to create “history on the edge.”

scholarly journals The Apotheosis of the Apothecary: Retailing and Consuming the Meaning of a Historic Site

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 297-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Litt
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Tourism ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Victorian Era ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Popular Audience

Abstract This paper examines how history is interpreted and understood at the Niagara Apothecary, an early 1970s heritage restoration project that is operated as a Victorian-era pharmacy museum in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It recounts the history of the restoration of this historic site to show the variety of influences and interests that have shaped the history it presents. The apothecary's setting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a mecca for heritage tourism and consumerism, makes it an interesting case study of how history is communicated to a popular audience. To this end, the nature of the tourist experience at Niagara-on-the-Lake in general and the apothecary in particular are explored. The paper contrasts the professional historian's emphasis on objectivity and context with the material, romantic, specialised and consumer-friendly strategies that are employed in the presentation of the past at the apothecary.

Culture, Nature, and History: The Case of Ancient Sexuality

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 986-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Harper
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
History Of Sexuality ◽  
Specific Domain ◽  
Nature And Culture ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Important Site

AbstractThis article analyzes the configuration of biology, anthropology, and history over the last generation by taking the sub-field of the “history of sexuality” as a case study. The history of sexuality developed at a particularly important site of engagement with neighboring disciplines. I argue that the concepts of nature and culture that came to prevail among historians of sexuality were deeply influenced by the debate between a particular strand of evolutionary biology, namely sociobiology, and its critics, who were committed to cultural hermeneutics. This debate encouraged a formulation of nature and culture which is effectively dualist and which remains present within the sub-field. By focusing the analysis on the study ofancient(classical Mediterranean) sexuality, I seek detailed insights into the reception of this debate within a specific domain of historical investigation, one whose stakes have been particularly high because of the intervention of Michel Foucault. The article closes by arguing that biologists and anthropologists in the last two decades have advanced the study of culture as a part of nature, and that historians have much to gain by engaging with more recent models. The institution of monogamy is highlighted as an emerging theme of investigation that can only be approached with the unified insights of history, anthropology, and biology.

The Development of Historic Tourism Strategies Based on Millennial Preferences: A Case Study of Semarang Old City, Semarang, Indonesia

2021 ◽  
pp. 097639962110033
Author(s):  
Suzanna Ratih Sari ◽  
Muhammad Fariz Hilmy ◽  
Hermin Werdiningsih ◽  
Eko Punto Hendro
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Alternative Tourism ◽  
Old City ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tourism Destinations

Historical areas are one of the alternative tourism destinations in Semarang City. The most attractive and popular spot is the Semarang Old City, which is presently being prepared to become a World Heritage based on the beauty, authenticity and environmental attraction of the colonial buildings as well as the fascinating history of the area. However, most millennials prefer more recreational activities such as taking pictures, riding bicycles, sightseeing and enjoying the culinary surroundings without showing any interest in the history of the Old City. The potential importance of these millennials to the tourism market of this area requires the accommodation of their ever-changing needs. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to study young people’s perspectives and preferences towards historical tourist destinations such as the Old City. This involved the application of the qualitative method to examine the characteristics, preferences and motivations of millennials travelling in historic tourism areas through observation and interview millennials. The findings of this study were expected to be used in setting up some strategies to overcome the inherent problems of historic site tourism and also to satisfy the needs of the tourists, especially the millennials.

Sharing Credit

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Scripps ◽  
Soumitra Ghoshroy ◽  
Lana Burgess ◽  
Allison Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Public History ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
Science Exhibit ◽  
History Of ◽  
Promotion Process ◽  
Collaborative Article

Recent work by the NCPH, OAH, and AHA has raised the profile of challenges in evaluating collaborative research during the tenure and promotion process.1 Although it is acknowledged that most public historians work in collaborative partnerships, few resources dissect the nature of those collaborations and how they should be credited. This article focuses on a single case study, the development of the history of science exhibit Imaging the Invisible, a collaboration among faculty, staff, and students (both graduate and undergraduate). It was also an interdisciplinary project with representation from at least seven different departments and programs in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and engineering. This collaborative article reflects on the project, giving four perspectives on how credit can be shared. It also draws attention to the similarities and differences between the nature of collaborative projects in public history and in the physical sciences and considers what each discipline can learn from the other.

scholarly journals History Moves: Mobilizing Public Histories in Post-Digital Space

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2/3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Wizinsky ◽  
Jennifer Brier
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public History ◽  
Media History ◽  
Participatory Process ◽  
Digital History ◽  
Digital Space ◽  
Women Living With Hiv ◽  
History Of ◽  
Living With Hiv

Similar to most cultural forms today, history is collected, edited, manipulated, stored, displayed, distributed, and otherwise produced through a complex network of post-digital techniques and media. It is often produced only by historians. History Moves is a public history project that aims to produce cogent and collective historical experiences within the cultural frame of mutable and highly distributed media forms. It does this by bringing history, design, and historical subjects into conversation to shape public space. The project uses a participatory process that mobilizes people to interpret history by mobilizing digital and analogue media. History Moves transforms historical subjects into history-makers while simultaneously and repeatedly transfiguring media into forms that are engaging and accessible to widely distributed audiences. This article recounts a case study where History Moves worked with a group of women living with HIV/AIDS to present a history of the epidemic and a women’s history of Chicago. We suggest that the example provides a model for how to build participatory digital history projects and collaborative history displays.

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