One of the best organizations for public scholarship in the US is the National Council on Public History. A professional organization since 1980, the NCPH holds annual conferences, sponsors a journal, The Public Historian, a newsletter, Public History News, and a blog, History@Work. And, not surprisingly, the organization is active in promoting public scholarship through collaborating with schools and consulting with local governments and other communities. The NCPH also offers support services and resources for people who want to become public historians. Three recent projects give a sense of the scope of the organization’s support for public scholars. Public History in a Changing Climate is an online, open-access collection of articles on the histories of climate change and sustainability in an effort to use history and public platforms to inform people about environmental history. It includes a wide variety of topics from refrigeration to establishing “environmental sites of conscience.”
Second, the NCPH resources pages offers an introduction to history and public history for all levels of students and educators. When I was getting started in this field, it was absolutely invaluable. Third, the blog is fun! Today’s homepage of History@Work includes stories about a new podcast on Brooklyn history, a round-up of interesting articles, conferences, and summer institutes on public history, a profile of a young PhD turned public history practitioner, and a article, Black Quotidien, on everyday life in African American newspapers. Interested in public history? Start here at the NCPH.
Joan Neuberger