Public History in the South
Public history practice in the southern United States faces multidirectional threats. Climate change–with attendant warming temperatures, rising waters, and extreme weather events–threatens historic sites, archives, and cultural resources. State laws that attempt to limit historical knowledge may restrict the opportunity to safely and ethically practice history. Local government and public pressure threaten public support for institutions that engage with histories of race, gender, and sexuality. The National Council on Public History (NCPH) is hosting a mini-conference in Lafayette, LA from October 5-6, 2024, during which public historians will discuss how to continue their work despite these challenging conditions. In an effort to support their efforts, the editor of the NCPH's official journal, The Public Historian, has curated a collection of recent articles addressing topics in southern public history. We invite you to read these articles for free online for a limited time.
The State of Public History in the South: Selected Articles from The Public Historian
Cameos of History on the Landscape
Jennifer Dickey
(May 2020, vol. 42, no. 2)
"Ripped Spike, Tie and Rail for Its Moorings": Blues Tourism, Racial Reconciliation, and the 'Yellow Dog' of the Mississippi Blues Trail
T. DeWayne Moore
(May 2020, vol. 42, no. 2)
QuiltSpeak
Diana Bell-Kite
(November 2021, vol. 43, no. 4)
Restoring Charleston’s Dock Street Theatre
Stephanie Gray
(August 2022, vol. 44, no. 3)
Public History in the Age of Insurrection
Brian Murphy and Katie Owens-Murphy
(August 2022, vol. 44, no. 3)
Exploring and Interpreting the History of Slavery at James Madison’s Montpelier: A Case Study in Using Archaeology as an Interpretive Tool in Public History Practice Terry P. Brock, Katherine Crawford-Lackey, Matthew B. Reeves, Mary Furlong Minkoff
(November 2022, vol. 44, no. 4)
Building a Sustainable Community Archaeology in Black Appalachia: Notes from Junaluska, North Carolina
Cameron Gokee, Alice P. Wright, Kristen Baldwin Deathridge
(November 2022, vol. 44, no. 4)
We and Bobby Lee: Public Historians and the Fight to Remove Confederate Memorials
Jason Pierce and Michael Powers
(November 2023, vol. 45, no. 4)
Universities Studying Slavery Roundtable
Campus Meets World: Introduction to Universities Studying Slavery Roundtable
Tiya Miles
(November 2020, vol 42, no. 4)
A Fraught Reckoning: Exploring the History of Slavery at the University of Georgia
Chana Kai Lee
(November 2020, vol 42, no. 4)
The Burden of the University of Alabama’s Hallowed Grounds
Hilary Green
(November 2020, vol 42, no. 4)
Meeting the Challenge of Honoring Clemson University’s Invisible Black Founders
Rhondda Robinson Thomas
(November 2020, vol 42, no. 4)
Working to Transform Community at Emory University
Leslie M. Harris
(November 2020, vol 42, no. 4)
We invite you to read these articles for free online for a limited time.
Print copies of the issues in which these articles appear, as well as other individual TPH issues, can be purchased on the journal’s site. For ongoing access to TPH, please ask your librarian to subscribe, purchase an individual subscription, and/or consider membership in the NCPH.