From the National Council on Public History:
“Sustainable Public History”
2014 Annual Meeting, National Council on Public History Monterey, California, March 19 – 22, 2014
In 2014 the National Council on Public History will meet at the Monterey Conference Center. Monterey is a city where nature and culture intersect in fascinating and challenging ways, an ideal place to explore issues of sustainability. The program committee invites panel, roundtable, workshop, working group, and individual paper proposals for the conference. The Call for Poster sessions will be issued in fall 2013.
At its core, sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future. Sustainability requires us to work within limited economic and natural resources, build lasting community and cross-disciplinary relationships, emphasize quality over quantity, and elevate social responsibility. The idea of sustainability is often applied to our relationship with the environment, but also relates to the way we manage and fund historic resources. This conference will examine how the idea of sustainability can advance the field of public history and, in turn, how public history can encourage sustainability. Questions to consider include:
How can we use history to promote a better relationship with the environment?
How can we ensure that our own work is sustainable and that the collections, institutions, and knowledge we build today will endure for generations?
Recognizing that disparities of wealth and power undermine sustainability, how can we use history to ensure social justice?
How can public historians connect local actions to global developments, particularly around processes like climate change or economic decline and redevelopment?
How can our work inform vital public debate on these processes?
Some ideas for sessions include: …
Interpreting the history of energy resources and their use, climate change, global warming, consumption, transportation, and the material culture of waste and reuse
Sustainable food – historic foodways and local food culture, historic farming practices and modern agriculture, farmers’ markets, community gardening
Preserving and interpreting historical resources in an era of climate change and limited resources, including resources that have themselves altered the environment
The role of historic organizations and preservation in sustainable planning or rebuilding– how are historic communities rebuilding after hurricanes and other disasters? How should municipalities manage use of waterfronts, flood plains, or areas susceptible to drought, etc.?
Reuse of historic buildings, issues of integrity, and the relationship between “green” architecture and historic preservation
Developing and interpreting the heritage aspects of recreational trails and environmental preserves
Graduate education: What do graduate students need to know about sustainability? Is the proliferation of graduate programs sustainable?
Incorporating public history into university-based sustainability centers or councils
Understanding sustainability issues in digital history projects
Cultivating and sustaining community engagement relationships
The impact of heritage tourism on communities and the natural environment
Race relations—neighborhood segregation and connections to environmental justice on the Monterey Peninsula and elsewhere
Creative ways to sustain heritage institutions; finding new audiences and new funding sources
Diversifying the public history profession
The full call and tips for developing a proposal are available by clicking here (PDF). Proposals are due by July 15, 2013 and accepted presenters are expected to register for the conference by November 1, 2013.