We are pleased to invite applications for a full-time staff position at MARCH, located on the campus of Rutgers-Camden. The primary responsibility of the Public Historian in Residence will be to serve as co-editor of The Public Historian, the journal of the National Council on Public History. The individual hired as co-editor will be expected to provide, in particular, the perspective of a public history practitioner and to build connections between the journal and NCPH’s various digital publications and venues, such as the Public History Commons and History@Work. In his/her role as Public Historian in Residence, the person filling this position will contribute to publications, projects, and events that support the public history initiatives of MARCH and the Department of History. Ideal candidates will have familiarity with debates and practices from around the public history field and will be public history professionals with substantial experience in practice who have established networks of contacts in the field, preferably in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area. The most competitive candidates will also have an understanding of scholarly publishing and knowledge or expertise in technology sufficient to permit participating in discussions about digital initiatives and platforms that are shaping scholarly and professional publishing and communications today. Five years’ experience in public history practice and master’s degree in public history or a related field are required. The position requires excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills. To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references no later than Friday, March 20, online here. (Also link here for additional information about salary and benefits classification.)
Expanded job description:
As co-editor of The Public Historian and Public Historian in Residence at Rutgers University Camden, the successful candidate will serve as a voice for public history practice in the creation of scholarly content for the journal. The position will include participating in editorial board meetings; remaining in contact regularly with the Editor and Managing Editor in the journal’s existing office in Santa Barbara, Calif.; providing ideas for and input on projects such as new article formats; special issues; reviewing submissions referred by the Managing Editor to offer assessments of their appeal and use by practicing public historians; and making suggestions for reviews of books, exhibits, and other forms of public history scholarship with an eye toward their appeal and application to public history practice. The co-editor will be expected to maintain currency with publications and activities in allied fields such as museum studies and practice; archives; historic preservation; and historic interpretation and, from this, to identify issues and trends for inclusion in the journal or other NCPH publications and media. The co-editor will recruit and nurture new authors and attend selected regional and national conferences and editorial board meetings for The Public Historian. The co-editor will serve as the exhibits review and digital media review editor and also will help lead the digital publishing initiatives as an editor of History@Work, member of the NCPH Digital Media Group, and as the member of the journal’s editorial team most responsible for integrating digital initiatives and the journal.
In addition, the Public Historian in Residence will contribute to publications, projects, and events promoting public history for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) and the Department of History.
Like the editor of The Public Historian, the Digital Media editor, and the NCPH executive director, the co-editor is a non-voting ex officio member of the NCPH Board of Directors. The co-editor is encouraged to participate in all of the board meetings, as convenient. This board confers regularly via its listserv and meets occasionally by conference call and in-person twice a year: at the spring NCPH Annual Meeting and in the fall, often at times that coincide with the meetings of the Editorial Board of The Public Historian.