Public history has canonically been understood to involve historical knowledge produced by or for non-academic publics at places such as museums, libraries, or historical sites. The urgent crises of our contemporary world, however, occasion a more expansive vision of the field that transcends particular institutional environments or constituencies, and is defined above all by a commitment to thinking critically about how historical knowledge is produced and how it goes to work in the world. We invite a conversation that gathers participants’ understandings of the public orientation of their own historical work, and that interrogates rather than assumes the distinction between public vs. academic expertise.

This event has been organized by the Histories of Culture in Disastrous Times research project at the Neubauer Collegium.

About the History in Public conversation series

Fields such as public humanities, public history, and public scholarship have often drawn on a distinction between universities and a “public” that exists outside of them. This distinction can, however, appear arbitrary, especially in times of crisis that compel questions about the insulation of academic knowledge production from the challenges facing society at large. We take our current moment of deep uncertainty about the future of the academy as an opportunity to convene a series of conversations about what it means to practice history in public today. What intellectual and practical commitments define a history that is engaged with the world? Who are its practitioners and whom does it serve? What is its place within the university? What forms of learning are required to sustain it? What do these practices mean at the University of Chicago in particular? We invite participants at all career stages and from all fields or institutions, who would like to think about the public dimensions of their work and to make connections to the wider community of public historical practice at the University and in Chicago.

Other events in the series

MAY 7: What Is a Public Historical Education?

MAY 14: The Future of the Public History Program at UChicago