Hi Everyone.
My name is Kristin and I am currently studying Public History at Loyola University Chicago. This semester (Spring 2012), I am taking a class called “Public History Digital Media,” and one of our projects is to maintain a blog.
So here we are!
I would like to use this blog to explore ways in which new media can be used to encourage dialogues about history and the past with audiences beyond the university. To me, the word ‘dialogue’ is the one to focus on in that last sentence. Too often, history is perceived by audiences as an inaccessible one-way street where academics dictate the realm of the past. “History is boring,” you might say. “History is not important to my life.”
*This is where I jump in, wearing a historical costume, to point out all the different ways the past has shaped the present!*
One of the main aspects of Public History is shared authority. This means that public historians strive to involve their audiences, to emphasize that everyone is a part of history and that it can be engaged with and shaped in meaningful ways (as opposed to dozing off in a high school history class). My hope is that through this blog, I can at least explore some ideas that readers will find provoking, and will lead them to ponder their pasts and their connections with it.
Now my friends, back to the future!