Public History and the Study of Memory

Author(s): David Glassberg

Source: The Public Historian, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring, 1996), pp. 7-23
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the National Council on Public History
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Historyand Memory

andthe
PublicHistory
StudyofMemory
DAVID GLASSBERG

IN THE PASTDECADE, dozens of new certificate

and degree programsin

public historyhave trainedhistoriansfor work in museums,archives,

and public policypositions.Withinthese new prohistoricpreservation,
different
fromconventional
gramsa centralquestion-how ispublichistory
academic fields-has been answeredin primarily
vocationalratherthan
intellectual
terms.We thinkofpublichistory
as a collectionofcareerpaths,
nota coherentsubjectofstudy.
During the same decade therehas been an explosionof scholarship
theimagesand uses ofhistory
inWesternculture.Rangingfrom
examining
broad overviewssuch as David Lowenthal'sThePast is a ForeignCountry
(1985) and MichaelKammen'sMysticChordsofMemory(1991) to monographssuch as KaralAnnMarling'sGeorgeWashingtonSleptHere (1988)
and my AmericanHistoricalPageantry(1990) to special issues of the
Journalof AmericanHistory("Memoryand AmericanHistory"-March
1989) and Representations("Memory and Countermemory"-Spring
1989), thenewscholarshipexploresthevariouswaysthatthememoryofa
disseminated,and understood.The
societyis created,institutionalized,
currentfascinationwith memoryamong a wide varietyof disciplines,
showsno signofabating:thethemeofa recentOrganizaincludinghistory,
tionofAmericanHistoriansmeeting(Chicago,March1996) was "History,
Memory,and Identity."
is associateprofessorof historyand directorof the Public HistoryProDAVIDGLASSBERG
of Massachusettsat Amherst.He is theauthorofAmericanHistorical
gramat the University
Pageantry:The Uses of Traditionin the Early TwentiethCentury(1990), and PublicHisto1997). The authoracknowledges
ries: The Place of the Past in AmericanLife (forthcoming,
the assistanceof the NationalEndowmentforthe Humanities,whichfundedseveralof the
public projectsdescribedin thisessayas well as a researchfellowshipduring1993-94 that
allowedtimeto reflecton them.
7
The PublicHistorian,Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring1996)
of Californiaand
? 1996 bythe Regentsofthe University
the NationalCouncilon Public History

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8 a

THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

on
andwritings
ofpublichistory
development
Despitethesimultaneous
little
has
connected
them.
Few
new
the
during pastdecade,
publicmemory
frompublichistorihaveincorporated
workson memory
insights
scholarly
and
historic
in museums,historic
ans' experiencesworking
sites,
preservain
historic
few
tionagencies;
sites,and
projects museums,
publichistory
agencieshavemadeuse oftheoriesdevelopedinthescholarly
preservation
researchon memory.'
on memory
becausethenewscholarship
The separationis unfortunate,
a commonintellectual
offersus a new wayto thinkaboutpublichistory,
forthediverseenterprises
foundation
taughtandpracticedunderitsname.
thevariouswaysinwhichsocietiesthinkaboutthepastand
Understanding
to understand
the instituuse it in thepresentcan help publichistorians
about
tionalcontextsin whichtheyoperateas well as thepresuppositions
historywithwhichthe public approachestheirwork.Moreover,public
The insights
tothisscholarship.
arewellpositionedto contribute
historians
with
the
in
a
ofsettings,
from
historians
gain
working
public
variety
public
ofhowhistorical
iscreated,institutionthefirst-hand
knowledge
knowledge
can helprevitalize
theentirehistoriandunderstood,
alized,disseminated,
and intellectually
in
as it redefinesitselfbothprofessionally
cal profession
theyearsahead.2
What do historianstalk about when theytalk about memory?The
ofterms-collectivememory,
popularmemory,
publicmemory,
profusion
thatmemoryrequiresfurther
definition
as a
countermemory-suggests
theimportance
ofthescholarship
fieldofstudy.Beforedemonstrating
on
and
to
historians
the
contributions
that
memory public
important
public
we firstneed to understandits
historianscan make to thisscholarship,
and intellectual
emergenceas a historical
phenomenon.
At firstglance the studyof memoryseems a new field,but in fact
historianshave long been interestedin tracinghow ideas about history
ofwhathistorians
changeovertime.Fordecades,we havetaughtthehistory
and called it historiography,
have thoughtabouthistory
makingitsstudy
At the same time,
ofprofessionals.
centralto trainingfuturegenerations
1. Amongthe best examplesof memoryscholarshipbased on personalexperiencein
on theCraftand Meaning
workare MichaelFrisch'sSharedAuthority:
Writing
publichistory
oftheCenterfor
ofOral and PublicHistory(Albany:SUNY Press,1990)andthepublications
on
See Lois Silverman,
inAmericaat IndianaUniversity.
ed.,A Bibliography
History-Making
ofMuseums,1993).ThisbibliograDC: AmericanAssociation
(Washington,
History-Making
listingmanymoreexamplesofthenew
programs,
phyis essentialforteachersinpublichistory
on memorythancan be mentionedin thisessay.
scholarship
ofAmericanHistorians
devotedan entireCouncilofChairs
2. The Organization
recently
Public History."Its fiveessaysaddress many
newsletterto the questionof "Rethinking
studies
andprofessional
butnottheroleofmemory
concernsofcurriculum
identity,
important
oran exampleofhowacademicandpublichistorical
as a componentofpublichistory
training
Publicand Academic
See Jannelle
Warren-Findley,
"Integrating
practicescan be integrated.
45 (June1995): 4-6.
History:Is it Possible?Is It Wise?"OAH CouncilofChairsNewsletter

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY * 9

literarycriticsand arthistorianshave examinedhistoricalimageryin the

whilefolklorists
haveinvestigated
thehistorical
worksofartistsandwriters,
tales of less sociallyprominentgroups.And politicalhistorianshave exor
plored the changinghistoricalreputationsof heroessuch as Jefferson
Lincoln, the notionsof historyembedded in the ideologyof political
orpopulism,as wellas howgovernment
movementssuchas republicanism
officials
haveemployedhistorical
analogiesin themakingofpublicpolicy.3
the new scholarshipon memoryfromthe old is not
What distinguishes
subjectmatterbut approach.Whereasearlierstudiesprimarily
soughtto
beliefsabout itspast,the new
characterizea singlegroupor institution's
seek to understandtheinterrelationships
studiesprimarily
betweendifferent versionsof historyin public. They investigatewhat anthropologist
oftradition":
RobertRedfieldtermed"thesocialorganization
howvarious
versionsofthepast are communicatedin societythrougha multiplicity
of
and media,includingschool,government
institutions
ceremonies,popular
storiestold by familiesand friends,and
amusements,art and literature,
features
as
historical
eitherbygovernment
orpopular
landscape
designated
In
a
the
new
broadens
the
sense,
practice.
memoryscholarship
typesof
and ideas includedin the traditionalhistoriography
institutions
course,
historical
as
not
the
viewingprofessional
scholarship
onlythoughtabout
of
several
one
versions
of
the
but
history
past competingforinfluencein
in
a
and
time.4
public
particularplace
Withthischangein approachhas comea shiftin focusfromstudying
the
thatproduce history--colleges
institutions
and universities,
government
3. Among the earlyscholarshipon images and uses of the Americanpast are works
associatedwiththe"mythand symbol"schoolofAmericanStudiessuchas HenryNash Smith,
Press,
VirginLand: TheAmericanWestas Symboland Myth(Cambridge:HarvardUniversity
1950), PerryMiller,The New EnglandMind:FromColonyto Province(Cambridge:Harvard
UniversityPress, 1953), and WilliamR. Taylor,Cavalier and Yankee:The Old South and
AmericanNational Character (New York: George Braziller,1961); each saw a peculiar
historicalconsciousnessas centraltoholdingtogetherthesocietiestheystudied.I discussthe
studiesof memoryto AmericanStudiesscholarshipfurther
in
relationshipof contemporary
"Monumentsand Memories,"AmericanQuarterly43 (March 1991): 143-56. On academic
see Peter Novick,That Noble Dream: The ObjectivityQuestionand the
historiography,
AmericanHistoricalProfession
(New York:CambridgeUniversity
Press,1988). On artists'and
intellectuals'use ofthepast,see WarrenSusman"Historyand theAmericanIntellectual:The
Uses of a Usable Past" [1964], reprintedin Cultureas History:The Transformation
of
AmericanSocietyin theEarlyTwentieth
Century(New York:PantheonBooks,1984). On the
historicalconsciousnessof minorities,
see LawrenceLevine,Black Cultureand Black Consciousness(New York: OxfordUniversity
Press, 1977). Studies of the changinghistorical
ofpoliticalfiguresincludeMerrillPeterson'sTheJefferson
reputations
Imagein theAmerican
Mind (1960) and Lincolnin AmericanMemory(New York:OxfordUniversity
Press,1994).
For a pioneeringinvestigationof historicalrepresentations
in politicalmovements,see
RichardHofstadter,The Age of Reform,From Bryanto FDR (New York:VintageBooks,
1955); fora morerecentexample,see DorothyRoss,"HistoricalConsciousnessin Nineteenth
CenturyAmerica,"AmericanHistoricalReview(October1984): 909-28. On decisionmakers,
see RichardNeustadtand ErnestMay,Thinkingin Time:The UsesofHistoryfor Decisionmakers(New York:Free Press,1986).
4. Redfielduses "Social OrganizationofTradition"as the titleforChapter3 ofPeasant
of
Societyand Culture(1956), reprintedwithThe LittleCommunity(Chicago: University
Chicago Press,1967), 40-59.

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10 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

the mindsof the audienceswhereall

agencies,mass media-to studying
theseversionsof the past convergeand are understood.Whereasearlier
moreorlessunderstoodthe
approachesassumedthataudiencesforhistory
histories
were
same historical
imagesthesameway-if GeorgeBancroft's
popular,it meant that theyembodied an Americanpopular historical
consciousness-newapproachesemphasizethe manydifferent
meanings
The meaningofa
audiencesderivefromthesamehistorical
representation.
determinedsolelyby the
historicalbook,film,or displayis not intrinsic,
what
intention
oftheauthor,butchangesas audiencesactivelyreinterpret
it
in
derived
hear
alternative
contexts
their
see
and
from
byplacing
they
To paraphraseCarl Becker,everypersonis his
diversesocialbackgrounds.
versionsofthepastthatmake
or herownhistorian,
creatingidiosyncratic
andexperiences.
Butthenhowcanwe make
sensegivenpersonalsituations
about
a
meaningful
publichistory?5
generalizations
TheProblemofScale: Individualand CollectiveMemory
on memory
examinescommunicaIndeed muchofthenewscholarship
tionabout the past onlyat the mostintimateof scales: autobiographical
and oral historians
Psychologists
memoryand reminiscence.
explorehow
in recallingthepastforma coherentpersonalidentity
individuals
andsense
atthecenterofhistorical
ofself,tellingstoriesthatplacethemselves
events,
of the eventswith
or their"uchronicdreams"thatcombinerecollections
shouldhaveturnedout.How individuals
howtheythought
rememhistory
ber is of obviousimportanceto oral historyinterviewers
and shouldbe
intotheoralhistory
the
however,
practiceofpublichistorians;
incorporated
focuson personalmemoryand an individual's
recollection
of
idiosyncratic
usefulto historians
with
thepastis notparticularly
working
largergroups.
Moreusefulis thescholarship
howindividual
memoriesofthe
investigating
dialoguewithothers.Anindipastare establishedand confirmed
through
is theproductofgroupcommunication,
vidualmemory
linkedto
intimately
withcommunity
a collectivememory
ofthecommunity.
Historians
working
howstoriesaboutthepastare
groupsare in a goodpositionto investigate
handeddownwithinfamilies,
orcirculateamongfriends.
Theyare also ina
of the memoriesthatcirculate
good positionto discoverthe relationship
and friendsto thehistorical
thatcirculatein
representations
amongfamily
nation,massmedia.The manyoral
publicona widerscale,intowns,regions,
ofWorldWar II
anniversary
history
projectsconnectedwiththe fiftieth
5. The new scholarshipreflectsthe impactof communications
theory,especiallyas
(UK) "school"ofculturalstudies.Amongthemostusefulworks
developedin theBirmingham
thisliteratureare the essaysin RobertC. Allen,ed., Channelsof Discourse:
introducing
of NorthCarolinaPress,
Criticism(Chapel Hill: University
Televisionand Contemporary
1987-or see thesecondeditionofthisworkpublishedin 1992),and NicholasDirks,Geoff
A Reader in Contemporary
Social
Eley, and SherryOrtner,eds., Culture/Power/History:
Press,1994).
Theory(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY 0 11

to considerhowfamilystoriestoldaboutWorldWar II
offeropportunities
havebeen shapedbythelargerpoliticalcultureand massmediaand are not
This leads to a largerquestion,
merelyunmediatedpersonalreminiscence.
withallthe
on memory:
one thathasbeen atcoreofmuchrecentscholarship
possible versionsof the past thatcirculatein society,how do particular
accountsof the past get establishedand disseminatedas the public one?
How do thesepublichistorieschangeovertime?6
PublicHistoryas PoliticalCulture
One approachto thesequestionsis to analyzehowtheprevailing
images
ofthepastin a societyreflectitspoliticalculture.In thewakeofcontroverexhibiton theend ofWorldWar II orthecontent
sies overtheSmithsonian
standardsandtextbooks
forschoolchildren,
fewcan deny
ofnationalhistory
that the question of whose versionof historygets institutionalized
and
is a politicalone, and thatpublichistory
disseminatedas thepublichistory
embodiesnot onlyideas about history--the
relationof past,present,and
also
the
ideas
about
ofdiversegroups
public-the relationship
future--but
inpoliticalsociety.Contemporary
debatesoverthepoliticsofpublichistory
haveonlyincreasedtheimportance
ofpublichistorians
readingscholarship
in thepast,as reflectedin theestablishment
on thepoliticaluses ofhistory
ofwar memorials,civiccelebrations,
and publicinstitutions
such as museand
historic
sites.'
ums,archives,
For some scholars,public historicalimagerysuppliesthe mythsand
symbolsthatholddiversegroupsin politicalsocietytogether.In thewords
ofBenedictAnderson,a sharedhistory--elements
ofa pastrememberedin
commonas well as elementsforgotten
in common-is thecrucialelement
in the construction
of an "imaginedcommunity"
throughwhichdisparate
individualsand groupsenvisionthemselvesas membersofa collectivewith
6. The insightthatoralhistory
interviewees
usuallyplace themselvesat thecenterofthe
historicaleventstheyare describingappears in Linda Shopes, "PopularConsciousnessof
Local History:The EvidenceofOral HistoryInterviews,"
International
Oral HistoryAssociation,1994. The term"uchronicdreams"appearsin AlessandroPortelli,The Death of Luigi
Trastulliand OtherStories:Formand Meaningin Oral History(Albany:SUNY Press,1991),
book of essaysexploringhow individualsand communities
a fascinating
rememberthe past.
see RobertN. Butler,"The Life
On personalreminiscenceas a spontaneousindividualactivity,
ofReminiscencein theAged,"Psychiatry
26 (February1963): 65-76.
Review:Interpretation
ofindividualand collectivememoriesthroughgroupcommunicaOn thesocial construction
tion,see MauriceHalbwachs,TheCollectiveMemory(New York:Harperand Row,1980),and
the essays in David Thelen, ed., Memoryand AmericanHistory(Bloomington:Indiana
Press,1990) and David Middletonand DerekEdwards,eds.,CollectiveRememberUniversity
ing (NewburyPark,Calif.: Sage, 1990). See also the importantcollectionon gender and
memory,Sherna Gluck and Daphne Patai,eds., Women'sWords:The FeministPracticeof
Oral History(New York:Routledge,1991).
overtheSmithsonian
exhibiton theend ofWorldWar II prompted
7. The controversies
on thepoliticsofpublichistory;
ofwriting
a torrent
see, forexample,"Historyand thePublic:
What Can We Handle? A Round Table about Historyafterthe Enola Gay Controversy,"
JournalofAmericanHistory82 (December 1995): 1029-1144.

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12 n THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

a commonpresentand future.FromW. LloydWarner'sanalysisofcommemorative

ritualsinYankeeCity(Newburyport,
MA) inthe1950sthrough
RobertBellah'scharacterization
ofa nationalcivilreligionin1967,torecent
of the "lieuxde
analysessuch as PierreNora's multivolume
exploration
m6moire"in France and Michael Kammen'sdescriptionof the "mystic
chordsof memory"in the U.S., one strandof analysishas portrayedthe
as essentially
consensual,empoliticsof public historicalrepresentation
an
civic
or
national
faith
beneath
ethnic
and class
bodying underlying
divisions.8
Otherscholarsdepictthepracticesand representations
ofpublichistory
in thepoliticalstruggle
as instruments
forhegemonyamongvarioussocial
essaysin theEric HobsbawmandTerence
groups.Fromthewide-ranging
The
Invention
of Tradition(1983), throughMichel
Ranger anthology
Foucault'slinkageofsystemsofknowledgeand powerin France,George
of the past in fascistGermany,or
Mosse's studiesof the representation
of
British
nationalidentity,
Samuel's
thisstrandof
exploration
Raphael
with
the
master
narratives
that
elitesupanalysisidentifies
publichistory
of
the
nation-state
the
porters
imposefrom topdowntoconsolidatecontrol
overtheircitizenry.
Historicalimagerydisseminated
and
bygovernment
massmediaadvancetheimaginedcommunity
ofthenationwhilesuppressing authenticlocal and group memoriesand collectiveidentities.The
foranalyzingthe politicsof public historyversus
prevailingframework
America:
JohnBodnar'sRemaking
popularmemories,theone underlying
PublicMemory,
and Patriotism
intheTwentieth
Commemoration,
Century
editedbyJohnGillis,
(1992) and manyoftheessaysintherecentanthology
The PoliticsofNationalIdentity(1994), sharplydelinCommemorations:
eates betweenan officialhistorythatgovernment
agenciessuch as the
the
and
National
Park
Service
to
maintain
the political
military
employ
statusquo and a multiplicity
ofvernacular
memoriesthatordinary
citizens
to
sustain
ties
of
and
local
employ
family
community.9
As thespiritedcontemporary
debatesoverthe nation'shistory
show,a
that
role
in
civil-religion
approach
emphasizespublic history's
holding
8. BenedictAnderson,
on theOriginsand Spreadof
Reflections
ImaginedCommunities:
Nationalism(New York:Verso,rev.ed. 1991);W. LloydWarner,TheLivingand theDead: A
(New Haven:YaleUniversity
Press,1959);RobertBellah,
LifeofAmericans
StudyofSymbolic
"Civil Religionin America"Daedalus 96 (Winter1967): 1-21; Michael Kammen,Mystic
ChordsofMemory(New York:Knopf,1991); PierreNora,"BetweenMemoryand History:
26 (Spring1989): 7-25. For a superb critical
Les Lieux de Mdmoire"Representations
assessmentofNora'swork,see NancyWood,"MemoriesRemains:Les Lieuxde M6moire,"
1994): 123-49.
Historyand Memory6 (Spring/Summer
9. See MichelFoucault,Language,Countermemory,
Practice:SelectedEssaysand Interviews,ed. Donald F. Bouchard(Ithaca:CornellUniversity
Press,1977); GeorgeMosse,The
and MassMovements
in Germanyfrom
the
Nationalization
oftheMasses:PoliticalSymbolism
NapoleonicWarsThroughtheThirdReich(New York:H. Fertig,1975) and FallenSoldiers:
Press, 1990);
Reshapingthe Memoryof the World Wars (New York:OxfordUniversity
Raphael Samuel, ed., Patriotism:The Makingand Unmakingof BritishNationalIdentity
et al., MakingHistories:
(London: Routledge,1989). See also theessaysin RobertJohnston,
of MinnesotaPress,1982).
Studiesin HistoryWritingand Politics(Minneapolis:University

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY

* 13

politicalsocietytogethertends to overlookhow dissentingvoices view

and conflictsoverthe conexperience,the historicalvisionsof minorities,
structionand disseminationof a public history.Nostalgicfor a shared
versionthatcould reinforcethe
nationalculture,whethera conservative
of
War
or
a
the
liberalone thatcould promote
Cold
orthodoxy
patriotic
between
ethnic,
racial,
class,or sexualidentities
understanding
particular
theseworkstendto see thepracticeofpublichistory
and communities,
as
rather
than
as
an
effort
some
to
structure
society
actuallyintegrating
by
framework
official
versus
realityforothers.Buttheprevailing
pitting
history
theplayofforcesshapingpublic
vernacularmemoriesalso oversimplifies
history.Concernedthatdepictionsofthe nation's"collective"beliefsand
values mightendangerminority
rights,theseworkstend to overlookthe
of
and
apparentspontaneity depth emotionassociatedwithnationalhistories-not onlyflag-waving
on thepoliticalright,butalso theemergenceof
nationalist
visions
such as the CIO in the 1930s or Martin
progressive
LutherKing,Jr.in the 1960s.In fact,thereare multipleofficial
historiesas
well as multiplevernacularmemories.Analysesofthepoliticsofcommunicationabouthistory
mustnotonlyexplainhowthenation-state
appropriates
and transforms
vernacularmemoriesintoitsofficialhistory,
but also how
nationalimageryacquiresdiversemeaningsfromthelocalcontexts
inwhich
it is displayed.They must examinehow public historysimultaneously
reproducesthe unequal politicalrelationshipsof a society,throughthe
relativepowerofgroupsin societyto havetheirversionofhistory
accepted
as the public history,and servesas an instrument
throughwhichthose
are transformed,
theinteraction
ofthatpublichistory
relationships
through
at the local level withthe otherversionsof the past thatcirculateamong
ethnic,fraternal,or labor organizations,as well as among familyand
friends.'0
The new scholarshipanalyzingpublic historyas politicalculturehas
importantimplicationsforhow public historiansthinkabout theirwork.
Inevitably,
publichistorians
operatebetweencompetingpoliticalforces,as
wellas betweenlocal andlarger-scale
frameworks
as theyplace
interpretive
a local storyin largercontext.Since it is nearlyimpossibleto reach a
consensuson thepublicinterpretation
ofa historical
eventthatanyonestill
caresabout,publichistorical
as
such
an
warmemoexhibit,
representations
rial, or commemorativeceremonyare oftendeliberatelyambiguousto
10. Aninsightful
criticism
ofthecivilreligionapproachappearsin StevenLukes,"Political
Ritualand Social Integration,"
Sociology9 (May 1975): 289-308; fora lengthier
critiqueofthe
ofAmericanpatriotism,
see myreviewessay"Patriotism
fromtheGroundUp,"
historiography
Reviewsin AmericanHistory21 (March 1993): 1-7. In conceptualizing
howpublichistorical
imagerybothreproducesand transforms
politicalrelationships,
mythoughthas been influenced byWilliamH. Sewell,Jr."ATheoryofStructure:
Duality,Agency,andTransformation,"
AmericanJournalof Sociology98 (July1992): 1-29. For an exemplary
case studyexamining
the conflationof local and nationalhistoricalimagery,see Alon Confino,"The Nationas a
Local Metaphor:Heimat,NationalMemory,and the GermanEmpire,1871-1918,"History
and Memory5 (Spring/Summer
1993): 42-86.

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14 a THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

factions.
but
Theyareexamplesnotofcollectivememory,
satisfy
competing
ratherofwhatJamesYounghastermed"collectedmemory"-discrete
and
memoriesbroughtto convergein a commonspace,much
oftenconflicting
The taskofthepublic
liketheVietnamVeteransMemorialinWashington.
more
to
create
for
about
be
andforthe
historian
history
may
spaces dialogue
and toinsurethatvariousvoicesare heardin those
collectionofmemories,
of eventstranslating
the
spaces,thanto providea finishedinterpretation
for
a
audience."
latestprofessional
scholarship
popular
PublicHistoryas PopularCulture
The dialogicalnatureof public historyis especiallyevidentwhenwe
examinehistoricalimageryin commercialmassmediaand touristattractions,representations
shapedlessbypoliticsandthedesiretocommunicate
thanbythemarketplace
official
and
ideologyora senseofcollectiveidentity
the desire to appeal to large numbersof people in theirleisurehours.
historical
ventures;withthe
Popularappeal is thelifebloodofcommercial
and foundation
forhistory,
all butthemost
declineofgovernment
funding
institutions
areincreasing
ofhistorical
theirmarketing
scholarly
exclusively
to bringmorevisitors
theirdoorsortobroadenthe
andpromotion
through
fortheirwork.As public historiansseek largerand larger
constituency
willtheconventions
thatshape
audiencesandcatertopopularexpectations,
otherpopularmediaplaya greaterrolein shapingtheformand contentof
theirwork?Roy Rosenzweigdocumentedhow the popularjournalistic
conventionof the human-interest
storypermeatedthe presentationof
in
American
Heritagemagazinein the 1950s and 60s; can tabloid
history
far
in the 1990s? In the future,will everyhistorical
be
behind
history
or
exhibit
needa happyendingtocompeteformassaudience?
documentary
Willhistoricsitesand districts
moreand moreresemblethemeparkssuch
as the one Disney proposedin Virginia?Will mass culturein the next
in the
centuryproveto be a morepowerfulforcethanthe nation-state
the
standardization
of
historical
twentieth
for
century
public
imagery?12
11. JamesE. Young,The Textureof Memory:HolocaustMemorialsand Meaning(New
roleas a creatorofpublic
Haven: Yale University
Press,1993). For moreon thehistorian's
spaces fordialogueaboutthepast,see JohnKuo Wei Tchen,"Creatinga Dialogic Museum:
inMuseumsand Communities:
ThePoliticsof
The ChinatownHistoryMuseumExperiment,"
MullenKreamer,andStevenD. Lavine(Washington:
PublicCulture,ed. IvanKarp,Christine
Smithsonian
Press,1992),285-326.
thePast:AmericanHeritageand PopularHistoryin the
12. RoyRosenzweig,"Marketing
thePast: Essayson Historyand thePublic,ed. S. Benson,S.
UnitedStates,"in Presenting
Press,1986), 21-49. Susan G.
Brier,and R. Rosenzweig(Philadelphia:Temple University
how the dictatesof commercialtelevisionbroadcastshaped the comDavis demonstrated
bicentennialin "Set Your Mood to Patriotic:Historyas
memorationof the Constitution
TelevisedSpecialEvent,"RadicalHistoryReview42 (1988): 122-43.On theconvergenceof
and whatappearselsewhere,see RichardFrancaviglia,
"Main
the Disneyversionofhistory
ofStreetscapesin DisneylandandWaltDisneyWorld,"
StreetUSA: A Comparison/Contrast

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY * 15

The new scholarshipon how audiencescreatemeaningsfrompopular

thegrowing
cultureproductscan helpus understand
convergenceofpublic
and popularhistory.
Workssuchas GeorgeLipsitz,TimePassages:CollectiveMemoryand AmericanPopular Culture(1990) arguethataudiences
neitherpassivelyreceivenoractivelychallengethehistoricalimagerythey
encounterinpopulartelevisiondocudramas,music,film,novels,and tourist
but rather"negotiate"between mass cultureand theirown
attractions,
To appeal to thewidestpossibleaudience,popular
subculture.
particular
likeotherpop cultureforms,incorporatea varihistoricalrepresentations,
and themeswithwhichdiverseaudiences can
of
characters
ety possible
concerns.
Even the mostcommercialof history
their
identify
particular
the
collective
memoriesofsubordinate
contain
suppressed
products
groups
embedded withinit; throughclose analysis,audiences can recoverthe
hidden meaningsand memoriesencoded in these narratives.Popular
historydoes notimposea singleviewofthepaston the masses,but rather
ofsubmergedalternative
communicatesa multiplicity
visionsaccessibleto
to
them
audiences competent decipher
accordingto theirsocial background.
as popularculture,emphasizing
themultiplicAnalysesofpublichistory
as scholartexts,hasthesame limitation
ityofpossiblereadingsofhistorical
ship examiningpublic historyas politicalculture:theystilldo not tell us
muchabout how real audiencescommunicateand respondto the history
based primarily
on
theysee and hear.Do audiencesreallyinterpret
history
theirsocialcharacteristics
suchas gender,class,and ethnicity?
Or is educationand ideologicalstancea betterdeterminant
ofhowa textis interpreted?
How competentare mostaudiencemembersto recoverthehiddenmeanof
ingsin popularculturetexts,to constructan alternative
interpretation
historicaleventsby reconfiguring
the information
and
present
supplying
what is leftout? And what about the role of intermediaries
in guiding
audience reception?We not onlysee the filmbut read the review,with
thetextsaccordingtolargercategoriesand
classifying
expertcommentators
conventions.
Doesn't
accountthey
interpretive
beingtoldthatthehistorical
willsee is "true"affecthowitis understoodas muchas theparticularsocial
positionof the audience member?It would seem that to discoverthe
contextsand narratives
inwhichaudiencesmightpiece together
alternative
the public historytheyencounter,we need to findout whatotherstories
to
theymighthaveheard,and theaudiencememberspreviousrelationship
the source of information,
i.e., whatsourcesdo theyconsiderreliable?I
would guess thatfor mostAmericansthe NationalPark Service or the
foraccuracywouldmaketheirrepresentations
Smithsonian's
of
reputation
more
trusted
of
than
those
a
commercial
television
networkhistory
Journalof Popular Culture15 (Summer1981): 141-56; Mira Engler,"Drive-ThruHistory:
Theme Towns in Iowa," Landscape 32 (1993): 8-18; and "Symposium:Disney and the
Historians--WhereDo We Go FromHere?" The PublicHistorian17 (Fall 1995): 43-89.

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16 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

overthe Smithsonian's
Enola Gay exhibit
thoughthe recentcontroversy
howfragilethattrustmightbe.'3
demonstrates
Public historians
can help thescholarship
on memoryadvancebeyond
a
text
to
the
of
merelyopeningup
range possiblereadingsencodedwithinit
to discoverwhatmeaningsactuallysurfacedin particularhistorical
situationsby addinga surveyor ethnographic
to
their
work.
More
component
thana decadeago,JaniceRadwaysurveyed
a groupofwomenreadersinthe
Midwestabouttheirreactionto different
romancenovels,andconstructed
outoftheirlikesanddislikesa portrait
oftheirmentality
concerning
gender
relations.Publichistorians
areinan idealpositiontoconductthesamekind
of fieldresearch.Day to day theysee historynotonlyas createdby the
and reinterauthor,but also as reshapedbytheinstitutional
bureaucracy
various
audience
If
members.
the
of
a
historical
factis
pretedby
meaning
notintrinsic
butchangeswithcontext,
thenpublichistorians
can investigate
thesuccessivecontexts
createdbytheauthor,byinstitutions
ofcommunicaand
the
social
of
tion,
byaudiences,tracing
organization knowledgeabout
thepastinparticular
Thiskindofaudienceresearchisdesignednot
settings.
morepopularto attractmorevisitors,
but
merelyto makeinterpretation
to
better
rather understand
the preconceptions
abouthistory
withwhich
audiencesapproachourwork.14
a NationalParkServicehistoric
Consider,forexample,a family
visiting
site.Whatatfirst
handeddownfrom
glanceseemsa historical
interpretation
a centralofficeinWashington,
Denver,or HarpersFerryturnsouttobe a
of nationaland regionaloffices,betweenpark
productof the interaction
personneland localinterest
groups,as wellas betweenNPS andthevisitor
in thefield.ParkServicepersonnelhavea lotofautonomy
intheselection
ofwhatinformation
to givevisitors,
and parkvisitors
continueto interpret
and reinterpret
thehistory
and other
theysee and hearin termsoffamily
Atthesametime,thetendency
inan eraofdecliningresourcesto
contexts.
justifypark operationsin termsof audience size generatespressureto
presenthistoryin a waythatappeals to the greatestnumberof visitors.
NPS hasnotyetputa rippedbodiceonanentrancesign,we might
Although
Park
Serviceinterpretation
moreand moreto resemblepopular
expect
In tracinghistorywithinthe NPS, each level of
historicalattractions.
offers
itsowncontext
communication
thatshapesthemeaningofthehistory
conventionsin guidingaudiencereception,see Robert
13. On the role of interpretive
in ChannelsofDiscourse:Televisionand Contemporary
Allen,"ReaderOrientedCriticism"
Criticism(Chapel Hill: University
of NorthCarolinaPress,1987),254-89; see also Celeste
MichelleCondit,'The RhetoricalLimitsofPolysemy,"
CriticalStudiesin Mass Communication6 (June1989): 103-22.
14. JaniceRadway,ReadingtheRomance:Women,Patriarchy,
and PopularLiterature
of NorthCarolinaPress,1984). Excellentexamplesof researchon
(Chapel Hill: University
howaudienceexpectations
affect
historical
interpretation
appearintwoanthologies
published
Institution
Press:JoBlatti,ed.,PastMeetsPresent:EssaysAboutHistoric
bytheSmithsonian
and PublicAudiences(1987), and Ivan Karp,ChristineMullenKreamer,and
Interpretation
StevenLavine,eds.,Museumsand Communities:
ThePoliticsofPublicCulture(1992).

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY * 17

whoworkforand withNPS
beingtold,meaningsthatthepublichistorians
and analysis.'"
mightrecoverthroughclose observation
Or considerthe responseto popularhistoricaldocumentariessuch as
Ken Burns'sThe Civil War. DuringMarch1991,I read the lettersBurns
receivedathishomeinNew Hampshireas a waytobegintocharacterize
not
the story(wherehe gothis information,
and
onlyhow Burnsconstructed
what contextshe placed it in) but also, to some extent,how audiences
constructedthe meaningofwhattheysaw and heard.Manyletter-writers
remarkedthattheseriesremindedthemofotherTV shows,or otherfilms
abouttheCivilWar.Manymorewerepromptedtodiscusshowtheylearned
about the war fromtheirfamilies.Nearlyone-thirdof the lettersBurns
receivedmentionedfamilymembers,suggesting
thattheseviewerssawthe
nationalhistorypresentedin the filmthroughthe lens of theirfamily
history.'6
PublicHistoryas Place Consciousness
Historyoffers
waysnotonlytocommunicate
politicalideologyandgroup
a
make
or
to
but
also
to
orient
in theenvironment.
oneself
identity,
profit,
Publichistoriesprovidemeaningto places.Whethera filmshowinga Civil
War battlefieldor the designationof a local historicsite or district,all
connectstoriesofpasteventsto a particular
Historipresentenvironment.
cal consciousnessand place consciousnessare inextricably
we
intertwined;
attachhistoriesto places,and theenvironmental
valuewe attachto a place
comes largelythroughthe memoriesand historicalassociationswe have
withit.Whatcognitivechangesoccurwhenan environment
is consideredas
either
or
historical,
bygovernment
designation popularpractice,orwhena
civicorganization
suchas thelocalchamberofcommercecreatesmapsand
historicalatlasesthatrecognizesomehistorical
placesbutnotothers?Ifthe
the
of
on
has
scholarship
politics publichistory specialrelevanceforhistorianswhocurateandpresentthepastin government
museumsand historic
sites,and the scholarshipanalyzingpublic historyas popularculturehas
whoworkinmassmediaorwhoincreasingly
specialrelevanceforhistorians
must relyon popular appeal to keep theirinstitutions
afloat,then the
scholarshipon how memoriesattachto places has special relevancefor
historians
whoworkin culturalresourcesmanagement,
helpingcommunities to defineand protecttheir"specialplaces" and "character"through
historicpreservation
strategies.
15. The local impacton NPS interpretation
is likelyto growas moreand moresitesenter
intojointmanagementagreements
withlocalhistorical
agenciesandvolunteergroups,suchas
at Lowell NationalHistoricalPark.
16. See my"Dear Ken Burns:Letterstoa Filmmaker,"
Mosaic:Newsletter
oftheCenterfor
in America1 (Fall 1991): 1, 8.
History-Making

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18

THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

Over the past decade, just as historianshave studiedthe makingof

historical
ideasabouthistory
arecreated,institutionalconsciousness--how
and changeovertime--otherdisciplines
understood,
ized, disseminated,
have investigated
place consciousness,what scholarsin environmental
and culturalgeographycall "sense of place."'7Psyfolklore,
psychology,
have
withplacesas they
chologists
exploredhowchildrenbondemotionally
and
of
childhood
memories
environments
places, particularly
develop,
the
between
of
6
and
remain
a
crucial
anchor
forpersonal
12,
ages
explored
in
A
of
adulthood.
sense
is
further
and
reinforced
identity
place
developed
social
networks
in
as
an
the
the
one
livesin a
adult; longer
by
participated
that
the
the
more
environment
becomes
saturated
with
memolikely
place,
of
life
with
and
friends.
ries significant experiences
family
Psychologists
have also exploredtheemotionalconsequenceswhenthe bondsbetween
fora losthomethatoccursamong
peopleandplacesarebroken,thegrieving
of
the elderlyor exilesforcibly
and
deprived theirfamiliarenvironment
in
sites.
Marc
the
relocation
of
500
Boston
resiFried, studying
memory
dentsto makewayforan urbanrenewalprojectin the 1950s,notedthat
ofdepressioneventwoyearsafterthemove.
nearlyhalfexhibited
symptoms
also
noted
that
Boston's
"West
He
in memory
End" gainedan intelligibility
thatitmightneverhavehadinexperience--adestroyed
collectionofstreets
becamea single"neighborhood"
orplace primarily
thememory
of
through
itsdestruction.'
thereis littlehistorical
17. Interestingly,
literature
on theevolutionofsenseofplace over
whichpastgenerations
made theenvironments
wherethey
time,and theprocessesthrough
livedpartoftheirindividualand community
identities.
at theturnofthe
Thoughhistorians
centurysuchas FrederickJacksonTurnerpioneeredthestudyofhowAmericansinteracted
toproducedistinctive,
withparticular
environments
place-basedlocaland regionalidentities,
the historicalprofessionin subsequentyearsby and largeabandonedthisstudy,assuming
insteadthatthenation'shighdegreeofgeographical
thecentralization
ofeconomic
mobility,
and politicalpowerundermoderncapitalism,
and thespreadofa standardized,
interchangehad leftAmericanswitha sense of "placelessness"--afeelingof
able, instantarchitecture
belongingin no particularplace. I discussthe problemof "placelessness"in American
in"Place and PlacelessnessinAmericanHistory,"
ofAmerican
historical
writing
Organization
Council on Public HistoryAnnualMeeting,April1995. On Turner's
Historians/National
toplaceconsciousness,
see MichaelSteiner,"FromFrontier
toRegion:Frederick
relationship
JacksonTurnerand the New WesternHistory,"Paci~c HistoricalReview64 (November
1995): 479-501.
18. Amongthemostusefulworksconnectingmemoryand place fromtheperspectiveof
is theanthology
ed. IrwinAltmanandSethaLow
PlaceAttachment,
developmental
psychology
(New York:Plenum,1992).The emotionalpowerofremembered
placesis especiallyarticuforthemselves
andwriters,
whocreatepowerful
identities
latedin theworkofartists
through
theactofremembering
particular
places.See, forexample,LouiseErdrich,"AWriter'sSense
of Place,"in A Place of Sense:Essaysin SearchoftheMidwest,ed. MichaelMartone(Iowa
ofIowa Press,1988),34-44, and Wallace Stegner,"The Sense of Place,"in
City:University
WhereThe BluebirdSingsto theLemonadeSprings:Livingand Writingin theWest(New
and place, see KathleenGerson,C. Ann
York:RandomHouse, 1992). On social networks
and Places:
toPlace,"in Fischer,etal.,Networks
Steuve,andClaude S. Fischer,"Attachments
SocialRelationsintheUrbanSetting(NewYork:Free Press,1977),139-61.On urbanrenewal
fora LostHome,"in The UrbanCondition:Peopleand
in Boston,see Marc Fried,"Grieving
ed. LeonardJ.Duhl (New York:Basic Books,1963),151-71.
Policyin theMetropolis,

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY 0 19

connectsense ofplace to personalidentityand

Whereaspsychologists
connectit to groupcomrecollection,culturalgeographersand folklorists
municationand collectivememory.Throughconversations
amongfamily
abouttheweather,or aboutwork,
and friendsaboutpast local characters,
into "storiedplaces."
local residentstransformordinaryenvironments
Wallace Stegnernotesthat"no place is a place untilthe thingsthathave
happened in it are rememberedin history,ballads, yarns,legends,or
monuments."Unlike early folklorestudies that soughtto capture and
preservethe romanticized"spiritof place" of the nativesin ruralareas,
recentresearchhas focusedon theoftenconflicting
meaningsforthesame
social
and
communicated
of
environment
among
groups, howtheinvention
ofa publichistory,
ispartofthe
a collectivesenseofplace,liketheinvention
struggleforculturalhegemony,the productof power relationsbetween
variousgroupsand interests.Geographersconcernedwiththeideological
aspects of place-makingseek to supplementpsychologicaland folklore
studiesof the subjectiveexperienceof place withcriticalanalysisof the
social productionof space-how sense ofplace is affectedbylargersocial
ofslumsand
economicand politicalforcesthatdeterminethedistribution
suburbsina locale andwhogetsto experiencewhichplace.The established
meaningfora place, and theland-usedecisionsthatstemfromthatmeaning,are negotiatednotonlybetweenvariousresidentsofa townor neighborhood,but also betweenlocal residentsand the outsideworld.'9
The scholarshipon senseofplace inpsychology,
and geography
folklore,
remindshistoriansthatmanagingculturalresourcesis inevitablyalso an
to managethemultiplicity
ofenvironmental
effort
values,and
perceptions,
meaningsattachedto a place; when historiansbound and markcertain
anddistinguish
themfromordinary
placesas "historical"
places,ordecideto
which(and
stabilize,to restore,or even to remodela place "in character,"
whose) versionof community,
place, and characterwillprevail?This is an
especiallyimportantquestionwhen it comes to consideringthe tourist
to thesitesthathistorians
relationship
produce.By and largetouristslook
is theessenceoftheidea ofplace."
19. The folklorist
HenryGlassieproclaimsthat"history
Glassie, Passing the Time in Ballymenone:Cultureand Historyof an UlsterCommunity
of Pennsylvania
Press,1982),664. The term"storiedplace" comes
(Philadelphia:University
fromnaturewriterRobertFinch,who describedbeinginitially
attractedto Cape Cod notby
itsnaturalfeaturesbutbythemanystoriesthathad been writtenaboutitovertheyears.See
Edward Lueders, ed., WritingNatural History:Dialogues withAuthors(Salt Lake City:
ofUtahPress,1989),44. The WallaceStegnerquoteappearsinhisessay"The Sense
University
of Place," 202. A superbintroduction
to how contemporary
folklorists
writeabout place is
MaryHufford,One Space Many Places: Folklifeand Land Use in New Jersey'sPineland's
NationalReserve(Washington,D.C.: Libraryof Congress,1986), and Hufford'santhology,
ofIllinois,1994). On
ConservingCulture:A New Discourseon Heritage(Urbana:University
culturalgeography'sconcernwithhow the social productionof space shapes the subjective
experienceofplace,see JohnAgnew,"Representing
Space: Space, Scale,and Culturein Social
ed. JamesDuncan and David Ley (New York:
Science," in Place/Culture/Representation,
Verso,1993), 251-71.

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20 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

fornoveltyin a landscape,whatis notbackhome,whereaslocal residents

sitesandsocialinteractions."
as a webofmemory
lookatthelandscape

Researchon memoryand place shouldbe a regularpart of cultural

and
resourcesmanagement
work,devisingprogramsthatseek to identify
a
sites,
memory
places unintentionally
preservedor
protect community's
made special by popularpractice,as well as historicsites,places that
toa collectivepoliticalidentity,
suchas
designateas important
governments
and presidents'homes,or thatlocal chambersof commerce
battlefields
In 1991,I investigated
howtheconcept
designateas appealingtotourists.2'
of "town character"was used in three New England communities:
a sprawled-out
a post-cardNew Englandvillage;Wilbraham,
Northfield,
II
and
the
historic
district
of SpringWar
suburb;
McKnight
post-World
Part
this
diverse
urban
of
research
involved
a
field, racially
neighborhood.
in
a
series
of
to
discuss
the
residents
publicmeetings
specialplacesin
asking
theirtown or neighborhood,and discoveringthe divergencebetween
landmarks
and community
sites.The
designatedhistoric
officially
memory
sensesoflocalhistory
thatunderlay
publicdialoguerevealedthedifferent
For example,therestoredVictodifferent
oftheenvironment.
perceptions
helddifferrianfacadesofthe McKnightHistoricalDistrictin Springfield
African-American
residentsmovingup from
entmeaningsformiddle-class
whitesmovinginfromthesuburbs.Amongthe
theghettoand middle-class
thatevokea community's
senseofplace andhistory
otherkindsofprograms
are photographic
projects,neighborhood
walkingtoursled by local residents,or public artprojectssuch as Artsin Transitin Boston,in which
neighborhoodoral historianscollaboratedwithartistsin developingthe
publicartthatwas installedat each stationalongtheOrangeLine.22Public
20. See SidneyBrower,"Residentsand OutsidersPerceptionsof the Environment"
in
of Pennsylvania
Press,1989), 189Housing,Culture,and Design (Philadelphia:University
directedtowardtourismsee JohnDorst,The
202. Amongcase studiesofhistoric
preservation
WrittenSuburb(Philadelphia:TemplePress,1989),MarthaNorkunas,ThePoliticsofPublic
Memory:Tourism,History,and Ethnicityin MontereyCalifornia(Albany:SUNY Press,
1993), and Dona Brown,InventingNew England: RegionalTourismin the Nineteenth
Smithsonian
Press,1995).
Century(Washington:
21. RandyHesterdescribestheseas "subconscious
landscapesoftheheart,"theplacesthat
ofthetown.RandyHester,"Subconscious
localresidentsfeelarepartofthe"sacredstructure"
Landscapes of the Heart,"Places 2 (1985): 10-22. Whereas the residentsof a townor
the places of whichtheyhave a personal
neighborhoodare moreinterestedin preserving
in legislationand pracmemorythanthoseof the remotepast,historicpreservation-both
tice-emphasizes the remoteovertheimmediatepast.In thewordsof KevinLynch,"near
moreimportant
thanremotetime,"Lynch,WhatTimeis ThisPlace?
is emotionally
continuity
value a
(Cambridge:MIT Press, 1972), 61. David Lowenthalobservesthatgovernments
recalled.Lowenthal"RevisitingValued
remote,malleablepast to a recentone painfully
Landscapes,"in Valued Environments,
ed. JohnR. Gold and JacquelineBurgess(Boston:
Allenand Unwin,1982),78.
WillHolton,et al.,Creating
22. The OrangeLine projectis describedin MyrnaBreitbart,
a SenseofPlace in UrbanCommunities
(Cambridge:UrbanArts,Inc., 1992). Amongother
of October1992are The BostonianSociety'sLast Tenementexhibition
exemplaryefforts
itsdestruction
as part
ofBoston'sWestEnd,including
March1994,whichexploredthehistory
of an urbanrenewalprogramin the 1950s. See the exhibitcatalogue,The Last Tenement:
and UrbanRenewalin Boston'sWestEnd, ed. Sean M. Fisherand
Community
Confronting
CarolynHughes(Boston:BostonianSociety,1992).

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PUBLIC HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF MEMORY

* 21

historianscan participatein theprocessofplacemakingand contributeto

local residents'senseofplace byaddinga senseoflocationtolocalresidents'
sense of emotionalattachment,
helpingresidentsand visitorsalike to see
cannotbe seen: boththememoriesattachedto places and
whatordinarily
the largersocial and economicprocessesthatshaped howtheplaces were
made.PublicHistoriansand theStudyofMemory
as theinteraction
ofvariousversionsof
Byand largethestudyofmemory
historyand audiencesin publicis onlybeginningto be written.Onlya few
case studies have examinedthe complex relationshipsbetween public
historyand politicalculture,popular culture,and the cultureof placeplace andtime.Andwe area longwayfroma synthesis
makingina particular
ofpublichistorical
practicesovertime,in thesamewaythatwe can isolate
ofthehistorical
a historiography
Atthispoint,themostcommon
profession.
ofa singleevent,suchas the
case studiestracethechangingpublichistory
Civil War or Holocaust,in responseto politicalcurrents.24
Otherstudies,
operatingata granderscale,contemplate
changesintheformsandpractices
of remembering,
tyingthosechangesto theriseand declineofthe nationstate as a politicalentity.Pierre Nora's oftenquoted essay "Between
Memoryand History"argues that formsof public historysuch as the
museum,archives,and markedhistoricalsite replacedoral traditionand
places held in memoryat about the same timeas the emergenceof the
in the eighteenthcenturycreateddiscontinuity
modernnation-state
with
and
modern
previousregimes, geographicalmobility
imposedby
capitalism
underminedrootedknowledgeof particularlocales. But JohnGillisand
Charles Maier speculatethatwe are now in a post-nationalist
era, when
disillusionwiththenation-state
and modernity
hasproducedan explosionof
interestin local and familyhistory.A5
23. Dolores Hayden'sPowerofPlace projectin Los Angelessoughtnotonlytoidentify
and
markplaces thatcommemoratethe achievementsofwomen,non-Anglos,
and theworking
of thecity.Hayden
class,but also to situatethosesitesin a largersocialand politicalhistory
thatthe publicrepresentation
ofplace shouldconsistof two activities:(1)
arguesforcefully
obscuredspaces and thehistory
and (2) interpreting
makingvisiblepreviously
theyrepresent,
in termsof a "dynamic,aesthetic,social,and economichistoryof the
the builtenvironment
productionof space." Dolores Hayden,"The AmericanSense of Place and the Politicsof
Innovationand Tradition,eds. David G. DeLong, Helen
Space," in AmericanArchitecture:
Searing,RobertA. M. Stern(New York:Rizzoli,1986), 191. Haydendescribesher powerof
place projectsin "The PowerofPlace: A ProposalforLos Angeles,"The PublicHistorian10
(Summer 1988): 5-18, and in The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History
(Cambridge:MIT Press,1995).
24. Amongthebestof thesestudiesis HenryRousso'sThe VichySyndrome:Historyand
of the
Memoryin France Since 1944 (1991), whichexaminesthe changingrepresentation
Vichyperiodin postwarFrance,tyingitto organizedpoliticalmovementsas wellas thedeep
structureof Frenchpoliticalculture.
in Commemorations:
25. JohnGillis,"Introduction,"
The Politicsof National Identity
(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press,1994), 3-24; Charles Maier,"A Surfeitof Memory?

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22 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

As well as exploring
the changingrelationship
of grassroots
memories
historians
and inventednationalhistory,
mightexamineotherchangesin
overtime,suchas therelationship
between
representations
publichistorical
and discontinuity
withtheimmediatepast.In the
depictionsofcontinuity
theearlytwentieth
eventsfromtheimmedinineteenth
centuries,
through
inpublicorations,
atepastwereroutinely
represented
parades,andhistorisuccessionofpast,present,and future;
cal pageantsas partofa continuous
a singlehistorical
butbythelate1920s,itwasfarmorecommontorepresent
eventratherthana sequence ofevents,and to choosethateventfromthe
thepastbecameisolatedas
distantpast.In thewordsofDavid Lowenthal,
disconnectedfrompresentand futureconcerns.When
a foreigncountry,
did we begin referring
to something(or
and underwhatcircumstances
whenwe meantitwas overand done with,without
someone)as "history"
forthefuture?6
ongoingsignificance
overtime,historians
Besidescomparisons
mightcomparepublichistoricalpracticesacrosscultures.David Lowenthalobservesan essentialsimilartheworldhaveadoptedthewesternuse ofthe
ityinhownationsthroughout
term"heritage"-althoughthe contentof each nationalheritageis by
isconceivedas residing
inobjects,
definition
unique,thewaythat"heritage"
and
shared
not
with
those
national
outside
exclusive,
residing
unique
kind
is
the
same.
In
another
of
boundaries,
study,JamesYoung's The
Textureof Memory:HolocaustMemorialsand Meaning(1993) compares
of the Holocaustin Germany,Poland,Austria,the
the memorialization
and
howeach nation'sversionoftheHolocaust
Israel,demonstrating
U.S.,
intoitsnationalidentity.
wasshapedbyitspoliticalcultureandincorporated
in
national
differences
historical
Although
examining
practicesis important,
refers
to
the
nation.
notall publichistory
Studies
activity
mightcompare
urbanand ruralhistorical
practices,or thehistorical
practicesofdifferent
inpublichistory
workofferan especially
socialclasses.Genderdifferences
for
cross-cultural
Who
doeshistory,
andhow?
interesting
topic
comparison.
It seems thatin the U.S., men narratehistoryas a successionof events,
as a web ofobjectsandplaces. Butwe have
whereaswomencuratehistory
These areonlya fewofthe
no studiesofthisphenomenoncross-culturally.
forfutureinvestigation
as memory
becomesmore
manypossibledirections
establishedas a fieldofscholarship.21
on History,Melancholy,
and Denial,"Historyand Memory5 (Fall/Winter
Reflections
1993):
136-52.
26. I discussthisphenomenonas "therecedingpast"in AmericanHistoricalPageantry
(1990); CharlesMaiertiesitto thewaningpowerofnationalideologiesofprogressin thelate
on History,Melancholy,and
twentieth
century.Maier,"A Surfeitof Memory?Reflections
1993): 136-52.
Denial,"Historyand Memory5 (Fall/Winter
inCommemorations:
27. David Lowenthal,"Identity,
ThePolitics
Heritage,and History,"
ed. JohnGillis(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity
Press,1994),41-57. My
ofNationalIdentity,
is based on myreadingof
in memorialization
observationconcerninggenderdifferences
suchas JamesLindgren,
theOld Dominrecenthistoriesofhistoricpreservation,
Preserving
Press of
and VirginiaTraditionalism
ion: HistoricPreservation
(Charlottesville:
University
Virginia,1993).

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PUBLICHISTORYANDTHE STUDYOF MEMORY * 23

havea lotto learnfromthenewscholarshipon

In conclusion,historians
The
of
in societyhas a history;
understandorganization tradition
memory.
and
the
we
have
inherited
fromthe
this
history,
history-making
practices
ing
in
our
not
practices perspective,but also
onlyplaces
contemporary
past,
offersa new way forhistoriansto groundtheirscholarlyand professional
course.In myintroductory
identitiesbeyondthecustomary
historiography
I
include
a five-week
unitconsistcourse,
regularly
graduatepublichistory
culture
of
the
over
of
and
changing
history-making time,(2) history
ing (1)
and
and
memory,(3) history politicalculture,(4) history
autobiographical
and
and
as
the
common
core
for
(5) history
place
popular culture,
my
students'more specialized studieslater.Althoughfuturehistorianswill
workin a varietyofprofessional
frommuseumsand historical
sites
settings,
can
share
a
to collegesand universities,
of
they
growingbody scholarship
ofhistory
and audiencesas a newfoundation
thatconcernstherelationship
forprofessional
training.
Public historianscan play a leading role in the developmentof this
who write
scholarship.Unliketheircolleaguesin collegesand universities
forotherhistorians,
public historiansroutinely
primarily
practicein mulofdiscourseaboutthepast.Theyconfront
theproblemof
tiplecommunities
historicalrepresentation
on a dailybasis,immersedin a worldinwhichthe
boundariesbetweenknowerandknown,betweensubjectivity
and objectivity,have long been collapsed. Trained historiansworkingin museums,
historicsites,andcommunity
on the
history
projectsencounterperspectives
pasttheyneverwouldhaveencounteredsolelyin theworldofprofessional
to thepublic,theysoon discoverthatthe
history
scholarship.In presenting
is
back
to
themas well. It is timeforsome ofthe
history
public presenting
into
the
of
andaudiencesthatcomefromthis
historians
insights
relationship
interactionto findtheirwayback to the discourseof the largerhistorical
profession.As politicaland economic currentsincreasingly
compel the
historicalprofessionto rethinkits relationshipwith the largerculture,
historicalpracticewill be transformed,
whetherhistorianslike it or not.
WhatMichaelFrischhas calledthesharedauthority
ofthepublichistorical
has
for
how
all
historians
willdo theirwork
enterprise profoundimplications
in thefuture.Publichistorians
haveinteresting
and valuablestoriesto tell,
and the growinginterestin the topic of memoryby the largerhistorical
to hearthem.
professionsuggestsa new desireand willingness

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