Now more than ever possibly digital engagement is necessary and important for museums of all sizes. I compiled the below tips before the corona virus pandemic, but they hold true even in these strange times. I know these are trying times, but I believe museums have a lot to offer the public now as always…
Category: Collections
Women’s History & Public History
In the field of public history, the interpretation of women’s history has become a hot topic with increasing attention and emphasis being placed on including women's perspectives in museum exhibits and other public history initiatives. This post is a literature review and essay on how women's history has historically been presented via museums and historic…
Why Are Our Heroines Hidden?
Lucy Burns (L) and Ida B. Wells (R). Images are in the public domain. I did a lot of brainstorming and soul searching trying to decide which woman from the past, who is often overlooked, I should devote my attention to. Because of the anniversary of women's suffrage I thought of Lucy Burns, the suffragist…
The Freeman Round House Museum and Wilson’s Black History
In honor of Black History Month I am visiting local historical sites of significance in African American history. I am learning so much about local Black history. My first post of the month was about the Boyette Slave House in Kenly, NC (Johnston County). Today I am shifting to neighboring Wilson County. The Oliver Nestus…
Dumbarton Oaks Museum & Gardens
Recently, I toured Dumbarton Oaks, which is a research library and collection in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The collection and estate was donated to Harvard University by Robert and Mildred Bliss, collectors of art and artifacts from around the world. The Blisses were particularly fascinated with Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art, as well as…
#19forthe19th: Women at Work
Women have always worked. But the nature of that work and where it took place has changed over time. In the United States, before the late 19th century, the majority of women's work was domestic, but as economic and social changes took place, women began working outside of the home and in more varied roles.…
#19forthe19th: Women Abolitionists
Fittingly, the US National Archives Instagram Challenge in honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment has assigned the theme of Women Abolitionists to fall on June 19th, Juneteenth, the day that remaining enslaved people were emancipated in the state of Texas in 1865 after the end of the Civil War. The celebration of freedom…
Public Historian on Vacation: San Antonio Beyond the Alamo
Our first day in San Antonio included barbecue and a tour of the Alamo, but also a trip to a less traditional kind of museum, Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum. Yes, toilet seat art. Barney Smith, a former plumber and volunteer firefighter turned artist has collected and decorated hundreds, maybe thousands, of toilet seats.…