In 1970, my fourth-grade teacher, Janice Homeyer, asked the class to write an essay about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Among the aspiring astronauts and artists, I wrote that I wanted to be a teacher like her. Though it would take many years to arrive at this vocational destination, that essay was prescient.
I often tell students that life is not a straight line. When I graduated from college in 1984 with a B.A. in English and Communication Arts, I could not have imagined how the world would change and my life would unfold. In my first career as a prepress technician and graphic designer, I was able to ride a technological wave in the graphic arts and printing industry. I spent years working on the cutting edge of tech innovations in Nashville, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon. In 2003, when I decided to enroll at Middle Tennessee State University to work on a graduate degree, I wanted to bring my design and tech skills to the study and communication of history. Over the years that have passed, I have developed a broader goal to carry my passion for human connection, collaboration, outreach, storytelling, and project production—hard and soft skills—to my research and teaching. These skills drive my work with students and make it possible to deliver engaging local history content in a variety of mediums regionally and nationally. In my view, this combination of skills and my training in historical research is the essence of my role as a public historian.
Evaluating the work of a public historian is not a straightforward endeavor. As my public history practice has unfolded, it has become clear that my work does not split neatly into teaching, research, and service. There is overlap between all three evaluation areas in nearly every project I do. The National Council of Public Historians (NCPH) has worked to address this issue in the “Tenure, Promotion, and the Publicly Engaged Academic Historian,” The phrase “scholarly monograph or its equivalent” is a challenge for public historians because of the time-intensive nature of publicly engaged work. As many public historians have argued, there is no fair equivalence between a monograph or an article and a public history project such as a field school, exhibit, or documentary. Every project I undertake is multi-faceted and has a service, research, teaching, and public engagement component, so it becomes clear that evaluating my work—indeed, the work of any public historian—is complex. A unique outcome of this work is that our scholarly activity advocates for the discipline both internally to academics and externally to the public. I argue this is a particularly important role in today’s cultural and political climate. With this in mind, I want to share the context for each type of research product and delineate my role.
I have guided five exhibits to completion since the fall of 2016 when I submitted my tenure portfolio. Three were the products of my HIST 252 Intro to Museum Studies class, and two were independently curated exhibits I created at local venues. Before each semester’s class, I research potential topics based on what I believe will have public interest and what research resources will be accessible for students within the limits of a semester’s work. The topic and venue bookend the class that will create an exhibit at a local museum. I organize the Museum Studies class by dividing the semester into three parts. The first part is an introduction to the field with some topic research folded in so students can begin to think about the interpretation; second, I organize the students and create functional groups, and everyone, including me, delves into research and planning for the exhibit; and, finally, I guide the students through finishing the research, organizing the material, finding imagery for panels, writing labels, and bringing the exhibits together. My design skills are always at play in this process because I design the graphics and help students find appropriate and accurate material to tell the story. It is always a team effort, but I carry a very heavy load as part of a larger team. To explain, my work as a designer does not take away from my active role in teaching history nor does it take away from the students’ learning. Rarely does a public history student have the graphic design and technical skills to let their research shine; I can, and do, add that.
The independent exhibits I have curated have had a similar process. They begin with research and determining the scope and budget of the exhibit. Material is scanned, space is planned, labels are written, panels are designed and printed, and, finally, I install the exhibit.
I have guided three documentary films to completion since 2017. As each documentary is a product of my Digital History classes, I similarly organize the semester to the Museum Studies course. The semester begins with an overview of the digital history field and an introduction to the semester’s project. This is followed by breaking the class into groups and mapping out research, primary sources, storylines, scripting, and interviews. The final portion of the semester is intense, and the weight of much of the work is on me, again, only because a history student’s course load rarely gives them space to study design, visual arts skills, or film production. I use my design, technical, and research skills to find historical visual and audio elements that will bring the project in for a landing. The class presents the film in a public venue at the end of the semester, the last two at the Fargo Theater. This is always a gratifying final step as we present our work to the community. Some projects are particularly involved, and that calls for me to invest more time and energy. I am particularly proud of the 40-minute film in Fall 2018, North Dakota Goes to War, The 1st North Dakota Volunteers in the Philippines. I relished putting extra time and craftsmanship into telling the story charted by NDSU alum Dr. Carole Butcher in her dissertation research. I was responsible for design, production, interviews, and editing with help from Steve Beckerman for editing and music production. Link: https://vimeo.com/manage/folders/12699944
Perhaps my most innovative and impactful endeavor for both the state and my students is the Public History Field School course. Though I do not have a singular research product to list for the field school—and it clearly falls under teaching—this course is an important part of my publicly engaged scholarship and contributes to expanded historical interpretations in the communities where the field schools are held. Early in my time at NDSU, I became aware that geography and limited resources confined small museums. Most of the state’s rural museums do not have funding for professional staff, and their collections are at risk because of a lack of proper training, substandard facilities, and attrition. Interpretation is either non-existent or minimal. The dedicated volunteers need help. The field school model evolved from this need. The field school is a partnership between a history museum and the NDSU Public History Program. The museum is usually county-wide and operated in partnership with a local history society. They arrange for meals and lodging for the students, and the students and I spend three weeks working hands-on at the museum. This is an opportunity for students to put into practice what they have learned in the classroom in a meaningful way, while at the same time contributing to the preservation and interpretation of the state’s history. Since 2015, I have conducted four field schools in Ellendale, Linton, Fessenden, and Burlington. I know the field school has succeeded when I read a paragraph like this from a senior public history student after this year’s field school:
“I think my favorite part about being a Public History student is the teamwork. History is a fun major and I really enjoy the history classes that I take, but it often is too individualistic. That is the nature of the field, it asks historians to criticize historical narrative and accuracy. The collaboration takes place individually, by reviewing and countering other historians. In public history the best work is done as a group. The board, curator, collections manager, and visitors all have a stake in the progress, interpretation, and narrative of the museum. Public History includes all the fun and curiosity of history but with the added benefit of collaboration. In my experience with this field school, working as a team is much more rewarding than working alone. Yes, it can become more challenging because you must acknowledge and respect differing perspectives, but in my mind that makes the result so much more rewarding. Every conclusion develops through multiple lenses and there is no sole owner of any interpretation.”
—Ethan Norris-Weber, Senior, Public History Major, in a reflective essay about the 2022 Field School
Finally, student mentorship is a primary focus of my academic practice. No, this does not fit under the research category either, but it does reflect my ability to be an effective public historian and advocate for my students and the profession. The strategy has yielded dividends evidenced by the success rate of my students after graduation. The mentoring begins with introducing students to the professional organization for Public History, the National Council on Public History (NCPH). Beginning in 2017, I have annually written internal research grants to the Vice President of Research and Creative Activity at NDSU to cover the cost of travel to the NCPH National Conference ($4,000 annually). I maximized the allocated money and rented an Airbnb house in Indianapolis for two undergrads and three grad students to attend the conference. In 2018 and 2019, I used the same strategy for the conference as it met in Las Vegas, and in Hartford, Connecticut. I also developed partnerships with local historical venues in 2015 to create three history graduate assistantships in their organizations as curators and collection assistants during the academic year. The organization pays half the salary and NDSU covers the other half and provides a tuition waiver for the student. The students get valuable experience in the field that can be listed on their resumes, and the organization gets much-needed professional assistance. Finally, in my classes, I invite practitioners from around the region to visit classes and I encourage students to draw on a broad array of these experts in the field. This helps them learn to develop their own personal networks. I am proud of the number of graduates who are now working in the field. Some undergrads have gone on to prestigious graduate programs, and both undergrads and grad students have landed full-time positions in museums.
As I noted, the three evaluated areas for promotion are intertwined in my work. I have served in various capacities at NDSU, in the National Council on Public History, which is the flagship organization for public history, and in local and regional museum organizations. Much of my service work reflects my commitment to the Land-Grant Mission and preserving the history of North Dakota. My fieldwork for the State Historic Preservation Office and the Public History Field Schools certainly reflects this ethic, as are my involvement in local historic venues. I believe my service matters.
Since the fall of 2016, I have served in several roles at NDSU. I served the department through my work on the undergraduate curriculum committee, and the graduate committee, and I have worked extensively on the department website. I also direct the undergrad public history program. At the college level, I served on the AHSS College Curriculum Committee. At the university level, I served on the Graduate Council from 2018-2021.
The National Council on Public History is my home organization, and I am committed to contributing to its important work. As I noted above, I take my students to the national conference as often as possible and emphasize the importance of networking in the field. I was invited to serve on the awards committee from 2018-2021 and served with two other members, Kathleen Franz, who is a senior curator at the National Museum of American History, and Peter Wong, who is the National Park Service education supervisor at the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Historic Site. Each year we evaluated between 50 and 60 project submissions and chose the annual winner and runner-up. I have also served on the Curriculum and Education Committee from 2019 until the present, working on important issues that affect how public historians are trained, and finally, I am on this year’s program committee for the upcoming national conference in Atlanta in April 2023. For this committee, in late August I was part of a team that evaluated nearly 60-panel submissions for the upcoming conference.
I have been active in local historical organizations since 2015. The State Historic Preservation Office has reached out to me several times, and my Public History Field Schools have contributed labor and professional updates to four small museums in the state. I have been instrumental in professionalizing the operations at Bonanzaville because of the partnership with NDSU and the graduate assistants that work 20 hours a week there during the academic year. In the fall of 2019, I served on the search committee for a new executive director, and in April 2020 I was elected to the Board of Directors of the organization. Currently, I am the chair of the collections committee where I am bringing a professional museum voice to the choices made. These service roles have made a difference and helped expanded my professional network throughout the city, state, region, and country. This network is crucial for educating and finding employment opportunities for my students and helping to preserve the history of the state.
I believe I have met the criteria for promotion in my scholarship, teaching, and service. Three of my scholarly products have been peer-reviewed. The first is my co-edited volume with Kristen Fellows and Anna Munns, Historical Sex Work: New Contributions from History and Archaeology. In it, I have written one chapter and co-written two chapters. The second peer-reviewed product is the documentary film, North Dakota Goes to War, The 1st North Dakota Volunteers in the Philippines. The film was reviewed by Spanish-American War scholar and author, Joseph McCallus, in 2022. The third is the CRM report for the Griggs County HP project. This was reviewed by Lorna Meidinger, the professional SHPO representative in Bismarck. In addition, I have created five exhibits and two additional documentary films that have scholarly value since 2016 that have not been peer-reviewed. In my teaching, I focus on project-based learning and I believe that the best measure of the success of this kind of teaching is the quality of the final project and the fact that my students are graduating and getting jobs in the field. Finally, my service brings the other two evaluation fields full circle. It is in service that I network with the wider public history field and introduce my students to resources and people that will be valuable to their future in the public history field.