MAKING AN ACADEMIC CONNECTION

By J.D. Britton

Local History Notebook, July / August 1989

Twenty years ago, cooperation between local historical organizations and academic historians was practically nonexistent. To a large degree, professors viewed the work of historical organizations as antiquarian, while amateur historians perceived academicians as being insensitive to local history efforts. These views were a carry-over from the 1890s when the rise of scientific professionalism among college and university historians created tension between academicians and local historians. The latter generally researched and wrote historical studies more as a hobby than as an analytic treatment of the past.

Today, advances in the social history and public history fields have brought academicians and local historians closer together. The work of social historians has shown that history is comprised of all people regardless of age, race, gender, or occupation. Their interpretations of the lives of ordinary people in community settings has made significant contributions to general historical thought. Public historians have also been concerned with local history studies and have made tremendous strides in the presentation of history to a large popular audience. The inclusion of common people in the interpretation of American history and the appeal of that work for greater circulation has been described as the "democratization of history."

A result of this trend in historical thought and curriculum has been the beginning of a reciprocal relationship between local historical organizations and academic historians, a relationship that enables both groups to see that each has something to offer the other. Historical organizations are realizing that professional historians can assist them in understanding historical methodology and interpretation, essential components of effective educational programs. Academicians have recently begun to view local historical agencies and organizations as material culture repositories and archival research centers that are of direct value to their research interests and the research interests of their students. They also see them as potential places of employment for their students and as forums where they can contact large enthusiastic audiences.

Why Make an Academic Connection?

For a local historical organization, making an academic connection can be a significant undertaking. Most local historical groups are small. They are usually organized and operated by a volunteer staff lacking the expertise to do well-researched, interpretative educational programs. Even full time directors of large historical organizations can be so tied down with administrative tasks or with raising funds that there is no time left to keep up with the latest developments in historical thought.

Because local historical organizations are busy with the day to day affairs of developing and operating their programs, it makes sense for them to call upon the expertise of an academic historian who spends much of his or her time doing professional history. College and university professors have spent years in graduate school and in the teaching profession perfecting their skills in historical methodology and in staying up-to-date in their areas of specialization. In order to remain effective in the classroom and to meet their requirements to publish, they stay on top of recent literature. Furthermore, as humanities scholars, they can stimulate members of historical organizations to become involved in professional programs and publications. These can showcase the historical organization as a valuable educational component of the community.

Strengths and Weaknesses of an Academic Connection

Ohio is served by ninety-two colleges and universities. That means that there is a potential academic connection near almost every one of the five hundred or so historical organizations in tile state. A number of historical groups and academic institutions already have good working relationships. For instance, the Clark County Historical Society in Springfield is currently located on the campus of Wittenberg University. A Wilmington College history professor and the Clinton County Historical Society teamed up during the summer of 1988 to write a successful American Association for State and Local History grant-in-aid application. History and education professors from the University of Toledo and Defiance College are members of the board of trustees of the Maumee Valley Historical Society.

Despite some successes in establishing connections between academians and local historical organizations in recent years, there still exist distrust, misunderstanding, and lack of cooperation. For both sides, the challenge to find meaningful common ground is not easily met. This may best be understood by examining the strengths and weaknesses of the two groups as shown in the comparisons at the bottom of this page.

Direct Academic Involvement

One of the most common forms of direct academic involvement is that of professional historians who serve on boards of trustees of historical organizations. In this capacity, they are directly involved in helping to plan and implement programs to meet a historical organization’s mission to collect, preserve, and present local heritage. Most professors, however, lead busy lives teaching, writing, and serving on a number of academic and nonacademic committees. With teaching loads of several hundred students and "publish or perish" requirements, to ask them to make the necessarily strong commitments involved with serving on a board may be too taxing.

Possibly a better way to get a history professor involved in a historical organization is through education-related committee assignments such as exhibit and public program committees. Professors can provide ideas for topics to investigate, direct researchers to places to acquire information, and lend valuable professional assistance in historical methodology and interpretation. As projects are proceeding, the academician or his or her students can also assist by checking for historical accuracy. This can save the historical organization from embarrassing moments which sometimes occur when a new exhibit, program, or publication is first viewed by the public and a technical flaw is found in the documentation. Another form of direct academic involvement is through practicum courses which are a part of some college and University public history programs. These courses are designed to provide students with first hand knowledge in historical methodology and at the same time provide a service to the community. Students in the public history program at the University of Toledo have written The History of the Ludwig Mill for the Metropolitan Park.

District of Toledo, researched and designed an exhibit on the electric interurban railway system of Northwest Ohio for the Maumee Valley Historical Society and Toledo Edison Club, and synthesized oral history transcriptions for a publication for the Birmingham Center in the nearby satellite community of Oregon.

Besides workshops, history professors might be asked to speak at a historical organization's monthly or annual meetings. Topics can range from local, regional, or state history to specific areas such as the history of women, Afro-Americans, labor groups, or frontier communities. The lectures can be both informative and entertaining, and they can be a good way to attract new membership. For possible speakers in your area consult the Ohio Academy of History's Roster of Professional Historians in Ohio or the Ohio Humanities Council's Roster of Humanities Scholars in Ohio,

For their contributions to workshops or speaking engagements, professors should be compensated with traveling expenses and honoraria. A professor's ability to impart skills or relate historical information is his or her stock in trade, the same as with any other professionally skilled person. Unless they are volunteers, one would not expect professional carpenters or electricians to provide services at no charge. Similarly, academic professionals should not be asked to provide services gratis.

Indirect Academic Involvement

Whereas direct academic involvement requires a commitment between history professors and historical organizations to work together in planning policy or on specific projects, indirect involvement places the responsibility for seeking professional assistance on individual members of the historical organizations. One such instance is in developing a knowledge and use of secondary sources. History professors, in most cases, publish material in their fields of specialization either as full-length books or as journal articles. These can provide historical organizations with ideas for their own thematic exhibits and public, youth/school, and living history programs. In this case the academicians have completed some of the research, interpretation, and synthesis of the past event or events. The historical organization can borrow the themes and interpretations and adapt them for their own local use. So long as they are properly credited, academic historians are pleased when their work can serve as an inspiration to others.

Indirect involvement can also consist of attending local, regional, state and national history conferences. Every April, Bowling Green State University holds a local history conference featuring discussions of local historical organization issues and local history topics. The public history program at Wright State University sponsored a conference this summer at which attendees from historical organizations learned about collection management issues, museum mission statements, volunteer contributions, and the use of consultants. At the University of Toledo, the theme for the National Council on Public History Conference scheduled the spring of 1991 will focus on local and community history. Many of these meetings feature input from academic historians. By attending sessions and workshops at these kinds of meetings, local historical organizations stand to gain valuable information and make important contacts. Due to the strong Local History Office and OAHSM interest in history education, The Local Historian announces meetings and conferences whenever possible.

Along the same line, membership in national and state historical associations such as the American Association for State and Local History and the National Council of Public History can serve as an appropriate academic connection. Both these associations have journals and newsletters that can provide useful administrative information directly relating to local historical organizations. Also, the Ohio Academy of History has a quarterly newsletter and holds two meetings each year, some sessions of which address local history issues.

History classes offer another connection. With so many colleges and universities in the state, it should not be difficult for a local historian to arrange to take a content or methodology course every year or so. The age factor is no problem. Many of today's students have entered college or graduate school programs after raising their children or retiring. College professors often say that mature students are among the most interesting and capable in their classes.

Summary

History professors can provide guidance and advice in helping historical organizations understand historical methodology and interpretation. This leads to a greater appreciation of how historians identify significant aspects of a community' s past and interpret them thematically for the general public. Academic historians and historical organizations can be affiliated either through direct or indirect involvement. Either way, it takes a strong commitment from both parties. The common ground is the advancement of historical thought and service to the public.

J. D. Britton is community history specialist in the OHS Local History Office and co-editor of The Local Historian.

References

For membership in the Ohio Academy of History or to purchase the Roster of Professional Historians in Ohio, write to Vladimir Steffel, The Ohio State University at Marion, 1465 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Marion, Ohio 43302-5695 or call (614) 389-2361.

For membership information on the American Association for State and Local History, write AASLH, 1717 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37203-2991 or call (615) 320-3203, or go to www.aaslh.org

For membership information on the National Council on Public History, write to David Vanderstel, Executive Secretary-NCPH, 327 Cavanaugh Hall-IUPUI, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, or call (317) 274-2716, e-mail ncph@cinpui.edu, or go to www.ncph.org

To purchase a copy of the Roster of Ohio Humanities Scholars write to the Ohio Humanities Council, 471 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3857 or call (614) 461-7802, e-mail ohc@ohiohumanities.org or go to www.ohiohumanities.org.

For a listing of college and university public history programs in Ohio and the United States, see Public History Education in America: A Guide. The book can be purchased from the National Council on Public History. (address above)

The Local History Notebook is edited and published by the Ohio Historical Society's Local History Office in order to bring useful information to people working in the local history field. The selections of subjects and authors is based on inquiries to the Local History Office and on the editor's determination of issues which are timely in nature and lasting in scope. The reference inserts are copyrighted 1989 C) by the Ohio Historical Society. Reprints are available; please specify volume and number. For further information, contact: