I know that this information will be familiar to many readers of this list,
but I wanted to forward the notice which appeared on PUBLHIST to be certain
that all have access.

Chris Geist

Attached is a copy of the report on the first meeting of the Task Force
on Historians and Museums organized by the Organization of American
Historians.  It was prepared by Cary Carson, task force chair, and
appeared initially in the February OAH Newsletter.  Please cross-post the
report to any lists for which it would be appropriate.  The next
meeting of the task force will be on 30 March in Chicago.

                           * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<Headline>OAH Takes Stand Against Political Interference in History
Museums

<Byline>Cary Carson

<BT>Recent attacks on the intellectual integrity of museum
exhibitions in Washington and a rash of cancellations at the
Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress have raised an
alarm that the OAH has answered.

A group of academic and public historians met informally in January
and April 1995 to discuss the growing threat and map out a course of
action.  Late last summer the Rockefeller Foundation came to the
rescue with a grant to support the work of the Task Force on
Historians and Museums appointed by OAH President Michael Kammen and
OAH Executive Director Arnita A. Jones.

The task force held its first meeting on December 6 at the Chicago
Historical Society.  Members talked at length about the central
problem: How can museums secure the freedom they need to bring
historical perspectives to bear on important public issues?  Last
April there had been considerable discussion about a museum
historians' Bill of Rights.  Few who understand the collaborative
nature of exhibit planning went away believing that "academic
freedom" could provide any real protection.  Conversation at the
December meeting in Chicago explored a more promising
alternative developing criteria that institutions could use to
determine who does and does not have a rightful claim to participate
in the exhibit planning process.

The group also talked about two related matters.  Museum-goers often
fail to understand that many historians and curators employed by
history museums and historical societies believe that sometimes those
institutions should mount exhibitions that encourage public
discussion of significant enduring historical issues.  Newspaper
reporters and television broadcasters who cover the museum beat have
not been much quicker to pick up on this new op-ed exhibit function.
The professors on the task force made the further observation that
most academic historians have paid little or no attention to public
history.  Now they are even more bewildered by the flurry of
controversy surrounding museum exhibits in the nation's capital and
the much maligned National History Standards.  The task force will
propose measures to address each of these problems at future
meetings and will return to Chicago to resume its discussions at the
OAH Annual Meeting in March.

The task force has eight members: Robert Archibald, Missouri
Historical Society (representing the American Association for State
and Local History); Ellsworth Brown, Carnegie Museums and Library
(American Association of Museums); Sara M. Evans, University of
Minnesota (OAH); Victoria A. Harden, National Institute of Health,
Historical Office (Society for History in the Federal Government);
Edward T. Linenthal, University of Wisconsin (American Historical
Association); Patricia Mooney-Melvin, Loyola University (National
Council on Public History); and two members at large, Lonnie Bunch
from the Smithsonian Institution and Cary Carson from Colonial
Williamsburg.  Sharon Caughill, assistant for professional affairs,
OAH, provides logistical support.

Cary Carson, Chair

******************************************************************************
Christopher D. Geist                        Phone: (419)372-2981
Chair, Department of Popular Culture        FAX:   (419)372-2577
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH  43403                    E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]

Visit Our World Wide Web Site: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/popc/home.html