Comments for Lauren Wheeler, Can Enviro Rock?

Comment on Re-Naming; or Being Politically Correct by Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:39:45 +0000

Hi Lauren,
The word squaw is not a bad word, it means woman in Algonquin.
As to the tit, there are also the Gran Teton mountain range, less than flattering, but part of many languages as proper. This is where the ‘Political correctness’ fad jumps in to right a wrong that isn’t wrong.

I agree there are many racist types of names used that should not be used, but they were used in a time when it was common to do so. However, if we can change them, should we also change the ‘Lost Dutchman’ mine and ‘Scotts’ville names while we are at it?
When is it allowable or not, and who determines the appropriateness?

It reminds me of a man who lost his job due to the fact he was of Scottish decent, he wore a badge to work that was the crest or coat of arms of his clan, when he was asked by an African American woman what the badge was for, he told her it was for his clan, but she took offense to it and reported it to the management and he lost his job…

Zero tolerance at its best…

Comment on Public History, Pop History, Academia, and Jobs. by Pete Anderson

Pete Anderson — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:51:57 +0000

I usually take the broader definition of public history (history as practiced outside of academia) in part because it better reflects my diverse experiences. While most of my “public history” work has been related to litigation support activities (i.e. research, summary report drafting, database design and administration, training on research and search techniques, electronic processing of document collections) that have analogues in other parts of public history (mostly archives, I think)–though the litigation context provides its own unique constraints and challenges.

At the same time, I volunteer in research and programming for a small but worthy local museum and do part time consulting almost entirely for individuals, not institutions (which means anything from researching genealogy, military records, settlement records, to facilitating ATIP requests, etc). Although I don’t engage in it myself, I think we need to look to elementary, middle and high school history teachers as allies and fellow public historians as what they do everyday lies at the core of what “public history” is, in my definition. (Again, my research for my public history degree was on the teaching of history to children in a elementary school setting, so it has been a connection I’ve seen lacking.)

I think the limiting factors in public history are, on the one hand, money (of course) and on the other hand imagination. As Lauren said, the skills taught in history and public history programs are eminently transferable. While jobs in explicitly historical institutions are few and far between, there are many, many allied fields that we, as history graduates, need to keep our eyes open for.

Great post Lauren, and I look forward to Part 2!

Comment on Public History, Pop History, Academia, and Jobs. by Lauren Wheeler

Lauren Wheeler — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:08:38 +0000

Great question Tina. This post used museums as the main example because it is the area of public history I am currently employed in but not the only area to look into. There are jobs that are looking for exactly the skill set a historian has but no where in the posting will you find the word “history”. For instance, government takes in a surprising number of history graduates for various department positions because they are able to research and write clearly. Consultation work relies on the same skill set as government but also looks for knowledge of specific ares, like land claims and treaty rights. Emily Greenwald from the American firm Historical Research Associates spoke to this area at the ASEH luncheon.

I may have to make this a two part post and to get into more details about job opportunities and marketable skill.

Comment on Public History, Pop History, Academia, and Jobs. by Tina Loo

Tina Loo — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:56:57 +0000

Thanks for the post, Lauren. I agree with lots of what you say. One thing people might consider is that just as academic jobs are few and far between so too might jobs in museums. Funding for cultural institutions has been seriously eroded over the last decade – as you must know from working in that sector. I wouldn’t want people thinking of careers to go from one sector where jobs are scarce to another.

Is there a way of thinking about different kinds of public history, like land claims research, for instance? That is presenting historical info outside a traditional classroom setting. It’s to a different and equally specialized audience, though. What other kinds of public history are there?

Comment on A Little Bit of Everything by Mark

Mark — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:04:41 +0000

Jane of all trades. That is some arsenal of skills you have there. Impressive. Most impressive. Skills all grad students should know but few learn. I think most of it is learnt on the job as it were without any formal training.

Comment on Re-Naming; or Being Politically Correct by Mountain Names | Lauren Wheeler, Can Enviro Rock?

Mountain Names | Lauren Wheeler, Can Enviro Rock? — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:13:14 +0000

[...] have written about Ha Ling Peak before in the context of when it is appropriate to rename a landmark or place for the purpose of being [...]

Comment on Oil and Environment in Alberta – Or When a Spill Hits Close to Home by Rubin Laneve

Rubin Laneve — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 03:32:29 +0000

Oil spills are very damaging to the environment. I just hope that the oil companies gets more responsible and create some more safety measures when transferring oil on oil tankers and oil rigs. .:':, Enjoy your weekend! supplements website

Comment on Oil and Environment in Alberta – Or When a Spill Hits Close to Home by History Carnival 111: Environmental History Edition | Stillwater Historians

History Carnival 111: Environmental History Edition | Stillwater Historians — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:22:28 +0000

[...] Sean Kheraj looks at the history of oil spills in Alberta, while Lauren Wheeler writes about local responses to such environmental catastrophes and the inability, in this case, of local activism to prevent [...]

Comment on Public History Gets an App! by Public History Gets an App! | Lauren Wheeler, Can Enviro Rock? « VanRanke and Droysen

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:57:21 +0000

[...] on canenvirorock.com Like this:LikeBe the first to like this post. from → Uncategorized ← [...]

Comment on Oil and Environment in Alberta – Or When a Spill Hits Close to Home by seankheraj

seankheraj — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 04:55:41 +0000

Very nice post, Lauren. Your knowledge of the history of the environmental movement in Alberta is so important for understanding events like this recent oil pipeline spill on the Red Deer River.

And, yes, this spill has drawn a significant amount of news media attention and memory of this event will likely fade away. But while this spill drew national attention, the larger May 2012 spill near Rainbow Lake barely stimulated more than an article in the Globe and Mail. The national (and even sometimes the local) news media outlets more often ignore oil pipeline spills in Alberta. Between 2006 and 2010 there were more than 1600 crude oil spills on Alberta’s pipeline system. How many made it to The National on CBC? Very few.