Making History Matter
New data and better insights from the American Association for State and Local History
The most frequent comment I get is “I didn’t learn this in school.” … Now, my response to that is to say “I didn’t either.” — Martha S. Jones, on “Reframing History.”
How can we practice history in ways that strengthen our national discussions about the past and promote justice? Important answers emerged last Saturday evening at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History during a discussion of a new report from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) and its partners, “Reframing History.”
“Reframing History” intervenes at a critical moment in US history: “Amid ongoing national controversy, it is more important than ever for the history community to be able to clearly explain what history is, how we come to understand the past, and why it matters to society.” The AASLH explains: “Reframing History is the result of a two-year, deep-dive research effort to understand how Americans think about history and how our field can more effectively explain history’s value. The recommendations from this project are designed to help historians, educators, museum professionals, and history advocates to be able to more cohesively and convincingly communicate about history to build a wider understanding of what inclusive history looks like and why it is important for all of us.”
Hard Histories at Hopkins took center stage at the NMAH when director Martha Jones joined journalist and author Clint Smith, and incoming director of the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino, Jorge Zamanillo, in a conversation about “Reframing History” moderated by Anthea M. Hartig, Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The report and its recommendations include some new ideas, at least for this reader. Americans, for example, respond more favorably to opportunities for critical thinking than they do to assertions of abstract historical truths. “Reframing History” encourages academic historians to take what we do everyday in our classrooms into the public sphere. There is an appetite for details about how we work behind the scenes, for lifting the hood on history’s theory and method. Our detective work is one key to bringing many more people on-board with efforts to make historical thinking one route toward a more just future.
— MSJ.