We are the History Publics.
We want to speak to the past in public. We want to perform our pasts. We live our pasts in the present. We co-own our pasts.
History Publics is the melting pot of scholars, historians, archivists, educators, communities, students and history enthusiasts who want to develop more participatory production of Public Histories. We aim to combine interdisciplinary research on the pedagogies of public history with the work of community historians, educators and practitioners to develop pathways for more inclusive education.
Who are the custodians of this shared past in India? How do we enter into debate with individuals and groups who have their own view of the past? The History Publics aim to create a co-ownership between academic institutions and local communities over historical knowledge production and its teaching. History Publics seek the ‘public’ in the act of writing, analysing and making history.
The history of the lion is always told by the hunters, but if the lions were to tell their own #history, the stories would be different!
Explore our website for more information on public history pedagogy and praxis. We welcome your suggestions about the practice of public history and information on similar projects!
The History Publics has emerged from the Project : The Ownership of Public History in India (TOPHI), which has been made possible by The British Academy, as part of their Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling Global Challenges programme, funded through Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The research project has been co-developed by scholars, civil society organisers, practitioners and community members, to bring marginalised epistemologies and knowledge into academic pedagogy as well as bring history to common spaces. The team has set out to create a database of community public history initiatives and pedagogical resources in India. The project punctures conventional historical practice by relying on multilingual and multi-ethnic sources and centring community traditions, orality and experiential knowledge. In its conception, design and dissemination the project seeks to bring community researchers to the forefront and create platforms for educational engagements outside the classroom, as well as bringing their voices to educational spaces. The intent of the project is situated in a re-valuation of what constitutes ‘historical evidence’ and knowledge resources and how new understandings of collective public history can be fostered with new audiences.
