Bonus: Lonnie Bunch, History & Historians in the Public

by Liz CovartDecember 30, 2016

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Throughout the “Doing History: How Historians Work” series we’ve explored how historians find and research historical topics, how they identify and read historical sources for information, and how they publish their findings so others can know what they know about the past.

But not all historians work to publish their findings about history in books and articles. Some historians work to convey knowledge about history to the public in public spaces and in public ways.

Therefore, we conclude the Doing History: How Historians Work series with a look at how historians do history for the public with guest historian Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

About the Series

Doing History episodes will introduce you to historians who will tell you what they know about the past and reveal how they came to their knowledge.

Each episode will air on the last Tuesday of each month in 2016.

This series is part of a partnership between Ben Franklin’s World and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of how historians do history for the public.

During our exploration, Lonnie reveals why it’s important for historians to reach multiple audiences with their work and how museums allow them to reach those audiences; The importance of humanizing history; And, how history and the historian’s process helped Lonnie and his colleagues build the National Museum of African American History and Culture and interpret the history within it.

What You’ll Discover

Why Lonnie seeks to reach multiple audiences with his historical scholarship
How museums allow people to interact and engage with history
Lonnie’s favorite part of doing history in museums
Oral Histories and how historians can use them
The importance of humanizing history
Lessons learned from studying free black communities before the Civil War
How history and historical research assisted Lonnie with creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture
How Lonnie and his team at the NMAAHC found the right tension between what people wanted to see and what they needed to see in the museum
How historians write history in museum exhibits using historical artifacts
The process of creating a museum exhibit
How the practice of history can be contentious
How museums can collect history now for future exhibits and interpretations
The role of technology in museums
How to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture
The power of museums to humanize history