3. Making Progress Towards Justice

04/13/22 • 40 min

The public widely recognizes the necessity of learning from the past. But there’s a catch. For most people, the meaning of "learning from society’s mistakes” is inseparable from their diagnosis of society today. So in this episode, we discuss one solution to this challenge laid out in the Making History Matter report: “Emphasize how history helps us make progress toward a just world to increase recognition of history’s importance.” To explore the ideas of hard history and learning from the past, we are joined by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Heather Bruegl.

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2. The Case of the Misunderstood Historical Method

In this episode, we take a closer look at the first two recommendations in the Making History Matter Report: 1) Talk about critical thinking to shift perceptions about what history involves and 2) Compare historical interpretation to detective work to deepen understanding of historical practice. Hosts Christy Coleman and Jason Steinhauer are joined by three guests: William Convery (Minnesota Historical Society), Stacey Watson (West Kentucky Community and Technical College, The National Quilt Museum), and Sam Wineburg (Stanford University). You can learn more about the Reframing History initiative, download the report, and access transcripts for this podcast at AASLH.org/reframing history. Reframing History is produced by Better Lemon Creative Audio for the American Association for State and Local History.

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4. Communicating the Value of Inclusive History

Many people–particularly those from dominant groups–tend to treat history centered on white men as the “neutral,” depoliticized history. Everything else is considered extra or optional, and our attempts to tell a fuller story of American history are often met with backlash. In this episode, we explore a research-backed framework for engaging audiences in inclusive history (without the backsplash) through specific, place-based, solutions-focused examples. Our guests on this episode are Niya Bates, Susan Ferentinos, and Estevan Rael-Galvez.