Decolonizing through Public History

Last Friday, I attended a talk by Dr. Monica Patterson (of Concordia University) called “Towards a Public History of Childhood in South Africa.” While it was engaging on a number of levels, it got me thinking about something that has recently been on my mind a lot: the Western academy’s colonial relationship with many of … Continue reading →

Why Photographs?

To begin with, an apology. I have, quite obviously, already broken my New Year’s resolution. Surprise, surprise. My excuse? A rather sad one: I’ve taken it upon myself to attempt an extra grad-level course this semester, in addition to some other extra-curricular activities. It doesn’t sound like much, but, well, my office-mates may attest otherwise … Continue reading →

Promises, promises…

So, contrary to what I originally thought, I had promised to explain my Major Research Project (which is like a thesis, but shorter, and doesn’t require a defence – but is accompanied by more coursework) in my first post. My sincerest apologies to those of you who were banking on my expounding the many fascinating … Continue reading →

Life Choices: Mind the Gap!

As promised, I shall begin with an explanation. What is Public History? Well, as one of my colleagues told me, she likes to tell people that it’s the concept of public washrooms applied to History. But really, that’s not it at all. Public History is a number of things. It’s History being presented to the … Continue reading →