Response to “Whose Public? Whose History?” Reading
In Ronald J. Grele’s “Whose Public? Whose History? What is the Goal of Public History?”
Grele makes various arguments as to how and why the history profession in the
sense of academia to public history has evolved over time. The field of history
has changed from a person studying historical events and people to oneself or
to a group of students only to sharing that historical knowledge to a variety
of people and in different ways. Grele makes a clear succinct definition of
public history towards the end of the article by stating, “[t]hus the task of
the public historian, broadly defined, should be to help members of the public do
their own history and to aid them in understanding their role in shaping and
interpreting events.”[1] This definition is
interesting because long are the days of reading history just to understand
yourself. In order for the history field to survive, it must be shared with
others and in a way that everyone can understand. This means including
narratives that may have not been known before and/or left out for various
reasons. Most importantly, Grele says that “ . . . public history implies a
major redefinition of the role of the historian.”[2] Without this redefinition and
understanding of historians, if they don’t
adapt, they will be left in the past.
[1] Ronald J. Grele, “Whose Public? Whose History? What is the Goal of Public History?” The Public Historian 3, no. 1 (Winter 1981): 47-48.
[2] Ibid., 48.