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On-line editor: Janet R. Goodwin <jan@cs.csustan.edu>
H-JAPAN
November 21, 2009
From: Jonathan Whalley <jonathanmwhalley@gmail.com>
I am writing as a member of the National Council on Public History
International Task Force asking working historians in Japan, primarily
those who might fall under the broad umbrella of public history, if they
would be willing to discuss their ideas pertaining to the task force's
objective currently being explored for a working group for the NCPH annual
conference in Portland, OR in March. This is our official mission:
This working group is part of an initiative by the NCPH International Task
Force to provide a forum for a dialogue among public historians worldwide. Over
the last three decades public history has been proliferating in North America.
The task force would like to explore the state of public history around the
world, and opportunities for greater international cooperation in the field. Is
there a need for an international organization in public history, for universal
standards, and a strong global lobby? How can the NCPH and its journal, The
Public Historian, serve the international community? The facilitators invite
the participation of public history professionals from around the world;
contributors will explore the need for and benefits of formal international
cooperation in the field. (Discussants who cannot join us in person in Portland
may be able to contribute via a video link.) Each participant will be asked to
outline the state of public history in their country, and present examples of
the best practices or model institutions from their home countries. Next,
discussants will be asked to present their views on bringing public history
professionals across the globe together. The working group will then put
forward a list of non-binding recommendations for the international task force.
My role in the task force has been rather limited as I am both new to the field
and new to Japan. I am here for only one year and am living in Yamanashi-ken, a
rather rural prefecture, as a househusband. I am a recent graduate from a
public history graduate program and moved to Japan with my wife as part of a
sister city exchange program. I was invited by the NCPH to be a part of this
task force to bring some perspective from Japan's public historians.
Unfortunately, watashi no Nihongo ga sukoshi desu. If I said that right, my
Japanese is very limited. If I didn't, I have only proven my point. I am
reaching out to H-Japan subscribers to help locate historians. I am an American
historian and know essentially nothing of Japanese history not to mention my
lack of knowledge regarding Japanese historians or institutions. Since I now
have nothing but time on my hands, I would love to learn how professionals in
Japan feel about our mission to organize the field internationally. My
interests in Japan are not exclusively limited to historians of Japanese
nationality, rather any public historian in Japan (or anywhere else in the
world for that matter).
If you are interested or have contact information for anyone who you think
might be, please email me at jonathanmwhalley@gmail.com. If translation is
needed, we have made many helpful friends who would be willing to translate. I
thank you all very much and look forward to exploring this topic.
Jonathan Whalley
Minami Alps City, Yamanashi
jonathanmwhalley@gmail.com
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