It’s time to debate the PROS and CONS of our top 10 ideas.
In this post and yesterday’s we present a total of ten summaries of project ideas proposed by graduate students in public history.
The purpose: to decide how to invest in the missions of nonprofit organizations. What are we investing? We have accumulated STEEM since January.
In all, we have about 3,000 STEEM to invest in community.
Over the next weeks, we’ll be debating online and in class which one of these projects is the most desirable, achievable and impactful. We’ll want to know which promises to leverage additional resources. Which one represents the best investment for this course and for the community?
Here are the second five of the ten project ideas:
The Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance’s Museum and Interpretive Center
This center will present and educate local, regional and international visitors about the underrepresented History of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. The project at this vintage, authentic site includes restoring an early twentieth century building, the creation of seven exhibits, and the first opportunity for visitors to legally visit the Pennhurst campus and learn its true history. Learn more here.
Walking Tours that are Free, Relevant and Engaging
The vast majority of Philadelphia’s walking tours are for profit, centered in Old City and tell similar stories focused on colonial Philadelphia. They neglect Philadelphia history after the colonial era, and are too expensive for most local schools to afford. The Philadelphia nonprofit sector should develop free local history walking tours and then disseminate the tour materials to teachers so they can run tours for their students.
Invest in the Future of History
Support transition costs as the Philadelphia History Museum considers an alliance with Temple University. This would provide the opportunity for reconsideration and reorganization of the museum's mission and programs. Aligning with a major research, Philadelphia-based university would set the stage for mutually beneficial collaborations between the museum staff, collections, students, faculty and public.
Plan a New Museum for the “City Of Homes”
To many residents of the City of Brotherly Love, the Philadelphia Row House is more iconic than Independence Hall. For more than a century, Philadelphia has also been known as the City of Homes, most of which are row houses built between the mid-19th century and the mid-20th century. This project proposes the founding of a new Row Home Museum in an authentic row house. This 21st-century historic house museum would include an exhibit space and become a community asset in one of the city’s many row house neighborhoods.
A Community-Led Oral History Project
Support three organizations, Art Sanctuary, Juntos and Asian Americans United to develop a collective, community-led oral history project. By engaging civic-minded organizations of color (within as well as outside of the arts and culture sector) in a collaborative public history project, we would not only draw connections between the academy and the public at large, but also between disenfranchised populations themselves. Funds would also provide much needed operating support.
What projects do you consider the best investment?
As we asked at the conclusion of yesterday’s post, consider each of the ten proposed projects. Explain then rank the projects in your replies.
Please share your your opinions and insights with us.
100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.
