We need a more productive public conversation about history.
Amid ongoing national controversy, it is more important than ever for the history community to be able to clearly explain what history is, how we come to understand the past, and why it matters to society. Reframing History provides the field with a new set of evidence-backed recommendations for communicating about history.
Funded by the Mellon Foundation and carried out in partnership with the FrameWorks Institute, National Council on Public History, and Organization of American Historians, Reframing History is the result of a two-year, deep-dive research effort to understand how Americans think about history and how our field can more effectively explain history’s value. The recommendations from this project are designed to help historians, educators, museum professionals, and history advocates to be able to more cohesively and convincingly communicate about history to build a wider understanding of what inclusive history looks like and why it is important for all of us.
Despite the best efforts of the field, much of the public still assumes making sense of the past is about finding a single objective truth, about documenting “just the facts.” To more effectively explain why history matters, we must shift the conversation about history to emphasize critical engagement with the past and the incorporation of new evidence and diverse perspectives. Reframing History—through a report, toolkit, and forthcoming training resources—provides specific, flexible strategies for achieving that shift, overcoming major communication challenges, and building a more widely shared understanding of the importance of learning from the past.
Reframing History is funded through a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Read the report | Download the toolkit | Download the research supplement | Listen to the podcast
Throughout 2022, we hosted discussions of Reframing History to deepen engagement with its ideas and help the field consider its wide-ranging implications. The first such discussion occurred at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on February 26, 2022 with speakers Clint Smith (The Atlantic), Martha S. Jones (Johns Hopkins University) and Jorge Zamanillo (HistoryMiami and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino). View the recording below.
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To extend the conversation about Reframing History and the challenges we face when communicating with the public, we created the Reframing History Podcast. Hosted by Christy Coleman (Executive Director, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation) and Jason Steinhauer (Wilson Center Global Fellow and author of History Disrupted) this six-episode, limited series features conversations with scholars, interpreters, researchers, and public historians from across the country to help us think about how we talk about history and how a more strategic approach can strengthen our impact. Episodes were released weekly from March to May in 2022 and remain available below and wherever you get your podcasts.
Trailer
Episode 1: “When I Say History…”
with Lacey Wilson, John R. Dichtl, and Theresa L. Miller (March 30) – Download transcript
Episode 2: “The Case of the Misunderstood Historical Method”
with William Convery, Stacey Watson, and Sam Wineburg (April 6) – Download transcript
Episode 3: “Making Progress Towards Justice”
with Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Heather Bruegl (April 13) – Download transcript
Episode 4: “Communicating the Value of History”
with Niya Bates, Susan Ferentinos, and Estevan Rael-Galvez (April 20) – Download transcript
Episode 5: “The New Civics”
with Eric Liu, Melanie Adams, and Caroline Klibanoff (April 27) – Download transcript
Episode 6: “Now What? Using the Reframing History Report and Toolkit”
with Jennifer Ortiz, Steve Murray, and John Marks (May 4) – Download transcript
To help professionals and volunteers across the history community make use of these findings, we are producing a wide-ranging set of training resources, including webinars, workshops, and online courses. Watch this space for more information.
Reframing History Toolkit
Built on the research and recommendations in the Report, the Reframing History Toolkit is designed to make it easy to incorporate our research-tested framing strategies into your work. For communicating about history, consistency is key: this toolkit will help like-minded advocates all speak the same language. It contains several helpful features, including::
- Common communication traps, and how to avoid them
- A “bridge-and-pivot” guide for getting conversations back on track
- Sample messaging
- FAQ about strategic communications
Reframing History Webinars
These webinars will help you integrate the research and recommendations of the Reframing History Report into the many different areas of operating a history organization.
Reframing History has been funded through a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation. Research for the project was conducted by the FrameWorks Institute. It has been managed by the AASLH Public History Research Lab.
In order to ensure the project reflects the perspectives and priorities of the widest possible swath of the history community, it has been carried out in partnership with the American Association for State and Local History, the National Council on Public History, and the Organization of American Historians. AASLH, NCPH, and OAH jointly appointed an advisory committee that has offered feedback and perspective throughout the project.