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This strikes me as a peaceful way to push back against an administration that you disagree with: the Citizen Historians are photographing and documenting all of the current Smithsonian exhibitions, in case political pressure removes some of them and wipes the historical record of their existence.
I've been fairly critical on this page of people without historical training who call themselves historians. (David Barton, I'm looking at you.) But the Citizen Historians are volunteers who are simply creating a record that can survive the possibility of future purges.
What do you think of this effort?
From Brian Boucher's piece on Artnet.com:
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When Donald Trump published an August 12 letter addressed to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, informing him of “a comprehensive internal review” of the shows and explanatory materials at the network of national museums, something snapped for historian James Millward. It was just a month after the president, on the pretext of a “public safety emergency” (and despite a historic low crime rate), had deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington. D.C., where Millward is a history professor at Georgetown University. Many who opposed the president were desperate for something they could do to demonstrate their resistance, Millward said in a phone conversation...
Thus was born the idea for Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, which has recruited hundreds of volunteers to document every gallery, every object, and every wall label at the Smithsonian Institution’s museums as a safeguard against politically motivated erasure or censorship.
That’s not an idle worry. Trump has singled out Smithsonian museums for criticism, posting in August on his Truth Social platform that he was ordering a review of museums’ displays, partly because, in his view, they have focused too much on “how bad Slavery was.” That same month, the National Museum of American History removed a placard describing Trump’s two impeachments, before reinstating it following an outcry. Earlier still, Amy Sherald pulled her solo show, “American Sublime,” from its stop at the National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship concerns...
“There’s a common approach of authoritarian governments to history,” he said. “I’m aware of efforts to shape the narrative—because culture wars are also narrative wars—in the media and social media. But institutions are also very much used by authoritarian powers to try to influence the world. One pushes back as one can...”
Millward teamed up with his colleague Chandra Manning, who teaches U.S. history and is director of the Georgetown Institute for Global History...Manning alerted him to Save Our Signs, a volunteer initiative by the Data Rescue Project that called on volunteers to preserve didactics at the country’s National Parks after the Secretary of the Interior called for Americans to report signs that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
...“The changes that scare me are changes of erasure, of editing out, of exclusion,” [Manning] said, or attempts “to substitute a narrative of uniformity and homage, and create a past that never existed and use that as a template for the present. If you can edit people and conflict and groups out of the past, that justifies editing them out of the present. If you can do that for one group, you can do it for anybody. Right now, it’s risky for everyone that doesn’t align with the president’s priorities, but it’s really risky for everyone.”
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Read more at these links:
news.artnet.com/art-world/citizen-historians-document-smithsonian-museums-censorship-2693572
www.citizenhistorians.org/
thehoya.com/news/city-news/citizen-historians-document-smithsonian-fearing-censorship-efforts/
Citizen Historians Document Smithsonian Fearing Censorship Efforts
thehoya.com
Two Georgetown University history professors are leading a group of volunteers to archive exhibits across the Smithsonian Institution in anticipation of federal directives that could alter or remove museum content. The organization, Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, was founded by Georgetown p...2 hours ago
I think the term citizen historians is pretty cool. It’s obviously borrowing from citizen scientists, which to me the point is that everyone knows these people are regular people, not scientists. I would think citizen historian has the same connotations. I participate in some crowd sourced projects that involve transcription of historical documents through the Library of Congress and the amazing thing about these efforts is how many people doing little parts can accomplish what would take a few people many decades to accomplish. I appreciate the efforts to preserve history.
We have citizen scientists collecting data for scientists
One of my oldest and dearest friends just sent me this picture...taken in Blackwells in Oxford, England. What fun to see this book, which remains one of my favorite projects, still on the shelves after nearly twenty years.
This is a good opportunity for me to do a writing update, if you'll indulge me! My most recent book, THE GREAT SHADOW, is still getting quite a lot of social media attention and media pieces, including (speaking of international readerships!) a lengthy feature from the Hindustan Times. I'm working on a book club supplement for the next edition, so if you enjoyed the book and would like to suggest a discussion question, please chime in! www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/art-culture/all-well-a-new-book-explores-how-illness-shaped-our-...
Our 25th Anniversary Edition of the Story of the World project continues, with Volume 2 (The Middle Ages!) coming out in February. I've already revised Volume 3 and am deep into Volume 4. I love the new editions--all the storytelling of the original, plus more depth and more fascinating characters.
www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_World_Volume_2_the_Midd/TNg60gEACAAJ?hl=en
And I've got some great new projects in the works. Stay tuned for updates.
Thanks for following.
susanwisebauer.com/books-by-susan-wise-bauer/
3 days ago
My daughter, TODAY, was cackling about “soup is hard to choke to death on” as she narrated some Mesopotamian history to me. Any chance the next one is coming down the pipe?
That SOTW was a game changer for sure. Thank you for writing it. There should be a special word we use for the relationship between an Aunt/Uncle Textbook Writer and the kids who learned to love learning from reading their books. You cant just call them "readers." Not exactly protégés. What are they, all the kids you have been teaching with that now -quarter-century-old book?
My copy of The History of the Ancient World is coming apart after years of reading it and using it for frequent reference.
LOVE this series! It has sent me down all sorts of rabbit holes!!
I have seen it in Waterstones in Chester, England this summer (the shop is inside the famous Rows!). It was displayed in a similar manner - front and centre
It's great book and as a second language person I appreciate your work. I've read well educated mind and it was fabulous 👌 ❤️. Thank you Susan
Actually listening on audio currently funnily enough as I am no longer homeschooling but have done two trips through vol 1-4 of SOTW
SOTW is 25??? I feel old now. We used the first and second editions with our kiddos.
SOTW volume 4 is my kiddo's favorite. We own two copies. One for me that stays in my office with the rest of the set and one for the kids that can get beat up. Looking forward to all the 25th anniversary editions for our next go-around with kiddo #2.
I still see this book at Barnes and Noble most visits. You probably hate this question, so forgive me if you do: any idea when rest of HOTW series will come out?
My daughter and I went through History of the Ancient World together for her freshman year. We laughed out loud in so many places. I tell everyone to use it because you write with such wit.
We loved this book and the Story of the World series, too. They were a part of our family summer reading for years. Thank you for the excellent work. Love to see that this is still in circulation.
Thank you for helping us educate our kids. We used story of the world when they were young & history of the world when they were older. 👏🏻👏🏻💚💚. Thankful for your strong mind! 
Looking forward to the next history of the world book!
Great book. Great bookstore! Your fine work deserves that shelf!
Hunter Muse
Bringing a book into the world is no small achievement, congratulations on this wonderful milestone! 📚✨ Your work deserves to be seen, discovered, and appreciated by the readers it was created for. I genuinely enjoy sharing practical ideas that can help authors strengthen their visibility and connect with more readers. If you’re ever interested in exchanging ideas, feel free to message me. I’d love to connect and hear more about your book.
Your book has captured our interest, and we’d love to help connect your work with a wider international audience through our International Author Feature. This is a wonderful opportunity to spotlight your book, share your story as an author, and introduce your work to new readers across the globe. Interested in getting featured? Fill free to Send us a DM , and we’ll be happy to share more details!
