Tomorrow we're departing Utah, after being in Moab since we left Washington DC. Despite the circumstances, I've been so lucky to tour such a stunning part of the world. I still want to tell you a little about how I ended up coming here and why I'm committed to returning to Salt Lake City for the 2021 NCHE Conference and more! |
I wanted to use this poster in a presentation when it was doing the rounds on social media a few years ago, and like a good historian, I also wanted reference the source, which had been cropped from the version I had. This led me to discover the University of Utah's College of Humanities, which in turn led me to Utah Humanities. I've followed them on social media ever since and was really impressed by what I've seen happening in Utah. Therefore I made sure Salt Lake City was on my Fellowship itinerary. We don't appear to have a comparable organisation to Utah Humanities in South Australia, and seemingly not across Australia. It's a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to 'empower Utahns to improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities'. Megan from the Center for Community Heritage and Josh from the Center for Educational Access helped me create a packed and exciting schedule, including: |
- Extending my knowledge of NHD with Wendy Rex-Atzet from Utah History Day, including participating in a judging day at Timberline Middle School in Orem
- Talking with Naomi Watkins, one of the driving forces behind the impressive Better Days 2020 campaign, which marks the 150th anniversary of women's suffrage in Utah and centenary of the 19th amendment
- Learning about the Utah Museum of Fine Arts' education programs with Annie Burbidge-Ream and Virginia Catherall
- Meeting Emily Johnson and Jennifer Ortiz from the Utahn Government's Office of Museum Services and observing training for the American Association for State and Local History' (AASLH) Standards and Excellence Program (StEPs)
- Finding out more about the Clemente Course at East and West High Schools, which enables more equitable access to further studies in the Humanities
Seeing as I had to fly out of San Francisco, I also intended to take the oppotunity to visit the Stanford History Education Group. SHEG's current programs include Reading Like a Historian, Beyond the Bubble, and Civic Online Reasoning. I had an appointment booked with SHEG founder, Sam Wineburg. Sam's publications include the recent Why Learn History (when it's already on your phone) (2018) and the highly influential Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past (2001). I had hoped to test out the tentative findings of my Fellowship with this world-renowned expert.
Alas, COVID-19 has disrupted these plans but as US General Douglas Macarthur said at Terowie, 'I shall return'! It has been an exceptionally difficult week for my hosts-to-be, with a serious earthquake hitting the Salt Lake City area. The quake affected many historic buildings, including the Utah State Archives and Records Service and even the LDS Temple. I wish Utahns all the best with recovering from this natural disaster alongside the pandemic. For now, it's see you later (not goodbye!)