The campaign for History Communications and History Communicators (#HistComm) is a distinctive one. It is a campaign targeted at changing the attitudes and behaviors of those within the history discipline and inviting a reconsideration of how those in the industry of history (e.g., universities, academic historians, public historians) consider the future of the discipline in a new media environment. Whereas the traditional practice of history has been one of collecting, collating, and synthesizing historical artifacts into narratives published in traditionally valued outlets (e.g., scholarly monographs, academic articles), history communications and (and history communicators) focus on the intersection of history and communication to ensure that this important work is made available to the public at large in order to impact public discourse. Although there are many people who are communicating history through many different outlets, both traditional analog broadcast and newer digital interactive platforms, being trained and committed to disseminating content in a 21^st century media environment is an identity that requires advocacy in order to raise awareness and affect change within history (and communication) departments nationwide. The current case study follows the efforts of Jason Steinhauer (Villanova University; formerly public historian at the Library of Congress’s Kluge Center) from the conception of history communicators to the development of a syllabus and a website that collates and begins to codify the steps forward to formalize a proposal for history and communication industries.

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Draft paper available. Also check out clips from my interview with Jason Steinhauer in 2015 at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication via COM107 Virtual Speaker Series.