If People’s History <=> Local History => Local History = World History

Local history is people’s history. But what is the history of the people of Massachusetts? They hail from all across the globe, some having arrived fourteen-to-eight thousand years ago, others yesterday. One-sixth of our population was born in another country. Another seventh had at least one parent born in another country. Many historical organizations have programs, exhibits, or projects that focus on one immigrant group or wave or another, on people of a particular ancestry who happen to be local. Want to talk about it?

Join us at the 2018 MAss History Conference to learn more about bringing people whose stories start elsewhere into our historical organizations, through art, through oral history, through programming.

Keynote speaker Franklin Odo,  editor of the newly appearing Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study of the National Park Service,  is nationally recognized for programs in which museums engaged people to bring their stories and participate in art programs that focus on heritage, and he’ll talk about doing that at any level of organization. Learn about programs in Lawrence and Holyoke that collect the history of and engage recent immigrant communities. Participate in a workshop about doing oral history with non-English speakers.