NLS Faculty Seminar | Where is the Historian in Public History?: An Informal Essay

In this week’s faculty seminar, Dr. Samyak Ghosh Assistant Professor, Social Science, will present his paper titled ‘Where is the Historian in Public History?: An Informal Essay.’ The seminar will be held on March 19, 2025, at the Ground Floor Conference Hall at NLSIU’s Training Centre at 3:45 pm.

Abstract

In the recent past history has been dragged into the most acrimonious spaces with bizarre consequences. In this paper, I consider such examples to ask two questions – what is history (as knowledge) in the present? and where is the historian in public history? Through a consideration of these two related questions I explore the location of the historian in public history sites and the early iteration of public history in the Indian context. The paper argues that the location of the professional historian in public history is shaped by dilemmas that often puts the historian in face of a challenge. In other words, there is an inherent tension between the professional and the public historian, and a merger is often waged through difficult negotiations. The paper reflects on some of these negotiations that professional historians forge in order to situate themselves rather than roaming footloose in the messy world of public history.

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