ON RESPONSIBILE (PUBLIC) HISTORY

Private historians are supposed to conduct so-called ‘responsible history’; history which has been thoroughly researched, and addresses multiple points of view in order to demonstrate an unbiased scholarly approach. With this in mind, I would like to address the prospect of a responsible public history. Is it possible?

Public history is presented to the public, and as such, must be sensitive to the feelings not only of the majority, but also the minority. How does one present a controversial issue with the least amount of controversy? In 2007, this issue came to light with the roaring debate surrounding the War Museum’s exhibit about strategic bombing entitled “An Enduring Controversy.” Obviously, it is difficult to present both sides of the debate in a small text panel – it is even more difficult to present both sides of the debate using only visual displays. Should societal views play a role in determining public history? As history for public consumption, one would assume that public history would be reflective of widely held points of view. However, in this case, it is difficult to present the truth without going against widely held public opinions. However, there is another important factor which must be considered: public funds. After a review of the museum’s exhibit text panel, the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs acknowledge this implication, and concluded... “After due consideration, the Subcommittee respectfully suggests that the Canadian War Museum has both the public responsibility and professional capacity to take the lead in resolving the disagreement. We feel they have the duty to review the detailed presentation of the display panel in question and that they will want to consider alternative ways of presenting an equally historically accurate version of its material, in a manner that eliminates the sense of insult felt by aircrew veterans and removes potential for further misinterpretation by the public."

With so many interest groups involved in public history, it becomes difficult to assess what is responsible public history. In practice, public history should provide facts, and only facts. It is not the duty of public historians to underline the debate surrounding historical issues as there will always be debate surrounding historical events, especially those which are emotionally charged. By failing to acknowledge controversy, are public historians being irresponsible? If the debate surrounding historical events within the scholarly community spills into the public sphere, does this detract from the museum’s reputation as bearers of factual information?