Zen and the Art of Local History

Zen and the Art of Local History is an engaging, interactive conversation that conveys the exciting nature of local history. Divided into six major themes of being a local historian, topics and sources, staying relevant, getting it right, writing history, and history organizations, the book covers the scope and breadth of local history. Each chapter features one of Carol Kammen’s memorable editorials from History News.
Her editorial is a "call." Each is followed by a response from one of more than five dozen prominent players in state and local history. These Respondents include local and public historians, archivists, volunteers, and history professionals across the kaleidoscopic spectrum of local history. The result is a series of dialogues on important topics in the field of local history. This interactivity of these conversations makes Zen and the Art of Local History a unique offering in the public history field.

Carol Kammen has been writing about doing local history for many years. The first edition of this book came out in 1985; this edition is greatly pruned and expanded. She has edited The Encyclopedia of Local History (two editions) for Alta Mira Press and AASLH and has written editorials for History News since 1995. In addition she has written a history of her county, of the City in which she lives, and Cornell: Glorious to View (2003) and Part & Apart: The African American Experience at Cornell, 1865-1945 (2008) and edited First Person Cornell: Student's Letters, Diaries, Email and Blogs (2006). She has also written two-dozen dramatic presentations using local history, including Between the Lines, Peaches and Bird, The Language of War and others and writes a history column for her local newspaper. She lives in Ithaca, New York, taught at Cornell University, and serves as the Tompkins County Historian. Bob Beatty is Vice President for Programs for the American Association for State & Local History where he leads AASLH's professional development program including workshops, an annual meeting, affinity groups and other initiatives, and publications as editor of History News and a member of the AASLH Editorial Advisory Board. From 1999-2007 he directed the Education Department at the Orange County (FL) Regional History Center where he led or oversaw dozens of community outreach programs ranging from school partnerships, youth/family activities, adult programming, and community partnerships.

Foreword by Lorraine McConaghy Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: About Being a Local Historian Call: Not for a Test, but History for Life, Response: Spencer Downing Call: Perambulation, Response: Aaron Sachs Call: Inappropriate Questions, Response: James L. Baggett Call: What We Tell the Youngsters, Response: Kate Betz Call: We Are Not Journalists, Response: Jeffrey J. Kollath Call: Local Knowledge, Response: Mary Alexander Call: Abby Hemenway, Response: Rebecca Conard Call: Water Buffalos, Wildebeests, and Gazelles, Response: Robert B. Townsend Call: Educating Our "Other" Audiences, Response: Karen Graham Wade Call: The Local History Apprentice, Response: Kate Tiller Call: Millenialism, Response: Robert Richmond Call: Taking the Prize, Response: Donald P. Zuris Call: History's Long Rangers, Response: Michael Potaski Call: Retiring Sorts, Response: Richard L. Williams Chapter 2: The Clay for Our Wheels and the Pots We Make Call: Getting Involved, Response: Allyn Lord Call: Out of the Closet, Response: Paul Landry Call: The Clipping Point, Response: Scott Muir Stroh III Call: An Ode to Scrapbooks, Response: Kelly Nolin Call: The Envelope Please, Response: K. Allison Wickens Call; Replevin, Response: Galen R. Wilson Call: Local History and the Underground Railroad, Response: Dina Bailey and Richard C. Cooper Call: The Hall's in Your Court(house), Response: James D. Folts Call: Down for the Count, Response: Lila Teresa Church Call: Small Changes, Response: Darlene Roth Call: Rethinking Local History, Response: Bruce Teeple Call: Around and About, Response: William L. Lang Call: Recording the Home Front, Response: Courtney L. Tollison Call: To Blog or Not to Blog, Response: Kate Theimer Chapter 3: Mingled Yarn Call: Community Education, Response: Lynne Ireland Call: Seeking Diversity, Response: Patricia Williams Lessane Call: History Tents, Response: Linda W. Chapin Call: Travel at Home, Response: Janet Vaughan Call: Travel at Home (Redux), Response: Amy H. Wilson Call: In Memoriam: Quite a Decade (Prelude and Postscript), Response; Jessica Dorman Call: Acts of Nature and Other Disturbing Events, Response: Beverly C. Tyler Call: When All is Lost, Response: Alice Parman Call: The Poor are Always Among Us, Response: Robert Archibald Call: What's in a Name, Response: Mary E. Montgomery Chapter 4: Truth and Consequences Call: When Not Being Wrong is Not Good Enough, Response: Constantine Dillon Call: Ducking, Bobbing, and Looking Away, Response: Charles F. Bryan, Jr. Call: Unintended Consequences, Response: Joe Meehan Call: Making it Up, Response: Tim Grove Call: Truth and Fiction, Response: Mark T. Mannette Call: Just All the Facts, Ma'am, Just Not All the Facts, Response: Annette Atkins Chapter 5: Words in Stone Call: History for Our Times, Response: David A. Janssen Call: In Context, Response: Paige Lilly Call: Local History's Audience, Response: J. Kent Calder and Thomas A. Mason Call: Community History, Response: Stephen L. Cox Call: The Things We Ignore, Response: Philip V. Scarpino Call: To Note or Not to Note, Response: Chris Brewer Call: Defining the Field, Response: Matthew Gibson Chapter 6: Work and Play in History's Sandbox Call: A Fourteen-Step Program for Local History, Response: Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Call: Clanking of Canes: A Survey of North American State and Local History, Response: Burt Logan Call: The Future of Historical Societies, Response: James M. Vaughan Call: An Abundance of History, Response: Lisa Anderson Call: Cultural Tourism, Response: Carolyn Brackett Call: In the Company of Our Peers, Response: Janice B. Klein Call: The Importance of a Good Chair, Response: Tobi Voigt Call: Out of the Box and Into the Fray, Response: Katherine D. Kane Call: Tripping over History, Response: Lawrence J. Yerdon Call: Radio Waves, Response: Stan Deaton Call: Random Acts, Response: Cynthia Cardona Melendez Call: Into the Archive, Response: Kathleen D. Roe Call: On Boards, Response: Kent Whitworth Call: Being On Board, Response: Kathleen M. O'Leary Title/Author index Subject index About the Authors