Public Historians at Work Center for Public History @ University of Houston

In an increasingly digitized world, public historians have new opportunities to reach wider audiences than ever before. However, translating our work online for and with public audiences requires more than simply uploading essays and images. 
 In this conversation among the directors of SYRIOS (recorded Fall 2023), we learn how a digital exhibit devoted to ancient coins from Syria experiments with new technologies and techniques from data science and digital media. Specifically, SYRIOS draws upon user experience (UX) research to enlist public audiences in the full process of creating an online exhibit. Drs. Kristina Neumann (Associate Professor of History), Peggy Lindner (Assistant Professor of Information and Logistics Technology), and Liz Rodwell (Assistant Professor of Digital Media) discuss how the success of a digital project hinges upon UX, from imagining users through personas, enlisting testers for new concepts, and intentionally making space for even the most surprising feedback from public audiences of all ages.

Check out the prototype digital exhibit for SYRIOS: https://syrios.uh.edu/



The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.  
In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. 

How did a meeting between the dictator Fidel Castro and a Houston congressman, Mickey Leland, help a young, Jewish prisoner in a labor camp become a successful doctor in Miami? Listen now for the story of Salomon Imiak.  

This episode was written and recorded by Devin Herrera, Nicole Hopkins, Christian Dodd, and Charis Wu as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).
The oral history with Salomon Imiak was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston).

Music courtesy of:
freesound.org
por el camino by Connie Mendez. Attribution NonCommercial 4.0. 

https://freemusicarchive.org/home
The Devil's Dance by Cuban Cowboys. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.
Come Again by Holizna. CC0 1.0.
le manège pour les Antilles by Jean Toba. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Funk and Flash by Blue Dot Sessions. CC BY-NC 4.0.
Sadness by Gurdonark. CC BY 3.0.
Thoughts by Gurdonark. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stereo Funk by M33 Project. CC BY-NC 4.0. 
The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.  
In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. Listen now for the story of Sara Esquenazi, a Cuban immigrant to Houston. 
This episode was written and recorded by Chloe Levy, Jenna Goodrich, Jesus Tobar, and Preston Parkhurst as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).
The oral history with Sara Esquenazi was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston). 
Music courtesy of: 
https://freepd.com/
https://freemusicarchive.org/home
“Sunset Soul” by Ketsa. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed.
“Cuban Heat” by John Bartmann. CC0 1.0 Deed. 
“La vieja” by Las Sirenas del Son. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed.
“Vida” by Lido Pimienta. CC BY-NC 2.0 CL Deed. 
“Nyghtlon. Classical Guitar Solo” by M33 Project. CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed. 
“Vino Tinto” by Serge Quadrado. CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed. 
“Worth Fighting For” by Independent Music Licensing Collective. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed. 
The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.  
In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. Listen now for the story of Enrique Kuperman, a Chilean immigrant who founded Hebraica Houston to serve the Latino-American Jewish community within the city. 
This episode was written and recorded by Sophia Le, Alena Aguilar, and Luis Zuluaga as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).
The oral history with Enrique Kuperman was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston). 
Music courtesy of: 
https://freepd.com/
https://freemusicarchive.org/home
“Dancing in the Fields” by One Man Book. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED
“El Elyon” by Psalters. Public Domain. 
“The Father, The Son, and the Harold Rubin” by Ehran Elisha, Harold Rubin and Him Elisha. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DEED
“Zemer Atik” by The Rosen Sisters. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED


The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

In Spring 2022, Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston) decided to try something new with his undergraduate history course. As a way of enriching his students’ engagement with Jewish Latinx culture, Goldberg partnered with Holocaust Museum Houston to guide his class through the recording and archiving of six interviews with members of this community. A year later on November 28, 2023, Goldberg sat down with one of his undergrads, Miranda Ruzinsky, to reflect on the intellectual and personal impact of their participation in the Sephardic Latinx Oral History Project. Their conversation demonstrates how revelatory an experience practicing public history can be for undergraduates - from learning how to actively listen when conducting an oral history to being part of building an archive of a hidden community to collectively presenting these living stories to a public audience.

To access the Sephardic Latinx Oral History Project: https://hmh.org/education/sephardic-latinx-oral-history-project/

To read more about student engagement in this project: https://www.uh.edu/provost/university/qep/sephardic-latinx-oral-history-project/

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/UH-students-worked-in-revolutionary-project-17131856.php
The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

In the practice of public history, how the wider community receives a project is just as important as the intentions behind its creation. As work done for and with public audiences, the exhibits, media, and spaces we cultivate form a dialogue where agency is shared, emotions are welcome, and diverse experiences are honored. As Dr. Stephen Vider comments in Season 2, “I think that we place so much emphasis on the intellectual value of our research, but I think many people engage with history in a much more bodily and affective way - in an emotional way - and I like how public history draws that out.”
In that spirit, join Aracely Lara, a first generation Mexican-American graduate student in public history, as she processes the “100 Years of Stories: Documenting a Century at the University of Houston” exhibit at the M.D. Anderson Library. Learn how she finds radical hope in the perseverance of alumnae before her like Yolanda Black Navarro, Maria Jimenez, and Graciela Saenz. 

This episode was researched, recorded, and produced by Aracely Lara for the Center of Public History at the University of Houston. 
To learn more: 
Gomez, Denise. “Yolanda Black Navarro: East End Reina.” Houston History 15.2 (April 2018): 8-12. Gomez, Denise. “A Life of Activism: Maria Jimenez.” Houston History 12.3 (July 2015): 14-18.Gomez, Stephanie. “Gracie Saenz’s Life of Public Service.” Houston History 15.2 (April 2018): 13-17. "Latina Leaders. 100 Years of Houston: 1997-2007." Houston Public Media.  Oral Histories from the UH Libraries Special Collections:
Jimenez, Maria. Feb. 25, 2012. Navarro Black, Yolanda. March 28, 2006. Saenz, Graciela Guzman; Grevious, Danielle & Bobadilla, Eladio. Oral History Interview with Graciela Guzman Saenz, July 8, 2016, video, July 8, 2016; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth984718/m1/: accessed Dec. 26, 2023), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting TCU Mary Couts Burnett Library.
Music via the Free Music Archive:
Gregor Quendel – “Debussy – Clair de Lune – L 75.mp3” - CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Monplaisir – “Red Hair, Blue Sky” and "Hélice" – Public DomainPatrick Davies – “Piano Medley For Those in Various Places.mp3” – Public DomainHoliznaCC0 – “Poor, But Happy” – Public DomainThe Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph