Public History & Philly

  In this week’s readings of Hannah Hethmon’s Your Museum Needs a Podcast , Hethmon presents a mode of public communication, podcasting, which can help a broadcaster connect with a community or specific audience. Hethmon explains that though podcasting may appear strange and unorthodox as a means of historic outreach, it is an impactful and lucrative way to give history attention. [1] Hethmon proclaims that ultimately, podcasts that can state their purpose while telling a story are usually the most successful among listeners. [2] I agree with Hethmon in that it is vital to keep the community aware of why certain histories should be of interest to them. I am also aware that though one may try to engage with a certain audience and have an audience’s unwavering attention, the topic at hand may not always engage the audience as intended (some may view material as too radical, sensitive, or boring). In this case, I believe that having a purpose and putting in total effort to the podca...

  My name is Jeanette Dianne Bendolph and I am an alumna of the University of Delaware. During my undergraduate career, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and minors in Museum Studies and Africana Studies. My public history background includes my experience creating a children’s program, curation and creation of an exhibition, and participation in a collegiate history symposium. For my children’s program, I was required to document past Delawarean laws (18 th century to the 20 th century) concerning school desegregation, immigration, and eminent domain in order for kids to compare how citizens reacted towards these laws in the past vs. today. My summer research entailed the political and social climate of Victorian Britain for its Black citizens. The exhibition I created which was placed in the New Castle Historical Society of New Castle, Delaware in 2019 documented the activities which stimulated early childhood development in young New Castle Citizens of the 19 th and 20 t...