Thanks to the InDesign talents of Amy Platt, one of our graduate students, our draft plan is complete and ready for internal review. I sent the message below out to all of you students and the people who helped us with the project. I’ll keep you posted on the comments it receives.
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NPS Colleagues,
Greetings! As you may recall, I’m the Chief Ranger & Historian at FOVA, and I also teach history at Portland State University. Earlier this year, my NPS Public History Field School students began creating a prospective four-year podcasting plan for the NPS’ Civil War 150th Commemoration, and many of you and your colleagues helped out. Thank you!!
I’m happy to say that a draft document has been compiled and is now available for you to share thoughts or feedback before it is finalized.
You can find the draft document in a temporary online home here, in .pdf format: http://go.usa.gov/Zbf
Please feel free to share any feedback on the content of this student project with me directly by July 8, 2011. We’ll make any final tweaks and then post the final document shortly thereafter. With so many Civil War resources available in the NPS, narrowing it down to 47 units was extremely challenging. You may or may not agree on the sites and tangibles the class has chosen — and the vetting process was exceedingly challenging — but I welcome you to share any suggestions on the content (including the typos — yes, a few pesky ones made it past our editorial team).
Regardless of whether or not the plan comes to fruition, it represents a very strong example of how individual parks — some not traditionally associated to the Civil War — can be connected through a strong national framework.
Thank you for all of your support on this project; from the feedback I’ve received, it was a fun but demanding class that provided unparalleled access to units of the NPS! Also, a huge thanks to graduate student Amy Platt for producing the final draft in NPS format via InDesign.
Cheers,
Greg
P.S. In addition, a video compilation of their final presentations can be found on the class blog here: https://hst409509.wordpress.com/
Interpreting the American Civil War through Podcasts 