Karin Bijsterveld has guest-edited a Special Issue of The Public Historian on ‘Auditory History’, published in November 2015.
The special issue explores the use of sound in public history scholarship and practice. What kind of techniques can help reactivate auditory memories in those we interview? How can historians offer their audiences access to the sounds of the past, and unravel the shared or contested meanings these sounds had in the ages forgone? How can such an auditory history create new forms of public engagement with the past, and contribute to our knowledge of history at large?
Anna Harris has contributed an article on “Eliciting Sound Memories”, and Karin Bijsterveld authored “Ears-on Exhibitions: Sound in the History Museum.” The special issue also features articles by Carolyn Birdsall, Manon Parry & Viktoria Tkaczyk, Mark Katz & David VanderHamm, Emily Thompson, Mark M. Smith, and David Suisman.