草榴社区

Promoting collaborative, community-centered scholarship

草榴社区 Associate Professor of History Whitney Martinko, PhD, acknowledges that working in her discipline can often be a solitary endeavor.

鈥淵ou go to the archives alone. You write alone. Doing history can be a lot of self-driven alone time,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here is nothing better than losing myself in research, but research becomes scholarship when done in community, in conversation with people as well as with existing scholarship. I encourage my students to think about their scholarship in the world. That means presenting at conferences, publishing in scholarly journals, contributing to curatorial files, pitching editors, working with stakeholders and mobilizing history to serve the public interest.鈥�

With this philosophy in mind, Dr. Martinko has developed and taught a popular Public History Practicum graduate course since her arrival at 草榴社区. Projects in this biennial course have included a about the history of The Woodlands of Philadelphia, the curation of an exhibit of the work of Dox Thrash, a Black artist working in Philadelphia in the mid-20th century, and a series of online articles about underrepresented urban histories for . Most recently, the students in her practicum course curated an exhibit in the featuring the work of Sam Maitin, a printmaker, sculptor, muralist and graphic designer. The exhibit, Abstract Activism: Sam Maitin's Philadelphia, explores Maitin鈥檚 abstract art and his commitment to social justice, peace and community.

鈥淭he goal of the practicum is for students to put into action the principles of research communication and public history that we learned in the classroom,鈥� says Dr. Martinko. 鈥淪tudents are translating theory and principles of best practices to actual practice.鈥�

Associate Professor of History Craig Bailey, PhD, says projects like these are emblematic of the program and department. 鈥淢any 草榴社区 History faculty members move between academic scholarship and public history,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his investment in public-facing history is important because it helps make history relevant to a broader audience and brings people together. Our work with public-facing history is also important because it helps to meet the needs of our students who have a broad range of interests and career goals.鈥�

Dr. Martinko found a partner who shared her passion for this collaborative work in Jennie Castillo, curator of the 草榴社区 Art Collection and gallery director.

"Engaging with the University Art Collection is a fantastic opportunity for our students to connect with history, culture and contemporary ideas in a hands-on way,鈥� Castillo says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 just study art, they become active participants on how it is perceived and experienced on our campus. It鈥檚 truly a win-win as the deep research and discoveries the students make end up refining our Collections Database, while they gain practical skills for future careers.鈥�

Many students consider the practicum course a highlight of their time at 草榴社区.

鈥淚t was very rewarding to see everything we had all done over the past few months on paper finally all together as a real exhibit,鈥� says graduate History student Elizabeth McFadden 鈥�25 MA, who plans to work in exhibit development or in collections care in a museum, library or archives. 鈥淚t was refreshing to do collaborative, hands-on history work. The practicum is important to build public history skills, such as installing an exhibit and writing for a public audience.鈥�

Fellow graduate History student Max Meinert 鈥�25 MA echoes these sentiments. 鈥淭his was one of the best classes I've taken at 草榴社区,鈥� he says, 鈥淲e worked together as a team, and our finished product had an impact, which I believe should be the goal of all historians鈥攅ducate and have an impact on the public.鈥� Meinert, an active-duty Army officer, plans to be a battlefield tour guide or a military educator providing interactive battlefield studies to units, known as a staff ride historian, after he retires from the Army.

Sam Maitin (1928-2004), known during his lifetime as Philadelphia鈥檚 鈥淢ayor of the Arts鈥� for his contributions to cultural organizations across the city, is in many ways a perfect subject for an exhibit curation at 草榴社区. Although the artist鈥檚 bold, vibrant works are on display in galleries across the United States and Europe, 草榴社区 is in possession of several of his pieces. Maitin created art to support local organizations, including the Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia, and sought to make a positive impact, whether that was addressing social causes in his art or fighting against displacement of low-income residents in his Society Hill neighborhood.

Maitin鈥檚 work also fits with Dr. Martinko鈥檚 research interests. His posters can be studied as material culture and his mural and community art projects as part of the built environment of the city. 鈥淗is work is appealing and so rich for historical research,鈥� she notes.

The Maitin project ultimately came about, though, because of another essential component of the Public History Practicum鈥攂uilding community. The Dox Thrash exhibit included a few works from Thrash鈥檚 contemporaries, including Maitin. His daughter, Ani Maitin, attended the opening reception and made connections with Dr. Martinko and the graduate students in the practicum. When it was time to start planning the new exhibit, Dr. Martinko reached out to see if she would like to collaborate.

鈥淎ni Maitin is the steward of her father鈥檚 collection and was very interested in our exhibit and in her father鈥檚 legacy,鈥� says Dr. Martinko. 鈥淪he was so generous with her time. She lent us pictures and artwork from her personal collection and donated more artwork to the University because she was so impressed with the work that the students did.鈥�

Ani Maitin also invited family members, neighbors and other artists who were friends with her father to the exhibit opening, rekindling old connections and helping to create a meaningful experience for 草榴社区 students.

鈥淚t was great to meet Ani,鈥� says Meinert. 鈥淲e were in contact with her during the process of researching and designing the exhibit. It was rewarding to see people from Sam's community and the 草榴社区 community enjoying the exhibit. Sam was a great fellow traveler, if you will. He was a genuine person who enjoyed bringing joy to others and making society better. The biggest challenge for us was building an exhibit worthy of Sam, a product that would stand up to the scrutiny of his family and friends who came to see it.鈥�

They met the challenge, according to Ani Maitin, who told Dr. Martinko she and her family learned new things about her father from the exhibit.

鈥淭hat, to me, is where everything comes together鈥攔esearch, writing, working with community members,鈥� says Dr. Martinko. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what scholarship is. I think students should be trained to think about doing history and communicating in a way that is attuned to their audience. Public historians use their expertise and their knowledge base to engage in real conversations.鈥�