Chair: R. Darrell Meadows, National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Presenters:
• Leslie Rowland, University of Maryland, College Park
• Tenisha Armstrong, Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University
• Andrew Torget, University of North Texas
• Joshua Rothman, University of Alabama
Although the actual work of conceptualizing, executing and managing large-scale documentary editions and database projects has sometimes gone unnoticed, historians have for decades played an instrumental role in this most fundamental act of scholarship and professional service. This panel calls attention to the value of large-scale projects that have advanced the profession in fundamental ways, and suggests the multiple benefits that can accrue to the historians and departments that choose to adopt and sustain them. It asks: How have historical documentary editions and database projects shaped historical study and training, and how might they in future? Discussants will offer brief opening remarks, to be followed by extended Q&A involving discussants, moderator, and audience alike.
Recorded in April 2018 at the OAH Annual Meeting held in Sacremento, California as part of the Mellon-funded Amplified Initiative.