Digital scholarship and media continue to transform historical inquiry, research, teaching, and learning. The field of American history is larger and more diverse now than it has ever been. This expansion has given rise to new approaches to historical inquiry (from podcasts to historical visualizations). Now, perhaps more than ever, historians are bringing their expertise to bear on contemporary issues, often using media to highlight recent advancements in the field. They are also demonstrating to the public how prompts from the present inform the discipline of history. The digital landscape has been essential to all of these matters. Yet, these developments have also engendered backlash. Even prior to the current restrictions on the teaching of American history, a good portion of new scholarship rarely reached audiences who might learn from it. We at New American History have resolved to use the digital landscape (and many of its tools) to help educators and the public better understand the discipline, especially given the contemporary attacks on the legitimacy of the field.

Accessibility, particularly in a time of growing restrictions, is imperative to the future of the field. Historian Ed Ayers has recently assembled a group of professional historians, teachers, and media experts to precisely do just this. New American History "explores America’s past, harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity and inquiry. Its core projects are Bunk, a curated remix of contemporary online content, and American Panorama, an interactive digital atlas. We also partner with others who share our commitment to innovative public history."

This session contemplates how recent digital scholarship (e.g., Mapping Inequality and Bunk Maps) and digital media such as Bunk History and New American History have made history more accessible—not merely for professional historians, but also for educators and popular audiences. We will explore these endeavors with historians and educators who are interested in the relationship between history and the digital world. During this session:

Participants will consider how professional historians, educators, public historians, the museum community, et al can use digital scholarship to learn about new historical thinking.

The group will also explore how digital scholarship seeks to expedite access to the most current ideas and techniques in American history scholarship. Julian Hayter and Annie Evans intend to walk participants through sites such as Bunk to familiarize the audience with the process.

Participants will then contemplate how we can work to integrate digital scholarship tools and resources to better understand the American past, how historians make history, and how educators might use these tools to reimagine the teaching of American history.

Ultimately, we hope that this session will inspire professional historians and educators to use these tools to make the field more accessible and even more teachable.