Nothing Succeeds Like Succession: Ponderings on the Future of Public History

Abstract

This revised version of the presidential address delivered at the National Council on Public History's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. extrapolates the question of succession within the leadership of the cultural resources management (CRM) industry to public history in general. A shift in leadership is beginning to occur both within CRM and within public history. The paper explores some of the issues associated with succession and attempts to outline a basic approach to educating the next generation of public historians.