Reflections on NCPH/AASLH Public History Conference

Posted October 2, 2026 by Ashten Vassar-Cain

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending “The Work of Revolution” joint
conference of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) and the American
Association of State and Local History (AASLH) in Providence, Rhode Island. This was
the first joint conference of the organizations, and my first time attending a conference
centered on public history!

​ I was eager to learn how public history projects and institutions of varying
size/capacity are adapting to new and ongoing challenges in the field. The conference
sessions directly engaged participants and posed meaningful questions for students,
scholars, and practitioners grappling with increased censorship and slashed budgets.
Even with these named tensions, the conference curated an atmosphere for collective
problem-solving and action. NCPH and AASLH aptly described the theme as a
“reflection on the work of revolutions past and the work that lies ahead.”

​ I represented the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance in a roundtable
discussion titled “Who’s In Control?: Digitally Archiving Disability and Self-Advocacy.”
We shared our approach to reparative metadata and collaboration with individuals with
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), many of whom had survived
institutions like Pennhurst. Unfortunately, people with disabilities have been historically
left out of decision-making in LAMs. With concurrent legislative attacks on both disability
rights and public history, we felt that it was important to meaningfully engage with our
collections, which mostly consist of protest and activism collections originated by people
with disabilities.

​ Our session explored political agency, accessibility, disability history and culture,
and challenged oppressive narratives about whose history is remembered. We also
heard from audience participants on how disability shows up (or is absent from) their
institutions, whether in collections, leadership, or policy.

​ In addition to traditional panels, this conference offered historical tours through
libraries, cemeteries, and other significant destinations, as well as targeted workshops
on special topics. Of the conferences I’ve attended so far, this one stood out for its
commitment to presenting history in multiple formats, which I greatly appreciated.