History, the Past and Public Culture: An Exploratory Survey

FAIN: RJ-268875-19

AHA (Washington, DC 20003-3807)
Dana Lanier Schaffer (Project Director: May 2019 to October 2022)
Krista Jenkins (Co Project Director: August 2019 to October 2022)
Peter Burkholder (Co Project Director: August 2019 to October 2022)

A cooperative agreement between the American Historical Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities to survey Americans about their perceptions of, and engagement with, history and the past. (14 months)

In collaboration with Fairleigh Dickinson University and its distinguished survey research center, FDU Poll, the American Historical Association (AHA) proposes to conduct a national survey of approximately 1,500 members of the American public to assess perceptions of, and engagement with, history and the past. The project builds on and extends the NEH-funded work completed 25 years ago by Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen titled The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life (Columbia University Press, 2000).

Associated Products

History, the Past, and Public Culture: Results from a National Survey (Web Resource)
Title: History, the Past, and Public Culture: Results from a National Survey
Author: Dana Schaffer
Author: Peter Burkholder
Abstract: With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the AHA partnered with Fairleigh Dickinson University to develop and implement a national survey to assess public perceptions of, and engagement with, the discipline of history and the past. The 40-question survey explores the public’s definition of the term “history,” where audiences access history, which sources of history are perceived to be reliable, their historical learning experiences, attitudes toward historical revision, correlations between civic engagement and an interest in history, and the perceived value of history. The report provides as much survey data as possible for these topics, in a user-friendly format including over 150 charts illustrating our results. Complete raw survey data are available for download for those wanting to explore these topics in more depth.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.historians.org/history-culture-survey

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