SMH Public History Award

Through the generosity of SMH Trustee Miranda Summers-Lowe and her spouse, Justin Lowe, the Society has established an annual award that recognizes the contribution of public historians to the field of military history. The award focuses on the doing of public history and does not necessarily favor traditional publishing.

The winner is recognized, and the $500 award presented, at the awards ceremony at the Society’s annual meeting.

Anyone working in the following capacities may apply: historical consultants, museum professionals, historical exhibit designers, government historians, archivists, oral historians, cultural resource managers, digital historians, curators, film and media producers, historical interpreters, historic preservationists, policy advisers, local historians, and community activists. (Applicable fields are drawn from the National Council on Public History’s description of the field, modified as necessary by SMH.)

You may nominate yourself or your organization, or nominate someone else for their contribution.

Email the following to the chair of the SMH Public History Award Committee, as double-spaced PDF files:

• a 2 to 3 page précis explaining the individual or organizational contribution, including the work’s focus, contribution, and conclusions, its place in the relevant historiography, and any innovative methodologies that shape it;
• a current curriculum vitae.

Nominations for projects such as videos, recordings, books and similar productions should include digital copies, submitted with the précis and curriculum vitae. If a file is too large to attach, include a link to online storage such as Google Drive.

The SMH Public History Award Committee selects the winner, an individual or an organization, whose work in the previous calendar year contributes the most to the broader public reflection and appreciation of the past, or serves as a model of public history practice, while emphasizing and highlighting the importance of military history.