Presented by Katie Wu and Louis P. Nelson
In a moment shaped by historic national polarization and disembodied lives spent increasingly online, this book argues that historic sites — including historic courthouses, churches, walking trails, house museums, local monuments, and others — must be used by community leaders to catalyze weighty conversations about our American present and future. The most effective mechanism to counteract these anti-democratic trends is to reconstitute local historic places as centers of community conversations and reflection about our nation’s history, especially across differences.
Katie Wu is a third-year Ph.D. student in the History department at Universit of Virginia. Her work focuses on post-Civil War America, with a particular focus on race, land, and memory. She is interested in the cultural and political landscape animating movements for reparations in the long 20th century.
Louis P. Nelson, Vice Provost for Academic Outreach at University of Virginia, is the primary advocate and representative for community engagement, public service, and academic outreach programs across the university.
