History Department Breathes New Life into Annual Forum

Members of the Department of History recently collaborated to revitalize and improve its annual forum, an event that has been held for nearly 50 years.

Preserving the City: Seen and Unseen will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Blakey Center at 1908 Wiley Avenue, in the historic Hill District neighborhood. This marks the first time the History Forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held off campus.

“We wanted this year’s history forum to be not only about academic history, but about the history that impacts people’s everyday lives, shapes where they live and how they think about their neighborhoods,” said Dr. Alima Bucciantini, assistant professor of history and director of graduate research in history and public history.

Bucciantini explained that she and other organizers worked to make this year’s event more vibrant, with topics including the building of August Wilson Park and the importance of naming spaces after historical figures.

Helen Mahan and David Goldstein, both urban fellows for the National Park Service, will present Mapping Untold Stories of the Urban Landscape in Philadelphia and Detroit: 100 Years of National Park Service.

A roundtable discussion will address issues of urban history and preservation in Pittsburgh and beyond. Panelists include Mahan, Goldstein, Susan Rademacher, parks curator for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and Albert Tannier, historical collections director for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

“The National Parks Service just celebrated its centenary and so we are honored to host two of its urban fellows here and to have the forum in the Hill District, where so many of great stories of Pittsburgh have been told, are being preserved and are being revitalized,” Bucciantini added.

A light luncheon will be served at the History Forum. Register online, call 412.396.2559 or email bucciantinia@duq.edu.