IMAGINING THE FUTURE OF URBAN HISTORY: DIGITAL TOOLS AND COLLABORATION
UHA Zoom Panel
Thursday, July 24, 2025
12 Noon, EDT
Event Description:
The way we do urban history is changing. In 2023, the American Historical Association approved guidelines that broadened the definition of historical scholarship. In addition to traditional modes of historical writing, such as academic monographs and peer-reviewed journal articles, the new AHA guidelines also include op-eds, public lectures, podcasts, and other formats.
Join us for a dynamic academic event featuring a panel that surveys various ways in which artists, scholars, and critics are embracing new methods in urban history. The discussion will highlight digital archiving, public history initiatives, and the impact of digital tools on historical scholarship and education. This panel offers a unique opportunity to engage with current debates and future directions in the rapidly evolving field of digital history. Open to students, faculty, and the public.
Join us! Upon registration, you will receive an email to confirm your registration and a Zoom link for the event.
Ryan Purcell, Moderator
Modern American History
Fordham University
Jessica Lynne
Writer, critic, and founding editor of ARTS.BLACK, an online journal of art criticism from Black perspectives.
Lynne’s five-part audio series features a dynamic cast of speakers who reflect on the legacy and cultural impact of the Harlem Renaissance.
See Lynne’s podcast on the Harlem Renaissance for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harlem is Everywhere
Stephen Petrus, Director of Public History Programs
LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
Petrus’s work demonstrates how digital historical exhibitions can expand audiences and deliver the content directly to classrooms.
See Petrus’s online exhibit The Battle for Intro. 2: The New York City Gay Rights Bill, 1971-1986
Eric Haeusler, Postdoctoral Research Scholar
D-ARCH, ETH Zürich
and
Thomas Hänsli, Director GTA Digital
The Archive of the Urban Age combines historical scholarship with cutting-edge digital methods to reinterpret the emergence of the “Urban Age” as a global discourse. At its core is the journal Ekistics (1955–2007), a rich but under explored archive of debates on cities, planning, and urban futures. Through AI-assisted digitization, semantic modeling, and large language models, the project creates an open-access, machine-readable research platform that enables new forms of inquiry into urban history.
Genji Siraisi, Executive Director
MOMENT NYC
MOMENT is the past, present, and future of music as seen through the unique lens of New York City. A collective archive and living museum of music, dedicated to the history of cultural diversity in NYC.
Learn more about MOMENT NYC here.