Popular discourse often collapses “the past” with “knowledge about the past,” or equates “interest in history” with the scholarly practice of doing history. Such elisions obscure the expertise, rigor, creativity, and methodological care involved in historical work. At the same time, they underscore the importance of articulating our methods in ways that are transparent and accessible to students, public audiences, administrators, policymakers, and one another.

This series of three interconnected conversations responds to that challenge by examining the core practices through which historians produce knowledge: research, analysis, and writing. Building on existing scholarship in history pedagogy and methodology, as well as education research and the scholarship on teaching and learning, participants will collectively assess current resources, identify shared practices and vocabulary, and draft language that communicates the distinctive intellectual work of historians.

Each session builds on each other, combining discussion of existing scholarship with collaborative analysis of examples drawn from participants’ own teaching and research. Together, these workshops aim to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive, community-generated, evidence-based History Methods resource that clarifies the processes, values, and expertise at the heart of historical thinking and practice. Workshop participants who sign up in advance will have access to a shared Google drive with readings and resources.

How do historians communicate knowledge about the past? This session explores the production and communication of historical knowledge as both a scholarly method and a craft, emphasizing the choices historians make in shaping arguments, evidence, narrative, and audience engagement. Participants will consider how historians organize interpretations, incorporate sources, construct narratives, and balance analytical precision with accessibility. The workshop also examines the relationship between writing and authority, asking how style, structure, genre, and voice shape the production and reception of historical knowledge across academic, public, and digital contexts. Through discussion of existing scholarship and collaborative analysis of examples, participants will identify shared principles and practices that define historical writing as a form of expertise rather than simple storytelling. Together, attendees will help draft common language that explains how historians write, revise, and present arguments grounded in evidence and interpretation. By articulating the intellectual and creative labor involved in historical writing, this session contributes to a broader effort to clarify the value and distinctiveness of doing history.