Research Projects
The Center for Public History conducts research of benefit to the larger Houston community and drawing on its faculty’s strength in energy, environmental, policy and urban history.
Current Projects
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Houston History, a triannual magazine produced by the CPH, is the voice of history and culture throughout the Houston area. To learn more visit their website. |
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Completed by graduate students and in partnership with the Houston Medical Forum, the moving and innovative online exhibit, To Bear Fruit for Our Race, tells the history of Houston’s African-American physicians. To learn more visit the online exhibit. |
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The Encyclopedia of American Environmental History, under contract with Facts on File, covers some 800 topics, reflects UH faculty’s leadership in this field, and offers UH public history students unique opportunities to learn about historical editing. |
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The Oral History of Houston is a comprehensive effort to identify important Houstonians and capture their histories for future generations. To learn more visit their website |
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Before the “Curse”: Petroleum, Politics, and Transnational Oil Companies in the Gulf of Guinea, Africa, 1960-1982, Kairn Klieman’s new book project, investigates relations between transnational oil companies, their home governments, and the early governments of three Gulf of Guinea states - The Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Angola. |
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The Houston History Archives, housed at the MD Anderson Library at the University of Houston, collects materials related to the region’s growth and development since the nineteenth century. To learn more visit their website |
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Coins: Heads and Tales of History, an exhibit on ancient coins designed and curated by students from Dr. Holt’s graduate course, ran during summer 2007 at the MD Anderson Library. |
Selected Past Projects
- Association of International Petroleum Negotiators History Project: The AIPN has recruited a history of its organization to be completed in 2006-2007.
- Bibliography of Houston Area Archival Resources
- Brown & Root Marine History Project: Joseph A. Pratt, Tyler Priest, Christopher J. Castaneda, Offshore Pioneers: Brown & Root and the History of Offshore Oil and Gas (1997).
- “Fresno Sanitary Landfill,” National Historic Landmark Nomination, National Parks Service
- Galveston Bay: Institute for Public History, Survey of Historical Sources on Galveston Bay (1998).
- History of the Amoco Corporation
- History of the Baker & Botts law firm
- History of the Houston-Galveston Research Council
- History of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic: William H. Kellar and Vaishali J. Patel, Kelesy-Seybold Clinic: A Legacy of Excellence in Health Care (1999).
- History of the National Petroleum Council: Joseph A. Pratt, William H. Becker, and William M. McClenahan Jr., Voice of the Marketplace: A History of the National Petroleum Council (2002).
- History of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry and Its Effects on Louisiana: A Study for the Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of Interior
- History of the Texas Eastern Corporation: Christopher J. Castaneda and Joseph A. Pratt, From Texas to the East: A Strategic History of Texas Eastern Corporation (1993).
- “Historical Significance of Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Texas,” National Heritage Area Nomination, National Park Service
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Consultation on and lectures for exhibit, The Modern West: American Landscapes, 1890-1950 (10/06-01/07).
- NAFTA Study, “Comparative Environmental Management in the Americas: Social, Cultural, and Legal Perspectives,”
- Shell Oil History Project
- Survey of Historical Sources on Galveston Bay
- Texas Commerce Banks History Project: Walter L. Buenger and Joseph A. Pratt, But Also Good Business: Texas Commerce Banks and the Financing of Houston and Texas, 1886-1986 (1986).
- Texas Department of Transportation Cultural Resources Study
- Texas Medical Center History
