Telling Our History: Presenting Marymount History at the American Association for State and Local History Conference

By Laura Haushalter (HIST & EVST '26)

In September 2025, I had the opportunity to attend and present research at the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Annual Conference with Sam Qualls (WGST & SOCL '26). The four-day conference, hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio, provided wonderful opportunities to learn about public history and share original research, all while I made connections to my own education at LMU. I am a double major in history and environmental studies, with interests in museum studies, social justice, and place-based history. The AASLH was the perfect place to explore those interests.

During the conference, I attended panel sessions about connecting local history to national stories, the importance of museums for democracy, and the role of museums in chaotic and turbulent times. I attended workshops on museum ethics and writing museum labels, which was so popular I had to sit on the floor because every chair was full.

The AASLH was incredibly welcoming. I went to a first-time attendee networking reception, as well as to a fun "AASLH After Hours" event with stand-up history comedians, karaoke, and silly history games. The Ohio Local History Alliance partnered with the AASLH to introduce us to Ohio; I appreciated the OLHA booth where I got to talk with a representative and learn about cool places to run in Cincinnati and about the historic sites I would pass while running alongside the Ohio River.

The sessions I attended connected to my education at LMU. In the fall of 2024, I took the class "HIST 2910: Telling History in Public," with Professor Elizabeth Drummond, where we read about the Tenement Museum in New York. At the AALSH, I got to listen to Kat Lloyd, director of programs for the Tenement Museum and hear first-hand about the museum's work with place-based immigration history, directly connecting to the readings I had done in class. In the spring of 2024, I took the class "HIST 3910: Museums, Landscape, and Empire," with Professor Amy Woodson-Boulton, where we discussed the role of museums and how museums are dealing with their own difficult histories. At the AALSH, I had the opportunity to explore these topics through panels on museum ethics and conversations with museum curators from local and large museums.

While I had so much fun exploring the conference, Sam and I were in Ohio for a purpose: to present at the poster session hosted by the National Council on Public History. We presented the project, "The Marymount Tradition: A student-led oral history and digital humanities seminar centered on the legacy of Women Religious at Loyola Marymount." Our project was the culmination of work done in Professor Mairead Sullivan's class "WGST: 4998: The Marymount Tradition." In this seminar, we worked collaboratively to preserve and showcase the history of Marymount College, the Loyola-Marymount merger, and the communities of women religious who shaped LMU and the greater Los Angeles area.

We had a crowd at our poster for the entire duration of the poster session. Sam and I received positive feedback on our methodology, especially our research in LMU's Archives and Special Collections at the William H. Hannon Library. We received questions about how we collected oral histories and how we dealt with small research setbacks. It was rewarding to connect with people who had some form of connection to women's education. It was moving to talk to attendees from women's schools that did not get merged but rather were absorbed by a men's school. These conversations made me even more grateful for the women religious who fought to keep the Marymount identity at LMU. I left the poster session feeling proud of the work I did and proud of my school. The AASLH allowed me to showcase the hands-on work, research, oral histories, and public history experiences I have had at LMU, unique experiences for undergraduates. I am grateful to the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts, the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the Department of Archives & Special Collections at the William H. Hannon Library, the University Honors Program, Professors Elizabeth Drummond and Mairead Sullivan, and all those tied to the Marymount Tradition for their support with this project.