Public History Practicum: Internship and Project.

Catalog description

This course is focused on students' professionalization in the field of public history through the completion of an internship, a capstone project, and professional development opportunities. That professionalization will focus on gaining experience at an internship, mastering new hardware and software required in the field, and prepping candidacies for jobs or grad schools. Possible tasks to be developed during the internships and supported by the course include the following: editing publications and teacher resource materials, learning digital assets management systems, modeling creative exhibition layouts, researching with curators and undertaking curatorial support work (translation of audio, labels, creating derivative images with Photoshop, etc.), participating in archaeological excavations, handling fragile materials and undertaking their preservation, training in qualitative data analysis software, cataloging collections in parks and museums, designing interpretive programs on historical topics, designing teacher training programs that offer lesson plans based on an institution’s resources, developing community outreach (ex. traveling exhibits, blogging about sites or collections, or commemorative programming), and working with development offices to apply for grants and funding. Though not all of these skills can be honed in a single internship or course series, students should become well-acquainted with a wide range of possibilities in the field of public history and work toward developing those most relevant for their career interests. Grade Mode: P/NP.