Introduction to Public History

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the practice of public history and its intellectual foundations. Through class discussions and assignments, we will examine the activities of public historians and the issues they face in their work. Public history encompasses a variety of occupations which all involve, to some degree, collecting, preserving, and interpreting history for the public. Public historians are well-trained historians who may work as museum curators and educators, historic site interpreters, archivists, oral historians, community activists, film and digital media producers, or historic preservationists. In addition to looking at the many areas of public history, we will examine related theoretical constructs like heritage, community, commemoration, and memory, and we will explore the many methods of engaging audiences. Class assignments will include a service learning component to apply the material learned in the classroom.