HIS 3325 - History Outside the Classroom: The Practice of Public History

Credits: 4

This course introduces students to the practice, theory, and debates of the field of public history. Public History is historical work undertaken outside traditional classroom settings that is interpreted and consumed by the public audiences. A key goal of public history is to connect with public audiences and engage them in the process of historical creation. It can take many different forms: museum exhibits, historic sites, oral history interviews, archives, digital technologies, and documentaries, among many others. This course will provide students with a broad introduction to the many different ways in which the discipline of history can be explored outside of the classroom. The course also emphasizes experiential learning providing students with opportunities to conduct hands-on research and explore the variety of career paths available to public historians. We will pay particular attention to the wealth of public history sites in the local community. The first half of the course will examine the theory of public history and the ways in which people remember and use the past. The remainder of the course will explore the applications of these concepts in sub-fields of public history and the challenges and rewards of public history professionals in these fields. Among the questions we will explore together are: How is history communicated to, shared with, and made by the public? How does memory of the past shape our understanding of the present? What is the relationship between history and tourism? What challenges do public historians face in tackling controversial topics? Whose histories are told and why? What is the relationship between public and traditional academic history?
Fulfills: Fulfills H in LS Core.
Note: This course is usually not appropriate for freshmen.