HIST 2500 - Monuments, Museums, and Memory: Introduction to Public History (CZ and HF)

(3) Credit Hours

Museums, Monuments, and Memory introduces students to the practice of public history in its various forms as well as its methodological, theoretical, and ethical underpinnings. The course offers students opportunities to explore the diverse ways historians approach preserving and interpreting history and displaying historical research and topics to public audiences. Public historians practice history in a variety of settings. They may work as museum curators and educators, historic site interpreters, archivists, oral historians, community activists, film and digital media producers, or historic preservationists. They may be employed at nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions, corporations, government agencies, or as independent consultants. In working within these settings, public historians must be able to adapt their techniques and goals to the particular tasks while keeping the communities they serve in mind. The diverging purposes of each unique task and community leads public historians to constantly consider new questions and sources. Therefore, students in the course will also learn about the challenges and rewards of working collaboratively within communities of professionals and non-professionals in order to challenge past interpretations and provide avenues for new research and voices in the historical landscape. Every 2-3 semesters.
General Education Category: Individual and Global Citizenship or Humanities and Fine Arts