History 394PI - History and Its Publics

Public historians--whether they work in museums, archives, historic sites, historic preservation firms or agencies, federal offices or elsewhere--take historical insight cultivated in traditional academic arenas and apply them in a wide range of public settings. That complex work raises a wide range of questions, from the nature of scholarly expertise itself, to historical power issues inherent as archivists, preservationists and curators make choices about what is, and is not, preserved, to the practical matters that shape "applied history." This hands-on introductory course explores the distinct challenges and rewards of "putting history to work in the world."

Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only. History is a tightly woven "bundle of silences." This course will examine how public history, a practice that makes history accessible to broader audiences, can tighten or unravel those bundles. Who benefits from historical erasure and how does it work? How do institutions, public spaces, and everyday practices construct our understanding of the past? This course will highlight public history practices that confront colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy. Workers, survivors of state violence, activists, and academics, have used public history to intervene in political debates. Some have gone further, using history to identify strategies for how we get free.

This course fulfills the Integrative Experience requirement for primary history majors.