This course is designed to introduce students to the theoretical and practical dimensions of public history. Public history is history written primarily for the public and not an academic audience. We will study the work of historians within and outside of the academy who are engaged in educating the public in the places where the majority of people learn history: universities, museums, zoos, YouTube, archives, libraries, film, Wikipedia, social media and on tours. We will also study the ways in which the public is questioning the authority and ownership of history through the creation of their own historical projects.
Course Credits
3