HIST 405

HIST 405
Topics in Public History

Catalog Entry

HIST 405
Public History
Three hours lecture: (3)

Prerequisite: Three hours of HIST at the 100 level.

Detailed study of topics in Public History. A new course syllabus is available each time the course is offered. Among other possibilities, course topics might range from historic preservation, the management of cultural resources, doing local and community history, or working with public and private historical organizations and agencies.

Note(s): Applied Learning designated course. This course may be taken more than once for credit with a different topic.

Detailed Description of Content of Course

This course is designed as an advanced study in the field of Public History. The course syllabus may change with each iteration of the course to provide for the scholarly exploration of the broad diversity of public history topics, methodologies, and current departmental interests. In the context of a well-defined theme or topic, the course will focus on specific questions and issues that pertain to the promotion, appreciation, and application of historical knowledge and skills in the public and private sectors, including the preservation, interpretation, and management of public and private historical resources. Thus, the topic for a specific iteration of the course is the prerogative of the instructor, who will bring a unique focus to the offering. Such foci might include exploring aspects of historic preservation, managing of cultural resources, doing local and community history, working with public and private historical organizations and agencies, or including professional historians in public policy and business.

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

This course may combine lectures, class discussions based on assigned readings, media presentations, guest speakers, diverse writing assignments, focused projects, and field trips to create a classroom environment that is based on student engagement. The course will also require collaborative research opportunities in both traditional library-based sources and in experiential settings. The course will provide the academic support services that students need in order to succeed.

Goals and Objectives of the Course

Students will practice thinking critically and analytically about historical issues, acquire a broader knowledge and deeper understanding of pertinent historical events and processes, and cultivate a familiarity with the concepts of historical argument and interpretation.
Students will develop disciplinary research skills by designing strategies to locate and analyze primary and secondary source evidence, processing and organizing the resultant data, and composing proper citation and bibliographical entries.
Students will apply their critical thinking, research, and compositional skills to the creation and presentation of thesis-driven essays that discuss, for example, historical social, economic, political, and/or cultural developments and that address issues such as the causes and consequences of historical change and continuity.
Students will apply the methodologies pertinent to conducting focused work on a particular field or fields of Public History in the context of an experience at depth.

Assessment Measures

Knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this course will be measured using an array of assessment tools that may include, among other things, class attendance and participation, written examinations, formal writing assignments of various types, informal writing assignments, and major projects, group or individual. All exercises are designed to expand the students' abilities to evaluate historical events and to develop their ability to compose persuasive arguments.

Other Course Information

None

Review and Approval
October 2010 Reviewed and Approved by Sharon A. Roger Hepburn, Chair

04/2011

August 2020

June 12, 2025