NOTE:  If you have a disability, please let me know early in the semester if I can help to
accommodate your needs.
 

Introduction

Public history has three meanings.  Most often it refers to the employment of historians in
history-related work outside of academia.  Thus, we find historians working in archives, museums,
historic sites, state and local historical agencies, newspapers, businesses, trade and labor
organizations, and in all levels of government.  They work as editors, archivists, oral historians,
administrators, curators, historic preservation specialists, writers, public policy analysts--and, lest
we forget, as historians!

The second meaning of  public history refers to the ways in which history is created and presented
in the public arena by professional historians.  “Professional historians” includes those who have
studied history in colleges, universities, and in other settings, and who make their living as
teachers and scholars of history.  They may work in schools, colleges and universities, museums,
historical societies, and other settings, but the most distinguishing characteristic of these
professional historians is that they create and present history to the general public–and sometimes
with the public.

The third meaning of public history involves the presentation of the past for public citizens by a
host of professional and non-professional historians in ways that are especially important in
shaping collective memory in America.  These presentations may be brief or extensive.  They
occur on radio and television in news stories, features, and documentaries; in film; at
commemorative sites; in advertising; in speeches and other forms of public communication; in
mass textbooks; in historic markers, buildings, and districts; in fiction and docudramas; in
museums; and in countless other public venues.

This course is not an introduction to the opportunities and requirements for each subfield of
public history mentioned in the first paragraph.  Instead, we will focus on the second and third
meanings of public history, and especially on the connection between history and public history.
We will explore some of the many ways people create and convey history, some of the major
themes in community and social history, and the problems and possibilities of working as
historians in public settings. We should be especially mindful that in the Public History
Specialization, and in this course, we emphasize the importance of collaborative community
history--learning how to develop sound community-based public history programs. Much of
the reading will address this issue.

In the syllabus, I have tried to emphasize the relationship between public history, American
culture, and popular memory.  This interdisciplinary approach to public history is more
appropriate–and should be more useful–to students who are considering careers in museums,
historical societies, archives, and historic preservation agencies whose missions focus on a broad
range of American culture.

Course requirements are designed to accomplish several objectives.  The readings and discussion
will introduce you to some of the current questions and concerns of social and public historians, and
scholars in American studies and popular culture. They also are intended to help you think about how
to become imaginative and effective public historians, the need to integrate more history into public history,
and ways of working more closely with other citizens in the common enterprise of reconstructing
individual and collective pasts.  You should master the required readings, and come to class prepared to
discuss them. You must participate in class discussions in order to get engaged in the discussion about
issues and concerns, and, more important, to participate actively in your own education.
 

Major Assignments

1.      Master the required readings, and come to class prepared to discuss them.  You
         must participate in class discussions in order to get engaged in the broader
         discussion about issues and concerns, and, more important, to participate actively
         in your own education.  To facilitate this participation, you must prepare brief
         summaries of the main arguments of each week's readings.  These will not be
         graded. but they will be useful in preparing for class discussions and the
         final paper.

2.     Write a three-page review of an exhibition in a history museum.  For examples of
        exhibition reviews, see the reviews that appear regularly in the Journal of American
        History and The Public Historian. Reviews should cover these subjects:
            1.   Exhibit title, name and location of host institution, names of principal exhibit creators,
                   sponsors or underwriters (if any), dates of exhibit, date(s) you viewed the exhibit.
            2.   Purpose(s) of exhibit.
            3.   The historical subject that is conveyed in the exhibit, and how it is conveyed
                  (use of artifacts, media, labels.)
            4.   Intended audience.
            5.   Your assessment of the overall content of the exhibit.   Does it reflect sound
                  scholarship, and the appropriate use and mix of artifacts, images, narrative?
                  Is the exhibit design effective?  Does it achieve its purpose(s)?

              DUE: October 10

3.        A three-page review of a history Web site.  For examples of history Web reviews,
           see the “Web Site Reviews” in the Journal of American History 88 (June 2001),
           317-323.  Reviews should conform to the guidelines found at the special Web site
           of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University:

            DUE: November 14

4.         A ten to fifteen page paper on “Self, Objectivity, and Public History,” based on
            class readings and discussions, and optional additional readings.  This paper should
            take its cue from issues raised in readings for September 9 as they pertain to your
            own experiences and interests as a public historian, and to other course readings.
            Explain what you want to accomplish as a public historian, and explore how your
            values and beliefs shape your goals and might also create problems in working with
            diverse constituencies.  We will explore these issues throughout the semester as we
            discuss the readings, and arrive at some tentative conclusions about our
            deliberations in the last class meeting.

          DUE: December 12

Criteria for Evaluating Student Work

Class Participation

Class meetings are designed to raise questions and to clarify information about public history.
Because you seek careers in public history, course content should help you to become better
prepared for your work.  Hence, you are expected to attend class regularly, to have read
assignments before coming to class, and to participate in discussions about reading assignments
and issues and questions raised by class members.  By attending class “regularly” I mean that
you should attend every class.  Period.  Yet I do realize that illness and other unavoidable life
incidents occasionally require people to miss class.  I will not take attendance, nor do I need to
know the reason for absences.  I assume that if people miss class they must have a pressing need
to do so.  I also assume that people who do not attend class will learn what information and
insights they missed.

Participating in discussions means that you should contribute ideas, understandings, and
questions about class topics that help to clarify and advance the subject under discussion.  What
you say in class should reveal a sound understanding of  the readings and other course material..
You should feel free to question, defend, and criticize any aspect of course content.  If you do not
understand what you read or what others say in class, please ask for clarification.  Overall, your
class participation will be evaluated by the quality of your participation, not by how frequently
you talk.

Exhibit Review

The review will be evaluated according to how thoroughly and how well it conforms to the
criteria established above under “assignments," and how closely it resembles exhibit reviews in
professional journals.

Web Site Review

The review will be evaluated according to how thoroughly and how well it conforms to the
criteria established above under “assignments," and how closely it resembles Web site reviews in
professional journals.

Final Paper
The criteria for evaluating this paper includes how well it reflects: 1) a good understanding of
issues raised in the readings and class discussions; and 2) a serious effort to grapple with your past
and your professional expectations and goals for the future.

Grades

    Class participation:    25 percent
    Exhibit review:           25 percent
    Web site review:        25 percent
    Final paper:                25 percent

Core Readings

The following books are available in paperback at the University bookstore.  These and the other
required readings also are on reserve in the Golda Meir Library.

1.       Mike Wallace, Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory.
          Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
2.        T.H. Breen, Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories.  Reading: Addison-
          Wesley, 1989
3.     David Glassberg, Sense of History: The Place of the Past in American Life.
       Amherst: University of massachusetts Press, 2001.
4.       George Lipsitz, Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular
       Culture.  Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
5.       Jim Cullen, The Civil War in Popular Culture: A Reusable Past.  Washington:
          Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996.
6.       Robert Trent Toplin, History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American
       Past.  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.
 
 

                      SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS
 
 

Sept. 5       OVERVIEW AND ASSIGNMENTS

Sept. 12     WHAT IS PUBLIC HISTORY?
                    Does public history mean–or should it mean, as some suggest–merely “presenting
                    history to the public”?  Or are there possibly more meaningful ways to think about
                    how we construct history in America?  Ron Grele addresses these questions
                    directly.  Many other writers below do too.
                Assignment
                    1.   Read A thru G below. (Copies on reserve and in History common room.)
                          A.   Ronald J. Grele, "Whose Public? Whose History?  What is The
                                Goal of a Public Historian?" The Public Historian5 (Winter 1981),
                                40-48.
                          B.   Edward T. Linenthal, “Committing History in Public,” Journal of
                             American History 81 (December 1994), 986-991.
                          C.   Alan Brinkley, “Historians and Their Publics, Journal of American
                             History 81 (December 1994), 1027-1030.
                          D.   J. Theodore Karamanski, “Making History Whole: Public Service,
                                 Public History, and the Profession,” The Public Historian 12
                                 (Summer 1990), 91-101. (Put in PH 2)
                          E.   Wallace, Mickey Mouse History, "Introduction".
                          F.   Harvey Kaye, “Why Do the Ruling Classes Fear History?" In Kaye,
                           “Why do the Ruling Classes fear History"? and Other Questions
                                (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996), chapter 2.
                         G.   Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig, “Introduction”
                                in Benson, Brier, and Rosenzweig, eds., Presenting the Past: Essays on
                            History and the Public (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986).

              2.    Become familiar with the many history and public history organizations,
                         journals and web sites (many of which have extensive links to other public
                         history sites).
                         A.   American Historical Association.
                                Publishes American Historical Review (journal) and Perspectives
                                (newsletter).
                        B.    Organization of American Historians.
                                Publishes Journal of American History, the Magazine of History
                                (for teachers) and OAH Newsletter.
                        C.     National Council on Public History.
                                Publishes The Public Historian (journal), Public History News
                                (newsletter).
                        D.    American Association for State and Local History.
                                Publishes History News (magazine),Dispatch (newsletter), and
                                dozens of technical leaflets.
                        E.    American Association of Museums.
                                Publishes Museum News (magazine), and Aviso (newsletter).
                        F.     National Trust for Historic Preservation.
                                Publishes Preservation (magazine).
                        G.    Oral History Association.
                                Publishes Oral History Review (journal), and OHA Newsletter.
                        H.    Society of American Archivists.
                                Publishes American Archivist (journal), and Archival Outlook
                                (newsletter).
                        I.      Scholar's Guide to WWW
                                 A staggering array of links to sites dealing with history, the humanities,
                                 and social sciences.  The best place to start.
                        J.      Public History Resource Center.
                                 A new site with many useful resources.

           Other useful public history web sites:
                       A.   Center for History and New Media at George Mason University
                       B.   Historians and the Web
                       C.   Links for the History Profession (from the OAH)
                       D.   UWM Public History Specialization

Sept. 19     THE SELF, OBJECTIVITY, AND PUBLIC HISTORY?
                   Why do people become historians?  What is the relationship between who they are,
                    the reasons they become historians, and the subjects they write about?
                    Thereadings for this week raise questions you must address more fully in your
                    final paper.  The essays by Eric Foner and James Green are only two of many such
                    available essays that have appeared in various collections over the, but these are
                    written by two people who also have been involved in public history.  The other
                    essays appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of American History.

                   Assignment (Copies on reserve and in History common room.)
                    1.  Eric Foner, “My Life as a Historian,” in Foner, Who Owns History?
                    Rethinking the Past in a Changing World (New York: Hill and Wang,
                        2002), chapter 1.
                    2.   James Green, “Making Movement History,” in his Taking History to
                     Heart: The Power of the Past in Building Social Movements (Amherst:
                         University of Massachusetts Press, 2000), prologue.
                    3.   “Round Table: Self and Subject,” Journal of American History 89 (June
                          2002), 17-53.

        History Web Sites

            To prepare for your review of a history Web site, we will examine Web
             sites that were reviewed in a recent issue of the Journal of American
             History, and also read and discuss these reviews.  Here are the sites and the
             citations to the reviews:

                    Do History
                              Review: Jane Kamensky, JAH 88 (June 2001), 317-318.

                    Africans in America
                              Review: Tracey Weis, JAH 88 (June 2001), 318-319.

                    Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America
                              Review: David Phillips, JAH 88 (June 2001), 319-320.

                    Mark Twain in His Times
                              Review: Carl Smith, JAH 88 (June 2001), 320-321.

                    Panoramic Maps, 1847-1929
                             Review: Paul Petrik, JAH 88 (June 2001), 321-322.

                    The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: March 25, 1911
                              Review: Ellen Wiley Todd, JAH 88 (June 2001), 322-323.

                 5.         For other examples of on-line history exhibits and reviews, look at
                             some of the virtual exhibits and reviews of them listed below.
                             What is the relevance of these exhibits for public history?

                              Harvey Strum, “Creating American Jews,” The Public Historian 21 (Spring
                              1999), 161-165.  Exhibit:  Creating American Jews at the National Museum of
                              American  Jewish History.

                              Grace Palladino, “‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’: A History of American
                              Sweatshops, 1820-Present,”  The Public Historian 21 (Winter 1999), 143-147.
                              Exhibit: Between a Rock and a Hard Place at the National Museum of American
                              History.

                             Eugene P. Moehring, “Reconnecting the City: Encyclopedias and Urban History,”
                             The Public Historian 20 (Spring 1998), 63-67.
                             Site: Encyclopedia of Cleveland.

                             Michael Honey, “Doing Public History at the National Civil Rights Museum: A
                             Conversation with Junaita Moore,” The Public Historian 17 (Winter 1995),
                            71-84;  and Amy Wilson, review of the National Civil Rights Museum Permanent
                             Exhibition, Journal of American History 83 (December 1996), 971-976.
                             Exhibits at the National Civil Rights Museum.

                            Thomas J. Jablonsky, “Neighborhoods: Keepers of the Culture,” The Public
                         Historian 19 (Fall 1997), 94-98. Exhibit: Keepers of Culture at the Chicago
                             Historical Society.

                             Benamin Filene, “Settlement and Survival: Building Towns in the Chippewa
                             Valley, 1850-1925,” review of permanent exhibit at the Chippewa Valley
                             Museum  (Eau Claire, Wisconsin),  Journal of American History 84
                             June 1997), 167-172.  No virtual exhibition, but see anyway:
                             the Chippewa Vally Museum web site.

                             Craig R. Olson, “Michigan in the Twentieth Century,” review of permanent exhibit
                              at the Michigan Historical Museum, Journal of American History 84 (June
                              1997), 181-187. On-line version of this exhibit isn’t available, but there is a good
                              on-line exhibit of Michigan broadcasting from 1900-2000 at the
                           Michigan Historical Museum.

                             The Historical Society of Berks County, Massachusetts, has an on-line exhibit of
                             photographs of the county’s history.

                             The Common and Center Village exhibit at Old Sturbridge Village also can be
                              seen  on-line.

                          Oregon State Archives Online Exhibit, Salem, OR. This online exhibit of Oregon
                             history features over 100 separate Web pages and nearly 250 images. The
                             exhibit  interprets Oregon history primarily through documents and images held
                             by the  Oregon State Archives. Topics include prohibition in Oregon, a
                             notorious prison  escape, colorful Oregon trademarks, and more. A new exhibit
                             is added every two months.

                             Life at the Top in Jazz Age Toledo, a virtual exhibit at the Toledo Topics web
                             site.

                           The Hidden History of The Kovno Ghetto web exhibit at the United States
                             Holocaust Museum.
 

Sept. 26           THE WRITING OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP
                        TO PUBLIC HISTORY

                    In order to construct sound public history projects, public historians need to be
                    aware of American historiography.  How have American historians interpreted
                    American history?  There’s quite a difference, as you’ll see.  What are the many
                    sub-fields of American history?  What questions do historians ask about these
                    subjects?  What methodologies are they using to find answers?  We’ll explore and
                    discuss the major schools of historical writing since the early twentieth century.
                    Some of the optional essays in the collection edited by Eric Foner will begin to
                    shed light on additional questions about American intellectual and cultural history,
                    Western history, social history, women’s history, labor history, urban history, and
                    more.

                 Assignment
                    1.   Michael Kraus and Davis D. Joyce, The Writing of American History, rev.
                          edition (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), chapters 12-16.
                            (On reserve.)
                    2.   Optional but strongly recommended, especially for your final paper (all on
                          reserve):
                          A.   Eric Foner,  ed. The New American History, rev. ed (Philadelphia:
                                Temple University Press, 1998), Part II, chapters 8-15.
                          B.   Carl Abbott, “Thinking about Cities: The Central Tradition in U.S.
                                History,” Journal of Urban History 22 (September 1996), 687-701.
                          C.   Stephan Thernstrom, “What Was the ‘New Urban History’ All
                                About?”, and Raymond A. Mohl, “New Perspectives on American
                                Urban History,”  in Howard P. Chudacoff, ed., Major Problems in
                             American Urban History (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and
                                Company, 1993), pp. 15-21, and 21-31.

Oct. 3                A PUBLIC HISTORIAN AT WORK
                          In the 1980's, T.H. Breen, from Northwestern University, was hired by the East
                          Hampton Historical Society to write the history of a small farmstead rooted deep
                          in the area’s history.  Breen discovered that the history surrounding the dilapidated
                          farmstead included controversies that were still very much alive among the divided
                          townspeople, just as they had been generations ago.  What’s the value of this
                          book–and Breen’s project–for public historians?
                         Assignment
                          Breen, Imagining the Past.

Oct. 10       CONTROVERSY AND PUBLIC HISTORY: THE SMITHSONIAN AND
                   THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBIT
                   Few recent exhibits have sparked as much controversy about historical
                    interpretation as the proposed Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.
                    The controversy has much significance for public historians–and citizens
                    everywhere.  The following readings and Web sites provide much to think
                    about–and discuss.
                  Assignment
                  1.   “History and the Public: What Can We Handle? A Round Table about
                            History after the Enola Gay Controversy,” Journal of American History
                            82 (December 1995), 1029-1144.
                   2.     Wallace, Mickey Mouse History, 269-318.
                   3.      In connection with these readings, see these on-line exhibits and sites:
                            The A-Bomb WWW Museum
                   4.     For other Smithsonian controversies, see:
                               Bruce Craig, “Smithsonian Secretary Criticized by Staff,” NCC
                              Washington Update , Vol. 7, #22, June 1, 2001.

                            National Council of Public History’s Letter to the Smithsonian Board
                             of Regents.

                            Organization of American Historians Letter to the Smithsonian Board of
                              Regents.

                           American Historical Association’s Letter to the Smithsonian Board of
                             Regents.

                           “Does the Smithsonian Need Hearings?”

                       DUE:  EXHIBIT REVIEW

Oct. 17       THE PACE OF THE PAST IN AMERICAN LIFE
                       David Glassberg has written often about how the past–and collective memory--
                        have shaped thought, politics,  and culture in the United States.  The essays in this
                        collection are provocative and challenging. Readings in following weeks will add
                        to this discussion.
                       Assignment
                        Glassberg, Sense of History: The Place of the Past in American Life.

Oct. 24            THE PLACE OF THE PAST IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE
                       How does the passage of time alter how people think of the past?  How and why do
                        these changes occur?  What is the role of popular culture in creating and
                        transmitting images of the past to the public?  George Lipsitz has some interesting
                        ideas on these and related subjects.
                       Assignment
                        Lipsitz, Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture.

Oct. 31            IS THE PAST ‘REUSABLE”?  THE CIVIL WAR AS AN EXAMPLE
                        The Civil War perhaps has been more embedded in the American psyche than any
                        other event in the nation’s history.  How has it been used and represented in
                        popular culture?  Jim Cullen, a scholar of American popular culture, adds yet more
                        ideas to our continuing discussion.
                       Assignment
                        Cullen, The Civil War in Popular Culture: A Reusable Past.

Nov. 7            COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND PUBLIC HISTORY
                       Like David Glassberg, Mike Wallace has written extensively on collective memory
                        and public history.  However, most of Wallace’s essays focus on more recent events
                        and controversies.  What new questions does he raise?
                       Assignment
                        Wallace, Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory.

Nov. 14          INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND PUBLIC HISTORY
                       Memory and memories keep people in history and shape historical consciousness.
                        What is the relationship between individual and collective memory?  Why do public
                        historians need to be mindful of these powerful forces when they create public
                        history by and with ordinary citizens?   You’ll find some suggestions about these
                        issues in the following readings for this week and next.
                       Assignment (All on reserve and in the History common room)
                        1.   Alessandro Portelli, “The Death of Luigi Trastulli: Memory and the Event,”
                              “The Best Garbage Man in Town: Life and Times of Valtero Peppoloni,” in
                              Portelli, The Death of Luigi Traslulli and Other Stories (Albany: State
                              University of New York Press, 1991), chapters 1 and 7.
                        2.   David Glassberg, “Public History and the Study of Memory,” The Public
                             Historian 18 (Spring 1996), 7-23.
                        3.   “Roundtable Responses to David Glassberg’s ‘Public History and the Study
                              of Memory’,” The Public Historian 19 (Spring 1997), 31-72.
                        4.   Edward T. Linenthal, “The Boundaries of Memory: The United States
                              Holocaust Memorial Museum,” American Quarterly 46(3) (1994), 406-433.

                       DUE: WEB SITE REVIEW

Nov. 21        CONCEPTUALIZING COMMUNITY HISTORY AND
                     COMMUNITY HISTORY PROJECTS
               Public historians have developed many exciting and useful community history
                    projects, but their efforts to do so have not always been easy.  The readings below
                    introduce to just a few projects and ideas that can serve as models of what can be
                    done–and what should not be done.

                   Assignment (All on reserve and in History common room)
                    1.   Linda Shopes, "Oral History and Community Involvement," in Benson,
                          Brier, and Rosenzweig, eds., Presenting the Past, pp. 249-263.
                    2.   Jeremy Brecher, "A Report on Doing History from Below," in Presenting
                          The Past, pp. 267-277.
                    3.   Michael Frisch, "Quality in History Programs: From Celebration to
                          Exploration of Values," in Frisch,  A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft
                          and Meaning of Oral and Public History (Albany: State University of New
                          York Press, 1990), pp. 183-190.
                    4.   Michael Frisch, "Town into City: A Reconsideration on the Occasion of
                          Springfield's 350th Anniversary, 1636-1986;" and "Audience Expectations
                          as Resource and Challenge: Ellis Island as a Case Study;" in A Shared
                          Authority, pp. 191-201, 215-224.
                    5.   Michael A. Gordon, “Staging The Line: The Creation of a Play about the
                          Patrick Cudahy Meat Packing Strike of 1987-1989,” Labor’s Heritage 9
                          (Fall 1997), 58-77.

Nov. 28       THANKSGIVING

Dec. 5          HISTORY BY HOLLYWOOD

                   Films are one of many important ways that history is conveyed to the public.
                    How do film writers and producers make us of the past?  What standards
                    should be used to evaluate how the past is presented in this popular medium?
                    The prominent film historian, Robert Brent Toplin, has much to say about these
                    and related issues.
                   Assignment
                    Toplin, History by Hollywood.

Dec. 12    WRAPPING UP: A FINAL DISCUSSION

                   DUE: FINAL PAPERS
 
 

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