Doing Public History

Examines history outside the classroom; its role in political/cultural debates in U.S. and abroad. Considers functions, practices, and reception of history in public arena, including museums, memorials, naming of buildings, courtrooms, websites, op-eds. Analyzes controversies arising when historians' work outside the academy challenges the status quo; role funders, interest groups, and the public play in promoting, shaping, or suppressing historical interpretation. Who gets to tell a group's story? What changes can public history enable? Students will engage in public history projects.