A Look Back at the First Semester of Public History Grad School

I saw Raj’s reflections draft and thought it was a good idea so I figured I would try to create a trend.  First of all I want to say that I had a great time and learned a great deal, not only due to Dawne’s teaching but also to our group dynamics, which I think were superb, it was fun.  Even the times when there was contention or intense debate, like the mock board meeting, which I thought was fabulous by the way, it was enjoyable and something was learned.  One of the first things I felt about the class, a feeling that stuck with me the whole semester, was how it really felt like we were learning a profession, not in a vocational school way, it was something different. 

I felt a more tangible connection to the things I was learning, as tools in my field, than I have felt my entire college career.  I know I may have mentioned this before, but I think this has a great deal to do with the speakers that Dawne arranges.  I think that the way this makes us all feel like peers, and Dawne’s treatment of us plays into this, makes the class feel like a professional conference spread out over fifteen weeks.  We got to see all the pertinent speakers and each of us even had to present at the end of it all.

Dawne asked us about how our perceptions of public history have changed over since we put our list together at the beginning of the term, so I dug up the list my group put together.

   * Taking the concepts of historical study and making them more approachable to non-historians.

o   And then using the objects of history to present them to the public in a palatable and entertaining fashion.

   * Bringing broad historical topics to the attention to general public.

o   In a manner that appeals to non-technical audiences.

   * Putting local history into the local public eye.

o   With a focus on connecting people to local histories and providing a basis for local identity.

o   Explaining local identity to outsiders.

Looking at this list again, I don’t really think that my overall thoughts have changed much, I think much if what we listed really is public history.  There are however other aspects that I never thought about, such as the balancing of the public interest, factuality, funder interests and the presentation of some of the more controversial topics that we treat.

Anyway, I still very much want to do this, and as of now, I think I still want to focus on the path I came into the program interested in, digital archives and curation, but hey, who knows, this is only my first term.