HIST 305 - Practices in Public History

This course introduces students to the field of public history and its methods and applications. Students use the community in which Widener University is located as a lens through which to view how various stakeholders understand and interpret local histories. The course combines theoretical and experiential lessons. The former provides students with a greater understanding of how public historians define “history” and “memory,” and the current best practices of archive management, historic preservation, oral histories, historical interpretation, and exhibit design. The experiential component of this course then invites students to consider how these practices work on a local level. The course includes meetings with various community partners to learn more about their missions, their greatest challenges, and their visions for the future. The class culminates in a public history project.