Public History

Description

Students at Stevenson University who wish to concentrate their studies in history should choose the University’s public history major, part of the Department of Humanities and Public History at the University. One of the nation’s few four-year undergraduate majors in the field, Stevenson's public history major provides students the breadth of a traditional American history major, combined with the opportunity to study and practice the public presentation of history through specialized coursework and internships. Stevenson’s major in public history is distinctive because of its strong liberal arts context which provides students the opportunity to examine history from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students of public history master a body of knowledge about the past, and they also gain the ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate historical evidence; to apply historical perspective to contemporary issues; and to honor historical interpretation coming from those of diverse cultural traditions and values, all with the goal of conveying historical understanding to members of the general public.

The two primary objectives of the public history program are 1) to lay a solid foundation in general historical knowledge and methodology focused on the United States as part of an undergraduate liberal arts education and 2) to offer public history majors the specialized knowledge, skills, and real-world experience in internships and upper-level public history courses to make a career in public history or a related field a reality. Public history majors can pursue a number of different careers following graduation, such as teaching, museum administration, journalism, film-making, law, historical archeology, and government service.

The History Forum (non-credit HIST 100), a frequent gathering of all public history majors and faculty, sponsors special speakers and arranges other enrichment activities to enhance these two primary objectives of the major. Public history majors are required to attend mandatory History Forum meetings. In addition, students who are new to the public history major (traditional University freshmen, transfer students, and students who are declaring a public history major for the first time) are required to complete a special section of the non-credit First Year Seminar that is designed specifically for new public history majors and focuses on strategies for promoting success in the major.

Students interested in majoring in public history should contact the humanities and public history department chairperson.

Objectives

Upon graduation from the Stevenson University, Public History Program a Public History major will have demonstrated the ability to:

1. Articulate the significance of various historical periods, persons, events, ideas, and themes in history with a special focus on United States history.
2. Analyze historical events, texts, and artifacts using the concepts of context, historical causation, conflict, and change over time.
3. Evaluate the significance of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sex, and religion, as factors in history and in its presentation to the public.
4. Create research-based history products for the public as well as for traditional historians.
5. Locate and evaluate examples of public history projects that faced issues of an ethical, practical, or interdisciplinary nature.
6. Participate in the community of historical practice both within the Stevenson Public History Program and the larger community.
7. Make informed academic and career choices based on self-determined goals.

Policies

Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 in the major, and the lowest acceptable grade is a "C" in all major and Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE) courses. No student, regardless of major, will be permitted to advance to the next course without earning a grade of "C" or better in the prerequisite course(s). When a grade below "C" is earned in a core major course, the student must repeat that course.

In order to enroll in the required history internship (HIST 450), seniors must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 and second semester juniors must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75.

Requirements

The courses listed below are required for completion of the bachelor’s degree in public history. Students must also complete the requirements for the Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE).

Specific pre- and co-requisites for each course are listed in the course descriptions.

Public history majors are required to complete 45 credits (15 courses) from the courses listed below as indicated. Students must also complete the non-credit HIST 100 every semester while enrolled in the public history program. In addition, students who are new to the public history major (traditional University freshmen, transfer students, and students who are declaring a public history major for the first time) are required to complete a special section of the non-credit First-Year Seminar that is designed specifically for new public history majors.

Required Core History Courses

Students are required to take all nine of the following required core history courses. In addition, students must also complete HIST 100 every semester while enrolled in the public history program.

General History Required Core Courses

Public History Required Core Courses

Required Elective History Courses

General history elective courses selected from the following courses (Students are required to take five courses, three courses of which must be at the 300- or 400-level.)

Public history elective courses selected from the following courses (Students are required to take two courses.)

Minor in Public History

A minor in history is available. Any HIST course for which the student has satisfied the prerequisites may count toward a minor except courses restricted to public history majors, such as HIST 100 and HIST 450. Please see the humanities and public history department chairperson for more information. Specific information regarding minor requirements may be found in the Academic Information section of the catalog.

Course Descriptions

See Public History Course Descriptions