Public History Laboratory (HIST 2022). Instructor: Laura Lovett
The Public-Facing History Laboratory is a multidisciplinary graduate seminar that provides a space for experimental and collaborative student-led research designed to create historical products and tools for the public. Students from a range of disciplines will learn techniques from oral history, digital history, material history, and videography as they grapple with how to make the past speak to the present. By definition, Public-Facing History Laboratory projects cannot be limited to the academic world. We will deliberately engage with public partners, such as museums, libraries, archives, advocacy groups, non-profits and historical societies, as well as local residents and organizations whose voices have yet to be heard. However, our goal need not be to speak for others. Projects that create toolkits to enable non-academics to create their own histories would be as welcome as polished documentary films, original exhibitions, or definitive oral histories.
This is a project-oriented course that requires skill building and collaboration with public-facing outcomes. We will combine well developed pedagogies for oral history with innovations in digital history. Of course, critical reflection on process and product are essential. We will analyze selected cases of public-facing history to gain an understanding of how and why these projects were created as well as the ethical, social, and cultural ramifications these projects have had. Because this course is project-based, we will begin the process of project definition immediately, followed quickly by team building, then connecting with public partners and resources before launching into structured project development, assessment, and delivery. Skill development will occur simultaneously in learning modules that will be required regardless of whether or not they are actually deployed in the student’s project this term.