Public history

As teachers seek ways of improving the content of their classes and maintaining the attention of their students, what better way to study history than to explore it beyond the pages of a textbook and the confines of a regular classroom, by tapping the resources of the public history community (2)? Consider the following means by which to utilize the resources of the public history community and make history more engaging for students and teachers alike:


Visit a museum to explore the history of your community, state, or nation. Meet with a historian and/or curator to learn about collecting, identifying, and preserving artifacts and how artifacts are used to study and interpret the past. Learn how exhibits are conceived and designed.


Contact a historic preservation organization to learn about architectural styles, the methods of preserving old structures, and the importance of saving and reusing historic buildings. Have the students learn how to document a building or conduct a survey of structures around their school or in their neighborhood.


Meet with an archivist to learn about the many types of documents and methods of preserving historical records. Have the students examine primary documents in order to understand the process of historical research. Incorporate primary sources into the curriculum as a means of enhancing the presentation of historical themes and subjects.


Visit a historic site. Learn the historical significance of that site, how it came to be preserved, and how its story is interpreted for visitors. Examine the methods of interpretation (such as static exhibits, hands-on activities, role-playing interpreters) and what is involved in ensuring historical authenticity at the site.


Contact a reenactment group to learn about the ways in which they interpret history. Learn about the extent to which historical research and documentation plays into the re-creation of their clothing and sets and the interpretation of the lives and times of the individuals and groups portrayed by reenactors.


Invite a professional historian to speak to the class and discuss how he/she decided to become a historian and what he/she does. Have students discuss what is learned by studying the past and its applications for contemporary society.



Following initial introductions in my university-level history classes, I always ask my students what preconceptions they have about history and what historians do. Their responses are generally similar year-to-year: history is boring; history is about a bunch of dead people and generally meaningless for the present; and historians teach and write books and articles about the past--period, the end. I then ask them if any belong to historical societies; if they frequent museums or historic sites or visit national parks while on vacation; if they have used archival collections for any type of research; or if they watch history-related programming on television. While history may not be among the top pastimes of today's students, many acknowledge that they have indeed participated in at least one of these activities in recent years. I then proceed to describe how each of these areas (among others, including government agencies and businesses) is a domain in which professional historians work. I can tell by the amazed looks on their faces that I have captured their attention, changed their perceptions of what historians do, demonstrated the application of historical skills to the present, and brought them to a realization that "doing history" is more than simply memorizing names and dates or writing about the past. They quickly learn that there is contemporary relevance to the study of history and that there is indeed history beyond the classroom.



It is at locations such as these where historians interpret American history and tell the stories that form the foundations of communities and the nation and shape us as a people.