WHAT IS PUBLIC HISTORY?

Want to take your degree in History and work in a museum; historical site, park, archive, historic preservation office, historical consulting firm, or other area? Then Public History is the path for you.

 Public History is the use of historical skills and methods outside of the traditional academic realm of history. Public historians use their training to meet the needs of the community-the public-whether that community is defined as a city, a neighborhood, a business, or a historical society. It is the audience that differentiates the public historian’s work. The public historian’s audience might be a client, a government agency, or a tourist. Different audiences often require the public historian to employ unconventional skills, answer difficult questions, and respond to unique situations.

Public historians pursue a wide array of tasks: researching and writing community, government, and corporate histories; curation and exhibit design in museums; establishing and operating archives and records management systems for private businesses, state agencies, or universities; conducting site interpretation and historic preservation projects; editing historical manuscripts; conducting oral interviews; preparing genealogies; participating in policy analysis and planning; performing land use studies; engaging in research in support of litigation; consulting on movies and multi-media presentations, offering historic tours; and much more.

WHAT IS PUBLIC HISTORY? – From the National Council on Public History.

THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN –The primary journal in the field. You may find it useful to peruse some of the past issues and articles which are available through J-Stor.

PUBLIC HISTORY NEWS – A quarterly publication of the NCPH that has many items of interest to public historians.

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PUBLIC HISTORY – At UL Lafayette, Public History Studies is a patron of the National Council on Public History. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of this organization’s professional development and support initiatives.

GRADUATES – Graduates of UL Lafayette have gone on to find employment with the USS Salter Museum, Vermilionville Historic Park, Tabasco, the National World War II Museum, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Smithsonian, the Lafayette Natural History Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the City of Lafayette, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the New Orleans Children’s Museum, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, the Ohio State Legislature, and the Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Others have entered more traditional teaching fields or gone on to pursue advanced degrees in History and Law.

 

 

 

PUBLIC HISTORY AT UL LAFAYETTE

The Department of History and Geography at UL Lafayette offers public history as a concentration within the Master of Arts degree in History. Public history courses are designed to provide hands-on training and problem solving abilities while cultivating the special research and professional skills required by public historians. Thus, students are challenged to combine solid historical training with skill development and a cross-disciplinary approach to history.

THE PROGRAM - The Master of Arts degree in Public History consists of 33 credits. Students studying public history take 12 credits in public history (this includes an option to enroll in courses in other departments and an internship). In consultation with the Director of Public History, the student may develop a specialized concentration in a particular aspect of public history. Opportunities for specialization include:

  • Applied Research
  • History in Museums/Exhibitions
  • Archives and Manuscripts
  • Historical Editing
  • Historic Preservation
  • Local & Community History
    Oral History

INTERNSHIPS – The internship is a vital component to any public history program. It will provide hands-on training in a real-world setting. Students may opt for out-of state internships or take advantage or locally available resources. Thus far, internships have taken place at the Tabasco Corporate Archives, the Louisiana State Museum, Mystic Seaport, the State Office of Archeology, the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, the Spokane Office of Historic Preservation, Lafayette’s Natural History Museum, the Eisenhower National Historic Site, the UL Lafayette Archives, the State Archives of Louisiana, the Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission, the Lafayette Office of Planning and Zoning, the New Orleans Notorial Archives, the Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism; Vermilionville Historic Park; and with the National Park Service’s Acadian Cultural Center.

Funded Internships - Because of the generous gift of Jamie Gilbeau, one of our graduates, the Public History Program is able to offer resources to students to offset the expenses of taking internships. We will provide a travel stipend and pay for housing at an internship location for approved internships. Details on this exciting program are currently (spring 2012) being worked out, but starting in the summer of 2012 students will begin benefiting from our ability to cover expenses associated with internships.

SPECIAL PROJECTS –In lieu of a conventional thesis, students pursuing public history may choose a "Public History Thesis Project." These projects are selected in consultation with the student and an interested agency. The projects result in useful public history undertakings such as corporate histories, museum exhibits, site analyses, historic preservation plans, or other creative outlets.

FACULTY –In addition to having access to the whole compliment of historians and geographers in the Department of History and Geography, faculty who specifically contribute to the Public History Studies program at UL Lafayette include:

  • Dr. Robert Carriker
  • Dr. Michael Martin
  • Dr. John Troutman

REGIONAL RESOURCES & AFFILIATIONS - Special resources at UL Lafayette include the University Archives, the Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism, and the Center for Louisiana Studies which serves as a research center, as editorial office of the Louisiana Historical Association, and as publisher of scores of titles including Louisiana History. In addition, the study of public history at UL Lafayette is enhanced by the school’s location in the heart of Acadiana, the region of Cajun and Creole heritage. Acadiana is rich in history and filled with exciting opportunities for the study and practice of public history.

For more information on the UL Lafayette public history program, contact PubHist@louisiana.edu or call 337.482.6900