Public History Program

Public History Program

The Arizona State University Public History Program is one of the oldest, largest and most diversified in the country. Since 1980, the program has enabled students to specialize in local and community history, historic preservation and cultural resources management, historical administration, museum studies, public policy history and scholarly publishing.

The Public History Program prepares students for the professional practice of history outside the classroom. Courses are specially designed to introduce students to the theories and methodologies appropriate to applied practice. In addition, they not only prepare students in necessary skills but also encourage them to think and work as professionals.

The public history methodology course develops research techniques and practices appropriate for public historians, thus teaching students to apply a problem-solving approach to a wide range of issues and topics through readings, case studies, short papers, oral presentations and a brief research project. Other courses acquaint students with the diverse work they will encounter, provide them with specific skills they will need to compete in their fields, and introduce them to an interdisciplinary approach to research and problem solving. Students acquire the degree of media literacy that they will need in their careers through class projects, independent work in the departmental computer laboratory and in on-campus workshops.

The Public History Program offers several areas of emphasis:

• Scholarly Publishing Certificate Program: Public history students may enroll in this certificate program in conjunction with their history degree work.
• Historic preservation: Students prepare for careers in historic preservation and cultural resource management. Students are encouraged to include courses on historic preservation offered in the School of Planning in the College of Design.
• Community history: With special training in local history research methods, students prepare for positions as local, state, or regional historians.
• Historical administration: Students interested in careers in historical museums and societies, sites, and agencies follow this track. Students in this area have opportunities to enroll in public administration courses in the School of Public Affairs.
• The public sector: Students prepare for careers as historians in public agencies such as planning offices or historical offices or departments. Students are encouraged to incorporate courses from the public administration program in the School of Public Affairs.
• Museum studies: This option is offered in conjunction with the Museum Studies Program in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Anthropology).

We also participate in the interdisciplinary Museum Studies MA within the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (SHESC), and the Digital Information Management Certificate (DigIn) program within the School of Information Resources and Library Sciences at the University of Arizona.

Additionally, public history students frequently tailor their Program of Study with courses from the following disciplines: Anthropology, Public Programs, Public Administration, Museum Studies, Urban Planning, Geography, Religious Studies, Women’s Studies, African-American Studies, American Indian Studies, Transborder Studies, Sustainability, among others.

Arizona State University is rich with offerings that support the Public History and Scholarly Publishing programs and broaden student knowledge and understanding in the fields of history and publishing studies.
 

Contact Information:

Nancy Dallett
Email: public.history@asu.edu
Email: Nancy.Dallett@asu.edu

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