Campus History as Public History? January 26, 2016 musings.
This course explores the theoretical and methodological challenges that surround the public preservation and presentation of history, with a focus on race and gender in the U.S. context. Students will learn the skills professionals use to communicate historical scholarship to wider audiences and will grapple with issues surrounding the expansion of history’s stakeholders. Drawing on the rich archives of Bryn Mawr College, we will explore the possibilities of campus history as public history, imagining a public history approach that is appropriate for a college campus (as opposed to a museum or historic site, for example). We will engage with current campus conversations as they intersect with the challenges and opportunities of building institutional memory and the processes of collecting and sharing the experiences of diverse communities.
Class meetings will focus on discussions of the assigned scholarly texts and public projects, as well as materials located at Bryn Mawr Special Collections and other Philadelphia area sites.
By the end of this course, each student will propose a project applying the art of public interpretation to historical scholarship on Bryn Mawr College, and will work together as a team to craft a public event, scheduled for the last week of the semester.
The course counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Prerequisite: Junior or Senior Status.