1 HIS 4930 Sec 2 PUBLIC HISTORY THEORY AND METHODS Florida State University Fall 2008 Tuesdays 2 00 4 45pm Room Bellamy 001 Instructor Prof Jennifer Koslow Email jkoslow fsu edu emails will be answered 8am 5pm Monday Friday Class website http campus fsu edu Office Bellamy 409 Phone 644 4086 Office Hours Tuesday 10 00 12 00 COURSE DESCRIPTION When you aren t in class where do you seek out history Is it staring up at the ceiling of the old Florida State Capitol At a rest stop along I 10 At the Smithsonian At a movie theater At a family gathering This course introduces students to the field of public history We will study how why where and who produces history outside of universities Central to these inquiries will be investigations into four major themes in the practice of public history uncovering hidden histories constructing interpretations creating a sense of place and negotiating contested memories In addition to these discussions we will examine several different types of public history specialties oral history archives management historic preservation and museum administration Please be aware that as an upper division level history course this class is reading and writing intensive COURSE OBJECTIVES 1 The student will be able to identify the different specialties of public history 2 The student will be able to state the history of the historic preservation movement in the United States archives history museums and oral history 3 The student will be able to describe and analyze different types of public commemoration 4 The student will be able to describe and analyze presentations of history that use new media 5 The student will be able to generate an historical interpretation based on primary and secondary sources 6 The student will choose to cite all sources in writing an expository paper REQUIRED READINGS Packet from Target Copy Antoinette Burton Archive Stories Facts Fictions and the Writing of History 2005 Sanford Levinson Written in Stone Public Monuments in Changing Societies 1998 Edward Linenthal Preserving Memory The Struggle to Create America s Holocaust Museum 2001 Studs Terkel Touch and Go A Memoir 2007 Dwight Young Road Trips through History A Collection of Essays from Preservation Magazine 2003 Articles on blackboard e reserve or course library John Bodnar The Memory Debate An Introduction the Construction of Ethnic Memory and Celebrating the Nation 1961 1976 in Remaking America Public Memory Commemoration and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century 1992 Joshua Brown History and the Web From the Illustrated Newspaper to Cyberspace Visual Technologies and Interaction in the Nineteenth and Twenty First Centuries June 2004 http chnm gmu edu resources essays d 29 Daniel J Cohen History and the Second Decade of the Web June 2004 http chnm gmu edu resources essays d 34 and The Future of Preserving the Past June 2005 http chnm gmu edu resources essays d 39 Katharine T Corbett and Howard S Dick Miller A Shared Inquiry into Shared Inquiry The Public Historian 28 1 2006 15 38 Natalie Zemon Davis Movie or Monograph A Historian Filmaker s Perspective Public Historian 25 2003 45 48 2 National Council on Public History What is Public History http www ncph org WhatisPublicHistory tabid 282 Default aspx Steven C Dubin Introduction Museums as Contested Sites Battle Royal The Final Mission of the Enola Gay and The Postmodern Exhibition Cut on the Bias or Is Enola Gay a Verb in Displays of Power Controversy in the American Museum from the Enola Gay to Sensation 1999 Michael Frisch Oral History Documentary and the Mystification of Power A Critique of Vietnam A Television History in A Shared Authority Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History 1990 Vivien Ellen Rose and Julie Corley A Trademark Approach to the Past Ken Burns the Historical Profession and Assessing Popular Presentations of the Past Public Historian 25 2003 49 59 Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen The Presence of the Past Patterns of Popular Historymaking in The Presence of the Past Popular Uses of History in American Life 1998 15 36 Robert Brent Toplin Cinematic History Where do We Go From Here Public Historian 25 2003 79 91 CLASS SCHEDULE Aug 26 Week 1 Introductions Sept 2 Week 2 What is Public History Quiz 1 Reading National Council on Public History Corbett and Miller Rosenzweig and Thelen Sept 9 Week 3 History Museums Foundations Quiz 2 Reading Linenthal pages 1 166 Sept 16 Week 4 History Museums Transformations Quiz 3 Reading Linenthal pages 167 272 Sept 23 Week 5 Curatorial Crises of the late 20th century Quiz 4 Due Reaction Paper 1 Reading Dubin Sept 30 Week 6 Historic Preservation Beginnings Quiz 5 Reading Young Voyages Oct 7 Week 7 Cultural Resources Management in the 20th Century Quiz 6 Due Reaction Paper 2 Reading Young Guides Fellow Travelers and Destinations Oct 14 Week 8 Midterm Oct 21 Week 9 Preserving History Archives Quiz 7 Reading Burton TBA 3 Oct 28 Week 10 Public Displays of History Monuments Quiz 8 Due Reaction Paper 3 Reading Levinson entire Nov 4 Week 11 Public Displays of History Pageantry Quiz 9 Due Primary Source Paper Reading Bodnar Nov 11 Week 12 No Class Veteran s Day Nov 18 Week 13 Creating Sources Oral History Quiz 10 Due Reaction Paper 4 Reading Terkel Nov 25 Week 14 History Hollywood Quiz 11 Reading Corley Davis Frisch Toplin Dec 2 Week 15 Public History New Media Quiz 12 Due Reaction Paper 5 Reading Cohen 2 articles and Brown Dec 9 Week 16 Final Exam Final Exam Tuesday December 9 5 30 7 30pm ASSIGNMENTS Grade Breakdown Requirement Midterm Final Primary Source Paper Reading Quizzes Reaction Papers Attendance Total final grade 15 20 20 25 10 10 100 Exams Midterm 15 10 14 08 Essay format bring blue book Final 20 12 9 08 Essay format bring blue book The exams will be based on the readings and lecture They will consist of questions that will ask you to make a historical argument Your grade will be based on the quality of your argument your use of specific examples as evidence to support your argument your use of specific reference to the readings and the coherence and completeness of your answer Reaction Papers 10 Throughout this course you will need to write 5 one page reactions to a prompt Some of these are based upon the readings Others will ask you to leave the confines of the classroom and visit a public history site Please see last page for more specifics 4 Attendance 10 This class meets only one day a week which is why it is imperative that you don t miss it If you miss