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intro to public history

The Public History Approach

  • Dialogic History: History is presented as an invitation to join a conversation between objects and people who lived in the past.
  • Shared Authority: In public history settings, historical interpretation and meaning-making are shared between historians and their audiences; historians retain expertise but listen to diverse viewpoints to seek common ground.
  • Interdisciplinary: Connecting historical information to other disciplines can enhance learning.
  • Reflective Practice: A cycle of ongoing learning and adaptation by practitioners.
  • Four Cornerstones of the Public History Approach: Historical method, Public audience, Collaboration, Reflective practice.

The Public History Method

  • Public history is grounded in the Historical Method.
  • Key components include planning, collaboration with stakeholders, and iterative reflection.
  • Assignments and coursework often frame this method as a process, not just a set of facts.

The Historical Method and Public History Practice

  • Read the secondary sources to build context and framing.
  • Identify elements of the topic that remain unexplored by historians.
  • Develop a historiography (the study of how history has been written about the topic).
  • Consult primary sources (the sources created during the period being studied).
  • Evaluate sources for reliability, bias, and perspective.
  • Research questions are central to guiding inquiry.

Step-by-Step: Historical Method (Overview from Slides)

  • Research Questions: Formulate focused questions to guide inquiry.
  • Historical Categories of Inquiry (Types of Research Questions):
    • Cause and Effect
    • Change and Continuity
    • Turning Points
    • Using the Past
    • Through Their Eyes
  • Decide on a research question to anchor the study.
  • Step Four: Consult the Primary Sources
    • Identify relevant historical sources (documents, artifacts, visual materials) from the period studied.
    • Evaluate the sources for reliability, perspective, and context.

Connectedness to the Past and Public Understanding (Survey Insights)

  • 1995 Rosenzweig & Thelen study explored what the public knows/understands about history.
  • Connectedness to the Past Survey conclusions:
    • People trust museums the most to provide information about history.
    • People are most interested in learning about their family histories.
    • People learn history within the context of their own experiences.
    • People acknowledge that individuals are different in their historical interests and understandings.

The 2021 American Historical Association: Presence of the Past Survey

  • Updated survey to include questions about websites, social media, and 24-hour news channels.
  • Sample: 1,816 U.S. adults completed the survey online in October 2020.
  • Key findings span how people define, learn about, trust sources for, and engage with history.

Definitions of History (Figure 1)

  • Respondents' best definitions for "history":
    • 17%: Names, dates, and other facts about what happened in the past.
    • 9%: What people remember about the past.
    • 3%: An explanation of experiences in the past.
    • 5%: What historians have concluded about the past.
    • 66%: Something else.
  • Significance: Most people do not rely solely on traditional definitional anchors; many see history as broader, interpretive, or contextual beyond basic facts.

Reasons to Learn About the Past (Figure 8)

  • Categories and approximate emphasis:
    • 2%: Want to be more informed about past events.
    • 8%: Find learning about past events entertaining.
    • 19%: Experience/knowledge gained is important to share with children.
    • 33%: Required for a class.
    • 39%: Do not want to learn about past events.
  • Implications: Motivations vary widely; formal education requirements strongly influence engagement.

Motivations by Education Level and Race (Figures 9 & 10)

  • By education level (Figure 9): Reasons for wanting to learn about the past are analyzed across different educational attainments.
  • By race (Figure 10): Differences in motivation between White respondents and Persons of Color (PoC).
  • Note: The slides show multiple subcategories; core ideas include that education and race shape why people engage with historical content.

Historical Sources Used to Learn About the Past (Figure 14)

  • Share of respondents who used various sources since January 2019:
    • Documentary film/TV: ~69%
    • Fictional film/TV: ~66%
    • TV news: ~62%
    • Non-Wikipedia: ~59%
    • Newspaper/magazine: ~55%
    • Wikipedia: ~46%
    • Religious document: ~39%
    • Historic site visit: ~38%
    • Discussion with community member: ~37%
    • Museum visit: ~35%
    • Genealogy work: ~33%
    • Nonfiction history book: ~32%
    • Historical fiction book: ~26%
    • Social media: ~26%
    • Podcast/radio program: ~25%
    • History lecture: ~12%
    • History-related video game: ~11%
    • DNA test: ~11%
    • College course: ~8%
  • Takeaway: People engage with history through a broad array of sources, with multimedia formats being particularly prevalent.

Trust in Sources (Figure 26)

  • Trust levels (A great deal / Some / Just a little / None) vary by source.
  • Generally, museums, historic sites, documentary films/videos, and college professors are among the sources with higher trust for providing an accurate account of history.
  • Some sources (e.g., Wikipedia, social media) show lower trust levels for high-confidence historical accounts.

Preferred Modes of Learning About the Past (Figure 46)

  • Preferred modes:
    • Reading/looking at artifacts from the past: most respondents (~64%).
    • Receiving information from an expert (e.g., a teacher, curator): about ~36%.
  • Implications: Direct engagement with artifacts and artifacts-based contexts is highly valued.

History and Knowledge: Challenges vs. Reinforcement (Figure 50)

  • Preference split:
    • 27% are drawn to history that challenges what they know.
    • 73% prefer history that reinforces what they know.
  • Implications: Public history projects should balance challenging narratives with accessible, reassuring elements to engage a broad audience.

Racial/Ethnic Community Knowledge (Figure 70)

  • 89%: Knowledge of one’s own racial/ethnic community is more important.
  • 11%: Knowledge of others is as important as knowledge of one’s own community.
  • Implications: Audience interest often centers on self-relevant histories, but cross-cultural awareness remains a minority emphasis.

Topic Interest: Histories People Want to Learn (Figure 78)

  • Seven topics and levels of interest (A Great Deal / Some / Just a Little / Not at All):
    • My own family: high interest.
    • My country: high interest.
    • People different from me: moderate interest.
    • Foreign places/peoples: moderate interest.
    • My state or local community: notable interest.
    • My ethnic group: notable interest.
    • Events more than 500 years ago: lower interest.
  • Takeaway: People tend to be more interested in histories that are close to their own identity, geography, and immediate social context.

Value of History in School (Figure 86)

  • Question: Is history as important to learn in school as business or engineering?
    • 16% say yes, it is equally important.
    • 84% say no, it is less important than business or engineering.
  • Implications: Public history educators should articulate the practical and civic value of historical literacy beyond traditional academic domains.

Should Historical Knowledge Change? (Figure 112)

  • 38%: Knowledge of history should change.
  • 62%: Knowledge of history should not change.
  • Implications: Many respondents seek continuity and stable narratives, while a substantial minority supports updating understandings with new findings.

Why Histories Change (Figure 113)

  • Reasons understandings of the past can change:
    • 8%: New information becomes available.
    • 15%: People’s values change.
    • 16%: Influence of political agendas.
    • 61%: Historians ask new questions.
  • Implications: Scholarly inquiry and evolving interpretive questions drive revisions more than external values or new data alone.

Should History Celebrate or Question the Nation’s Past? (Figure 123)

  • 47%: History should celebrate the nation’s past.
  • 53%: History should question the nation’s past.
  • Implications: A plurality supports critical examination over celebratory narratives, signaling openness to re-evaluation of national myths.

Uncomfortable History: Teaching and Discomfort (Figure 129)

  • Statements:
    • Teaching past shouldn’t make people uncomfortable even if about harm some did to others.
    • It is acceptable to teach history about harm done to others even if it causes discomfort.
  • Responses: 77% align with the idea that teaching discomfort is acceptable; 23% resist discomfort in teaching.
  • Implications: Public history and education frameworks emphasize ethical responsibility to address harms, while acknowledging emotional responses.

Action When Encountering Uncomfortable History (Figure 136)

  • 10%: Further investigate it.
  • 90%: Avoid further investigation.
  • Implications: Most respondents may opt for avoidance, suggesting the need for guided interpretation and critical facilitation in public history contexts.

The Public History Approach to Teaching History: Core Concepts

  • Dialogic History: History as an invitation to conversation between the past and present audiences.
  • Shared Authority: Interpretive authority is distributed; historians listen to diverse perspectives while maintaining expertise.
  • Interdisciplinary: Integrates insights from other disciplines to deepen understanding.
  • Reflective Practice: Practitioners continuously reflect on what works, identify barriers, and apply lessons learned to future projects.

Practical Frameworks in Public History

  • The Public History Practitioner begins a project by setting problems and goals, and by engaging stakeholders as a new project starts.
  • During development, identify barriers and opportunities, and look for patterns of what works and what does not.
  • In future contexts, apply patterns and insights gained from prior experience to improve outcomes.

The Historical Method as the Foundation

  • The Public History Approach is grounded in the Historical Method, connecting readings, questions, and evidence to produce informed interpretations.
  • Core steps (recap):
    • Read secondary sources for context and framing.
    • Identify unexplored elements.
    • Develop a historiography.
    • Consult and evaluate primary sources.
  • The approach integrates both scholarly rigor and public engagement to shape meaningful, accessible history.

Connections to Foundations and Real-World Relevance

  • Banking vs. problem-posing models of education: Public history leans toward problem-posing by inviting dialogue and ongoing inquiry, rather than banking education which deposits knowledge without critical engagement.
  • Free-choice learning: Encourages learners to pursue topics of personal interest, aligning with audience-centered public history.
  • The role of ethics: Shared authority, addressing uncomfortable histories, and fostering inclusive narratives—ethical considerations in how histories are chosen and presented.
  • Relevance to museums, archives, schools, and community organizations: The public history framework informs practice across venues where audiences participate in meaning-making.

For Next Time

  • Assigned reading: Introduction to Public History, Chapter 2 (Public History and Historical Thinking).
  • Preparation: Reflect on how the Historical Method and Public History Approach can be applied to a real-world project or local history, considering audience, stakeholders, and potential sources.