Public History

Provides a background in the history, principles, and practices of the field of public history.

Public History: An Introduction from Theory to Application is the first text of its kind to offer both historical background on the ways in which historians have collected, preserved, and interpreted history with and for public audiences in the United States since the nineteenth century to the present, and instruction on current practices of public history. This book helps us recognise and critically evaluate how, why, where, and who produces history in public settings.

This unique textbook provides a foundation for students advancing to a career in the types of spaces—museums, historic sites, heritage tourism, and archives—that require an understanding of public history. It offers a review of the various types of methodologies that are commonly employed, including oral history and digital history. The author also explores issues of monuments and memory upon which public historians are increasingly called to comment. Lastly, the textbook includes a section on questions of ethics that public historians must face in their profession. This important book:

• Contains a synthetic history on the significant individuals and events associated with museums, historic preservation, archives, and oral history.
• Includes exercises for putting theory into practice.
• Designed to help us uncover hidden histories, construct interpretations, create a sense of place, and negotiate contested memories.
• Offers an ideal resource for students set on working in museums, historic sites, heritage tourism, and more.

Written for students, Public History: An Introduction from Theory to Application offers in one comprehensive volume a guide to an understanding of the fundamentals of public history in the United States.