Public History Syllabi

Looking to put together a syllabus for a class in public history?
Fortunately, you can benefit from the learned wisdom of other teachers and scholars.

Public History Resource Center in College Park, Maryland
An extensive listing of public history syllabi, including courses in public history, archival studies, historic preservation/conservation, museum studies, oral history, and various other specific topics.

A Collection of Public History Course Syllabi, from the National Council on Public History book store
This 375-page collection of course syllabi from 21 different public history programs provides students and faculty with an understanding of the breadth of the public history field. It is especially valuable for those interested in establishing a new program or expanding an existing one. Cost: $35.00 for non-members. $30.00 for NCPH members (for ordering information, see the NCPH website).

College and University Sites

Because college and university websites are constantly changing, you may wish to check the history home pages for undergraduate and graduate programs in public history. Faculty members may post new syllabi for their students at the beginning of each term.

For a list of programs in public history:

Where to study public history
Graduate Programs
Specific Courses

Other resources and bibliographies

Those interested in compiling their own course syllabus may wish to consult reference books including the useful (but outdated) The Craft of Public History: An Annotated Select Bibliography, edited by David F. Trask and Robert W. Pomeroy III (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983). Most recent general public history anthologies and specific topic anthologies contain excellent bibliographies, as well.

The Public Historian as well as the recent publication lists or websites of publishers that specialize in public history, such as Krieger and AltaMira Press, may also be useful.

Course bibliographies can be compiled by using the publications and workshops lists of important publishers and organizations in the field. For example, a search of the website for the American Association for State and Local History provides a list of their publications, their technical leaflet and video series , and workshop agendas that can provide useful ideas for classes and short-term courses .

The American Association of Museums sometimes presents agendas for continuing education programs. Individual organizations sometimes provide great links through their websites, such as the Society of Architectural Historians' web resources page.

Links through the Organization of American Historians' Teaching Resource Center may also prove useful; there are specific teaching units about commemorative sculpture in the United States and about World's Fairs, among others.

The National Council on Social Studies is another potentially helpful connection. Other teaching ideas can be found in the logs of the various e-mail discussion lists, including: the American Cultural Resources Association , H-PUBLIC , H-LOCAL , H-AMSTDY and the lists on H-NET.