Public History (As I Currently Understand It)

I suppose that the natural starting point for a blog about public history would be for me to establish my current understanding of the discipline (however rudimentary that might be at this point). Hopefully I’ll be able to look back on this entry at the end of my year in the Public History program at UWO and see how much course readings, guest speakers, field trips, group projects, class discussions and self-reflection have deepened my understanding of the subject.

According to the Public History page for UWO, public history as a discipline is broadly defined as one that “explores how history is understood by and communicated to the public.” The method of communication to the public can take many forms including, but not limited to, historical fiction in books and movies (an admittedly guilty pleasure of mine), documentaries, museum exhibits or historical sites, websites, archives, video games on historic themes, etc. It is the Heritage Moments that used to run on television during commercial breaks and those blue commemorative plaques on the side of the road in Ontario. It is Doors Open Ontario events and those statues of the dude on the horse that every capital city from here to Europe seems to have in spades.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me to be the innumerable ways that historians try to engage those outside of academia (whose first priority might not be the study of history - blasphemy, I know!) to learn about the past in ways both meaningful and interesting to them as individuals. Emphasis also seems to be on the responsibility of the public historian to communicate their specialized knowledge to an audience in a manner appropriate to their level of understanding.

Well, that’s public history as I currently understand it. It isn’t pretty or detailed, but it is a starting point.

Questions? Comments? Statements of brilliance?