what is public history

What Is Public History & My Thoughts on the Article.

The article, Public History: Its Origins, Nature, and Prospects by Robert Kelly, discusses what the field of Public History is, its prospects, and about a program of Public History that the author teaches to graduate and doctoral students. Upon completing the reading, it swayed me into seeing the importance of a public historian and the possible increase in the field as more public historians are needed in different spaces. 

Public history according to the article is, “In its simplest meaning, Public History refers to the employment of historians and the historical method outside of academia”[1]. A self-explanatory definition, but there is more to the field and how important it could be. Public historians will be working in those corporations, government offices, or communities to aid them in making better decisions for themselves.

 One thing I found most interesting about the article was the section about the Public Historical Studies Program. I like how the program allows them to work together and gain the skills they need through experience. They also come out of the program with a body of work that certifies their skills, and that is very attractive to future employers. The fact that the students after the program then all went off to do different things, but still using the skills from the field is something I like to see. 

Public history is the use of skills in the field of history applied to whatever context the historian works in. The professor of this course provided a good example of himself. He came to PV and started working in the cemetery. He had to speak to descendants of those buried, the heads of the university, and other collaborators to do the cemetery justice.

[1] Kelly, Robert. “Public History: Its Origins, Nature, and Prospects.” The Public Historian 1, no.1 (1978): 16