Public History Minor

Public History Minor

IN THIS SECTION

Prepare for a museum career with a public history minor

The minor in public history emphasizes both practice and theory, including methods for disseminating information to diverse publics and the preservation of heritage in the form of texts, objects, buildings, and landscapes.

The professional field of public history (also known as applied history) is rapidly expanding. This 24-credit minor provides specialized preparation for diverse careers in the field, including archiving, museum work, federal and state public history programs such as the National Park Service, private institutions, and interpretive historical sites.

The Public History Minor is housed in the History and Political Science Department, but it is an interdisciplinary minor with an integrated community experiential practicum or internship experience. Students majoring in history will also be able to minor in public history.

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Explore sample courses in this program.
HI-243 Introduction to Public History
Introduction to the field, theory, and practice of public history and associated institutions such as museums, archives, and historical sites.
3 credits
HI-445 Public History Practicum
The Public History Practicum is designed to allow students to apply the concepts they have learned in courses progressing to a Public History Minor. In this course, students create, produce, or mount an exhibit, event, or project showcasing their understanding of public history concepts, methods, and approaches. This project can then be incorporated into a portfolio of students’ work in the Public History Minor.
3 credits
HI-440 Internship in History
Internships in museums, archives, government agencies, etc., at beginning professional level in cooperating institutions, under joint supervision of agency and faculty.
6 to 12 credits
AR-118 Global Art History
Surveys the outstanding visual art from all cultures beginning in the prehistoric era to the late 19th century.
3 credits
AR-200 History of American Art
A survey of the visual arts in the United States, from the Colonial period to the present.
3 credits
AR-220 Foundations of Modern Art
Influential 19th-century developments, such as Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism, are discussed in relationship with early 20th-century art.
3 credits
AR-225 Art Since Mid-20th Century
Explores how artists have challenged the traditional definitions of the art object and the expanded materials, media, and concepts employed by artists since 1950 to the present era.
3 credits
AR-275 Gallery and Museum Studies
All aspects of installation and exhibition of art work in Worcester State gallery, including solicitation of art, publicity, display, and management.
3 credits
EN-214 Introduction to Digital Humanities
This course is an introduction to the use of digital technologies in the analysis, production, and reception of texts. Most of us already are digital scholars, as we read information electronically, collaborate online, and write texts using computers. This course addresses instances in which we create or use information that is uniquely keyed to digital technologies, such as developing visual representations of narrative, using artificial intelligence to assess writing, statistically analyzing poetry, or crowd-sourcing creative and academic writing. This course explores the theoretical and practical implications of reading and writing in a digital age.
3 credits
HI-319 Material Culture
Focuses on the way scholars use and analyze objects in historical, social, and cultural content.
3 credits
HI-321 Museums and Society
Course on the history of museums and their development as a major space for public history and memory.
3 credits
UR-421 Selected Topics in Urban Studies
In-depth examination of topical issues challenging the intellectual and creative interests of advanced students in urban studies.
3 credits
CM-260 Introduction to Video
A beginning course in video program production, using lightweight and portable equipment.
3 credits
CM-359 Documentary Production
This course engages students in a semester-long production of documentary and introduces key concepts of documentary theory.
3 credits
CS-135 Programming for Non-CS Majors
Introduction to programming. Emphasis on practical skills, working with data sets, doing analysis and visualization. No prior programming experience required.
3 credits
CS-140 Introduction to Programming
Introduction to fundamental structures and concepts of computer science including object-oriented programming. 3 lecture hours and one 2-hour laboratory.
4 credits
CS-265 Database Applications
This course introduces basic database concepts and teaches how to create and manage a database; relational databases, use SQL; NoSQL databases.
3 credits
PY-112 Physics in Art
Concepts in optics and modern physics applied to the analysis of paintings, conservation of art objects, and detection of forgeries. 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory.
4 credits
EN-252 Technical Writing
Focuses on how to write and produce basic documents, from research and progress reports to brochures and manuals.
3 credits
EN-281 Writing for Digital Environments
This course provides theories and strategies for writing in digital environments, with special emphasis on the rhetorical conventions for online communication and the design of digital information. Increasingly, information is presented in digital format, which assumes different user experiences than those normally associated with print media. The goal of this course is to explore the expectations and requirements of digital writing, how writers and readers negotiate information in non-physical spaces, and how specific characteristics of different digital environments shape what we can say, and how we say it.
3 credits
UR-240 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences
This introduction course provides and overview of the research process, and introduces students to commonly used qualitative methods in the social sciences.
3 credits
UR-245 Introduction to Survey Research Method for Social Science
This introductory course provides an overview of the research process and introduces students to survey research methodology.
3 credits