Public History

Gettysburg College’s historic location, well-established partnerships with a wide range of museums and historical organizations, and commitment to experiential education provide a solid foundation for the minor in Public History.

What Is Public History?

As a discipline, public history revolves around the politics and practice of preservation and interpretation, in public settings and in conversation with public audiences. A wide variety of subfields cluster under the umbrella of public history, ranging from curation, museum education, and historic preservation to interpretation, documentary film, and archival management.

The coursework for the minor will enhance students’ skills in historical research, cultural analysis, presentation, public engagement, collaboration with community partners, and digital technology. The interdisciplinary curriculum will provide students rich perspectives on the complex relationship between cultural practices, historical narratives, and material objects, and include substantial emphasis on field education and hands-on work. As future professionals, minors will be well-positioned to continue their education on a graduate level, while as citizens, they will be better equipped to advocate for more democratic, intellectually rigorous representations of history in the public sphere.

Students with a focus on Public History can pursue graduate study in history, public history, museum studies, art history, anthropology, library science, film studies, public policy, education, ethnic studies, public humanities, geography, sociology, or American Studies. They can also seek employment in fields ranging from museums, libraries and historic preservation to education, consulting, and government.

Contact Information

For more information about the Public History minor, please contact Prof. Jill Ogline Titus (jtitus@gettysburg.edu)

Requirements for the Minor

  • Introductory Course (HIST 201)
  • 1 Material Culture Course
  • 1 Skill-Based Course
  • 1 Elective Course
  • 1 Additional Course in ANY of the above three categories
  • For-Credit Internship (IDS 470)

Please see below for a list of courses approved by the Advisory Committee to meet these requirements.

INTRODUCTORY COURSE

HIST 201: Introduction to Public History

MATERIAL CULTURE REQUIREMENT

ARTH 201: Arts of Ancient Greece and Rome

ARTH 202: Medieval Art

ANTH 212: Archaeology of Pennsylvania

ANTH/AS 252: Household Archaeology of Tokyo & Gettysburg

ANTH/ARTH 270: The Lives of Objects: Understanding Material Culture

ANTH 275: Public Archaeology

CWES 285/IDS 285: Interpreting & Preserving Civil War Artifacts

ENG 297: Intro to Book History

SKILL-BASED REQUIREMENT

ARTH 214: Methods in Art History

ARTH 284: Wonders of Nature & Artifice

ARTS 160: Intro to Digital Media

CIMS 220: Video Production

ENG 309: Topics-Writing with Sound

EDUC 201: Educational Psychology

ES 230: Intro to GIS

MGT 155: Accounting for Management Decisions (Prerequisite: ECON 103)

MGT 361: Marketing Management (Prerequisite: MATH 107)

ELECTIVE REQUIREMENT

AFS 240/CWES 240: Race and Slavery in the American South

AFS 262/HIST 273: Africa in Fiction, History & Memory.

ANTH/AS 229: Tourism & Culture in China

ARTH 225: History & Theory of Photography

ARTH 245: Art of the Global Renaissance

ARTH 267: Art & Public Policy

CIMS/GER 235: The Holocaust Through Film

CWES/ARTH 226: Visual Culture of the Civil War

CWES 250: Topics – Civil War Photography

CWES 320: Aftermath

CWES 246/HIST 246: Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln

EDUC 309: Teaching History

ENG 370: Space and Place

ENG 200: Topics-Writing Across Media

FYS 105-3: Who Owns the Past?: Cultural Heritage and Contest

FYS 122-1: Behind the Scenes at the Museum

FYS 184-4: Civil War Memory

HIST 247/347: Gettysburg in History and Memory

SOC 242/MGT 242: Sociology of Tourism (Prerequisite: SOC 101)

INTERNSHIP

IDS 470: Individualized Study – Internship

Students who would like to substitute other related courses (taken either on or off-campus) for the approved courses or make a case for an alternative path to meeting a minor requirement may formally petition the advisory committee. No more than two courses may be transferred in from off-campus study.