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) or Prof. Peter Carmichael (pcarmich@gettysburg.edu).
Requirements Effective Beginning with the Class of 2026
- 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 225: Visual Culture of the Civil War
CWES 237: From Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter
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)
Requirements Effective for the Class of 2024 and 2025:
- HIST 201 (Introduction to Public History)
- 1 Archaeology course
- 1 content course in History
- 1 course in Visual & Material Culture
- 1 course in Memory & Interpretation
- 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
ARCHAEOLOGY REQUIREMENT
ANTH 106: Introduction to Archaeology & Physical Anthropology
ANTH 212: Archaeology of Pennsylvania
ANTH 250: Topics in Anthropology (Archaeology of Landscape)
ANTH 275: Public Archaeology
AS 252/352/ANTH 252: Everyday Life in Ancient Gettysburg & Tokyo
CLA 255/ANTH 255: The Ancient Mediterranean
HISTORY CONTENT REQUIREMENT
HIST 230: Native American – European Encounter
HIST 318: Europe 1914-1945
HIST 319: Europe Since 1945
HIST 339: From Slavery to Segregation
HIST 341: Colonial America
HIST 343: The Early Republic
HIST 345: Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST 348: Early Twentieth Century America
HIST 349: US Since 1945
HIST 350: Black Freedom Struggle in America
VISUAL & MATERIAL CULTURE REQUIREMENT
ARTH 125: Survey of Western Art
ARTH 201: Arts of Ancient Greece & Rome
ARTH 202: Medieval Art
ARTH 214: Methods in Art History
ARTH 225: History & Theory of Photography
ARTH 267: Art & Public Policy
ANTH/ARTH 270: The Lives of Objects: Understanding Material Culture
CWES 225: Cameras, Canvas & Cannons: Visual Culture of the Civil War Era
CWES 250: Topics – Civil War Photography
CWES 285/IDS 285: Interpreting & Preserving Civil War Artifacts
CIMS 220: Video Production
MEMORY & INTERPRETATION 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
CIMS/GER 235: The Holocaust Through Film
CWES 320: Aftermath
EDUC 309: Teaching History
ENG 201: Writing the Public Essay
FYS 105-3: Who Owns the Past?: Cultural Heritage and Contest
FYS 122-1: Museum Staff Only: Behind the Scenes at the Museum
FYS 184-4: Remembering Slavery & the Civil War from 1865 to the Age of Black Lives Matter
HIST 247: Gettysburg in History and Memory
IDS 217: The American Civil War on Film
*This course has a prerequisite
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.