UMass Boston

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Introduction to Public History & Popular Memory

Course Overview

Date / Time Location Credits Minimium Tuition*
9/2/25 - 12/12/25
Mo 4p.m. – 6:45p.m.		 Wheatley-Peters W01-0037 3 $2657 (guest students)
Date
9/2/25 - 12/12/25
Time
Mo 4p.m. – 6:45p.m.
Location
Wheatley-Peters W01-0037
Credits
3
Min. Tuition*
$2657 (guest students)

Description

This course will introduce students to the historical origins of the public history field, the historiography and major paradigms in the field, and the debates that have emerged surrounding the public role of historians. Students will be required to engage in seminar discussions, evaluate two current public history artifacts (i.e. exhibitions, walking tours, oral history program, digital project, etc.), and complete a project proposal where students discuss the theoretical and practical aspects of public history work and locate themselves in the larger paradigms of the field. By the end of the course, students are expected to understand the following: the evolution of the public history field; historians' engagement with various publics, and more specifically historians' involvement in the public constructions of history; major theoretical constructs such as memory, heritage, community, commemoration; and current issues, trends, and theories that continue to change within the public history field.

Guest registration opens August 18

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Course Details

Session

Regular Academic Session

Class Dates

9/2/2025 - 12/12/2025

Location

Wheatley-Peters W01-0037

Enrolled / Capacity

10 / 15

Status

Closed

Instructor

Carolyn Goldstein

Tuition*

$2657 (guest students)

* The tuition estimate is based on minimum, single-course cost to a new student who is a Massachusetts resident and not enrolled in a multi-course program. State residency, online/in person modality, and matriculation to a degree program may affect cost.

Tuition Details