NEW DEGREE, MAJOR, OR SUBMAJOR
Degree/Program Title: History (BA/BS) Minor with Public History Emphasis
Sponsor(s): Anthony Gulig and Nikki Mandell
Department(s): History
College(s): Letters and Sciences
Effective Term: Fall, 2001
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New Degree: Intent to Plan | |
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New Degree: Final Proposal | |
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New Major: Intent to Plan | |
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New Major: Final Proposal | |
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New Submajor: Minor | |
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New Submajor: Emphasis/Track | |
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New Submajor: Certificate Program | |
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Module: Intent to Plan | |
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Module: Final Proposal | |
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Other ___________________ | |
Bulletin Description of the Program:
The Public History minor emphasis provides students with an opportunity
to study the application of historical understanding, development, and
presentation of history outside the academy. The public history emphasis
will help prepare students for employment and volunteer opportunities in
a growing number of public history venues, including museums, public parks,
historical societies, and civic celebrations. The Minor consists of lower
and upper-division history courses, as well as methods courses outside
the history department. The capstone course for the Minor is Applied History,
in which students will participate in an internship in their area of interest.
Program Proposal:
The History Department at UW-Whitewater proposes to meet students'
interest in a more experiential application of historical study by establishing
a new Public History minor emphasis.
List of Courses to be included in the program in APR format:
HISTORY MINOR WITH PUBLIC HISTORY EMPHASIS- 24 CREDITS
Rationale:
While teaching will probably remain the career choice of many history
majors, a number of other opportunities do exist. One of the most exciting
new arenas for historians is in the field of public history. Public history
promotes the development and presentation of history outside the academy.
Public history is created and articulated in a variety of settings, including
archives, museums, public parks, movies, electronic media and historical
attractions. The state of Wisconsin is particularly rich in public history
opportunities. The recent celebration of the sesquicentennial, for example,
demonstrated the wealth of historical heritage and resources throughout
the state. In addition to public institutions engaged in historical preservation
and presentation, such as the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, a
number of private ventures also attract tourists to Wisconsin's historical
sites. Public interest in history has grown enormously in recent years,
as evidenced by the commercial success of entertainment ventures from Steven
Spielberg's Amistad and Saving Private Ryan to the History
Channel to the National Park Service's initiative to develop a series of
new historical park sites throughout the country. As public interest in
history has grown, employment opportunities for public historians have
grown as well.
Over the past decade, universities throughout North America have established new degree granting programs to meet this demand. The Public History Resource Center reports over 30 such programs at the present time. Only 5 of these programs, however, are at the undergraduate level. As further signs of growth in this field, public historians have established a professional organization, the National Council for Public History and support a professional journal, The Public Historian. The program proposed here is intended to introduce students to this new and growing historical field.
Cost implications:
Initial cost implications for this program are minimal. With the exception
of the required internship—740-493, Applied History—all courses in this
minor are already part of current course rotations in the history department.
As the program grows, however, faculty developing and supervising public
history internships will require teaching load adjustments that take into
account the extended and off-campus responsibilities of establishing and
maintaining productive internships for students involved in the minor.
Assessment Plan:
Assessment of the Public History minor emphasis will be integrated
into the department’s assessment program.
Goals and learning objectives:
Upon completion of the Public History minor emphasis students will:
This emphasis also effectively meets several of the department’s goals and objectives. Students completing this program will have a knowledge of the 4 required content areas, as well as an understanding of how to apply and transmit abstractions related to completed coursework. (Departmental Subject Matter Objective 1, 2, and Cognitive Developmental Objective 1, 2, and 3). Perhaps most importantly, students completing this program will have the ability to demonstrate the acquisition of skills permitting them to locate, identify, order, and communicate pertinent historical data within the appropriate context. (Departmental Skill Objective 1).
Relation of the program to other programs on campus, in the UW System,
and in the region:
There are at present no other public history undergraduate programs/emphases
in the UW-System. UW-Milwaukee currently offers a master’s degree in history
with a public history specialization. UW-Eau Claire also offers an internship
in pubic history, but like UW-Milwaukee, the internship is part of the
graduate program in history. This minor emphasis would allow students interested
in the field to explore possibilities in public history at the undergraduate
level.
Projected source(s) of resources/cost implications:
Since all courses with the exception of the internship are part of
current course rotations in the history department, future cost implications
are minimal when compared to the importance of the program. The internship
will be incorporated into regular and ongoing departmental course offerings
beginning with the Summer 2001 timetable.
Student need and/or demand for the program:
History remains a traditional major for many students at UW-Whitewater
(UWW), as well as most other comprehensive institutions in North America.
Over the past four years the number of history majors and minors at UWW
has increased by almost 40%, evidence of students' continued interest.
Students often select a major in history as they begin their teacher education
program, or because, like many people, they have an interest in their own
past and that of the society in which they live. An increasing proportion
of history majors at UWW fall into the former category, pursuing history
as part of their secondary education licensure program. Students majoring
in history as part of a licensure program now account for 65% of all history
majors, up from 50% four years ago. The remaining 35% of students are pursuing
history as a stand-alone major or minor, down from 50% four years ago.
Many students in this latter group ask, "what can I do with a history degree?"
While the question may seem shortsighted, the angst felt by students is
real. It is not that they are missing the real value of an undergraduate
major in history, the valuable intellectual skills of interpretation and
analysis. Rather, they are seeking a hands-on education that teaches directly
marketable skills. Some students desire academic training that seems more
directly applicable or transferable in today's competitive labor market.