Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/uol-public-history

Introduction

**Course Review and Recommendation: Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories** In an environment where understanding our past is crucial for addressing contemporary challenges, the course "Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories" offered on Coursera serves as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in exploring the nuances of history and its application within the public sphere. This course is particularly relevant for aspiring historians, educators, community activists, and individuals who are simply passionate about history and its impact on society today. ### Course Overview The course provides an engaging introduction to the concept of applied public history, emphasizing interpretation, community engagement, and the dynamic relationship between historical narratives and modern society. Spanning several weeks, learners will be encouraged to actively participate in discussions, quizzes, and creative activities, all designed to enhance their understanding and practical skills in public history. ### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Your Place**: The course kicks off by helping participants develop a sense of place, aided by expert insights from organizations like Historic England and Layers of London. This week focuses on understanding the historic environment and highlights tools such as historic maps for research. Participants are encouraged to introduce themselves, laying the groundwork for collaboration throughout the course. 2. **Discovering Stories**: This week features a series of compelling case studies, showcasing various methods for collecting and sharing historical narratives. The Youth Club Archive and the Victoria County History's Red Boxes project are highlighted, along with a poignant examination of oral histories from Syrian refugees. This module emphasizes the importance of diverse narratives and community involvement in storytelling. 3. **Public History and Creative Practice**: Here, learners explore the intersection of public history and creative arts. By investigating artistic collaborations and innovative means of depicting history through creative mapping and re-enactment, participants gain fresh insights that will inspire their own practices. There's even a hands-on opportunity to engage in a creative masterclass, making the learning experience more interactive and personal. 4. **History and the Present**: This vital section examines the ways history influences contemporary society. Through discussions on monuments, memorials, and the representation of marginalized stories, learners are prompted to consider how understanding the past can inform social interventions today. Projects like #RememberHer provide a practical perspective on how history can be mobilized for positive change. 5. **Research Together**: This week centers on collaborative methodologies in historical research. Participants uncover how to transform passive audiences into active contributors to historical narratives. Insights from community archives and crowdsourcing projects emphasize the richness that participatory research brings to public history. 6. **Communication and Evaluation**: The final week focuses on consolidating communication skills, critical for effective public history practice. Participants reflect on their learning journey and consider future applications of their skills, drawing from case studies such as the National Festival of the Humanities. ### What Makes This Course Stand Out? "Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories" distinguishes itself through its interactive format, diverse content, and emphasis on community engagement. The expert insights and case studies featured in the course offer real-life applications, equipping learners with practical tools that can be employed in their communities. Moreover, the focus on creative practices invites those who may not be traditionally inclined toward the arts to explore this valuable dimension of history interpretation. ### Who Should Take This Course? This course is ideal for a wide range of individuals, including: - **History Enthusiasts**: Anyone with an interest in history who wants to deepen their understanding and application. - **Educators**: Teachers and educators looking to incorporate public history practices in their curricula. - **Community Workers**: Those involved in community engagement initiatives seeking to understand how to effectively share local history. - **Students**: Undergraduate and graduate students pursuing history or related fields who want practical insights into public history. ### Final Recommendation In conclusion, I highly recommend "Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories" for anyone seeking to connect the past with the present in meaningful ways. The course's emphasis on diversity, creativity, and community involvement ensures that participants emerge with a richer understanding of public history's importance and application. Whether you’re looking to enhance your professional skills or simply foster a deeper appreciation for our shared past, this course is a valuable investment in your historical journey. Join this vibrant community of learners and become an active participant in shaping the history that surrounds us!

Syllabus

Your Place

In this first week, we’ll meet the course presenters, and explore place and history with help from Historic England, Layers of London and others. How do we get a sense of the history and heritage of a place, and how can we involve our communities in understanding the historic environment? We’ll look at the professional practice of describing historic places and buildings, as well as what maps can reveal about place and history – with special access to historic maps in the Institute of Historical Research archive, and reflections on 'deep mapping' in the crowdsourced Layers of London project. There's also a chance for you to introduce yourself: the first step in forming our virtual community and sharing our varied experiences and expertise.

This week, we'll explore some fantastic case-study projects, to discover fascinating stories from history, and approaches to recovering and sharing the past. With the help of Youth Club Archive, we'll reflect on different approaches to collecting and telling stories, with varied audiences in mind. Through the Victoria County History 'Red Boxes' project, we'll look at how stories can be told through objects. And we'll look at how a project gathering the oral histories of Syrian refugees brings together different participants and communities.

Where does applied public history meet creative practice? This week, we'll learn from a range of projects to explore what art, and artistic collaborations, can bring to interpretation of the past, to examine historical re-enactment and costumed interpretation, and to look at how a creative approach to mapping might draw a place and its history in imaginative, thought-provoking and engaging ways. There's also an opportunity to try your own creative skills by joining in a creative masterclass! Whether you're naturally an artistic type or not, this week is an opportunity to consider creative approaches for your own applied public history work and projects, and to reflect on what these methods facilitate.

Anniversaries, statues, blue plaques and monuments - history is all around us in the present, in our places and in our public debates. This week, we'll examine how history is commemorated today, with attention to lines of exclusion and absences. We'll look at strategies for mobilising history to make positive interventions in present-day society, with perspectives from the #RememberHer project on female memorials in London, the Haringey Peace Forum (working on World War 1 conscientious objectors), and History Workshop Online, with their activist approach to 'history of the present'.

How do you transform an 'audience' into active researchers? What can engaged, participatory research and co-production add to our understanding of the past and its significance in the present? This week we'll talk to Layers of London, the Victoria County History in Leicestershire, and the Runnymede Trust's 'Our Migration Story' project team, to explore new approaches to uncovering history, from community archive work to crowdsourcing.

Applied Public History is all about communication. This week, we'll return to the core thread of communication which has run across the course, consolidating our skills with attention to some new case studies, and returning to others. We'll also step back and think about evaluation and how to identify opportunities for future development - including a chance for you to reflect on your own participation in this course. We'll hear from projects including 'Being Human' - a National Festival of the Humanities, Layers of London, #RememberHer, and more.