Universities create new public history Master’s programs every year. Public history university programs first emerged in the United States (the first public history program was launched at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1976). Public history Master’s programs are now established throughout the world (See the IFPH’s map of public history programs) and the number of programs keeps growing. At the same time, creating a new program can be overwhelming and challenging. Indeed, while Public History belongs to the overall historical discipline, it bears some crucial specificity regarding its practices and training. In 2015, the National Council on Public History in the United States published useful best practices for “Establishing and Developing a Public History Program.” However, the field has rapidly changed in the past few years and numerous programs are emerging outside the United States. Although public history programs were successfully integrated into university systems in the United States, the same practices do not necessarily translate to other countries and contexts. In response to International Federation for Public History (IFPH) members and partnering universities’ needs for a set of teaching and training guidelines to be adapted to a range of international contexts, a Curriculum and Training committee was launched in 2021. Composed of IFPH members from a variety of national contexts and public history backgrounds, the Committee was tasked with leading practitioner discussions and drafting a new set of model practices to reference when creating Master’s level public history programs. More than 40 participants from all over the world took part in our online discussions. What started as a basic forum for ideas and questions evolved into more structured collaborative writing sessions. With the range and variations of national circumstances, university requirements, departmental objectives, and available resources, there can be no one-size-fits-all set of guidelines. Rather, this reference intends to offer ideas and suggestions, which may be applied, adapted, and modified according to national, local, and university contexts. Having said that, we strongly believe that these steps can help colleagues (faculty and administrators) around the globe launch discussions on the need and demand for a Master’s in Public History program at their institution. We are aware that each process and institution is unique. As such, this document presents different components for the creation of a public history program, identifies stages and processes, and proposes general guidelines with the aim of offering guidance in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of Master’s programs in public history.
Creating Public History Master Programs: International Guidelines
Enrica Salvatori
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2021-01-01
Abstract
Universities create new public history Master’s programs every year. Public history university programs first emerged in the United States (the first public history program was launched at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1976). Public history Master’s programs are now established throughout the world (See the IFPH’s map of public history programs) and the number of programs keeps growing. At the same time, creating a new program can be overwhelming and challenging. Indeed, while Public History belongs to the overall historical discipline, it bears some crucial specificity regarding its practices and training. In 2015, the National Council on Public History in the United States published useful best practices for “Establishing and Developing a Public History Program.” However, the field has rapidly changed in the past few years and numerous programs are emerging outside the United States. Although public history programs were successfully integrated into university systems in the United States, the same practices do not necessarily translate to other countries and contexts. In response to International Federation for Public History (IFPH) members and partnering universities’ needs for a set of teaching and training guidelines to be adapted to a range of international contexts, a Curriculum and Training committee was launched in 2021. Composed of IFPH members from a variety of national contexts and public history backgrounds, the Committee was tasked with leading practitioner discussions and drafting a new set of model practices to reference when creating Master’s level public history programs. More than 40 participants from all over the world took part in our online discussions. What started as a basic forum for ideas and questions evolved into more structured collaborative writing sessions. With the range and variations of national circumstances, university requirements, departmental objectives, and available resources, there can be no one-size-fits-all set of guidelines. Rather, this reference intends to offer ideas and suggestions, which may be applied, adapted, and modified according to national, local, and university contexts. Having said that, we strongly believe that these steps can help colleagues (faculty and administrators) around the globe launch discussions on the need and demand for a Master’s in Public History program at their institution. We are aware that each process and institution is unique. As such, this document presents different components for the creation of a public history program, identifies stages and processes, and proposes general guidelines with the aim of offering guidance in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of Master’s programs in public history.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
