Academic Catalog

Public History (B.A.)

Public History is a degree for students seeking careers in museums, at historical societies or historic sites, in cultural resource management, in nonprofits, in government agencies, and in allied fields. It is also appropriate for secondary school teachers who seek to gain experience in project-based, community-engaged pedagogy.

Program Requirements

Students must complete forty-five credits. Specific requirements are as follows:

Core Courses (21 credits)

Core courses equip students with basic training in the historical method; digital, museum, and archival methods of public history; and practical training in the field.

HIS 2900Introduction to Public History3
HIS 3000The Historian's Craft3
HIS 4997Internship in Public History3
ANT 5600Museum Studies3
HIS 5832History Practicum3
HIS/INF 6780Introduction to Records and Information Management3
HIS 5994Capstone Seminar in Public History3
Total Credits21

General History Surveys (3 credits)

General surveys equip students with a broad perspective on global or regional history.     

Select one of the following:
HIS 1000World Civilization to 15003-4
HIS 1050History of the Headlines: United States Since World War II3
HIS 1110Work and Democracy: An Introduction3
HIS 1300Europe and the World: 1500-19454
HIS 1400The World Since 19454
HIS 1600African Civilizations to 18003-4
HIS 1610African Civilizations Since 18003-4
HIS 1700East Asia to the 1700s3
HIS 1710History of Modern East Asia3
HIS 1800The Age of Islamic Empires: 600-16003
HIS 1810The Modern Middle East3
HIS 1900History of Colonial Latin America3
HIS 1910Latin America from Independence to the Present3
HIS 1995Nature and Societal Transitions3
HIS 2040American Foundations to 18773-4
HIS 2050Modern America: Since 18773-4

Applied Surveys (3 credits)

Applied surveys provide students with historical training in places students are likely to work, i.e. Michigan, Detroit, or urban environments generally.

Select one of the following:
HIS 2000Introduction to Urban Studies4
HIS 2240History of Michigan3-4
HIS 3650History of Detroit3

Thematic Surveys (6 credits)

Thematic surveys train students in the broader history of issues relevant to careers in public history, such as gender, globalism, family, ethnicity and race, and politics.

Select two of the following:
HIS 2350Black Detroit3
HIS 2430History of Latino/as in the United States3
HIS 2605History of Women, Gender and Sexuality in the Modern World3
HIS 2800Introduction to Global Issues and Institutions3
HIS 3010Jewish History from the Bible to Present3
HIS 3140African American History I: 1400-18653-4
HIS 3150African American History II: 1865-19683-4
HIS 3155African American History III: 1968 - Present3-4
HIS 3160Black Urban History4
HIS 3180Black Social Movements4
HIS 3205Queer American History3
HIS 3220Labor in Media and Popular Culture3
HIS 3240Detroit Politics: Continuity and Change in City and Suburbs4
HIS 3250The Family in History3-4
HIS 3360Black Workers in American History4
HIS 3400The Car in American Life and Labor4
HIS 3585Science, Technology, and Society3

Advanced History Courses 5000 or above, excepting HIS 5832  (6 credits)

Advanced history courses train students in the deeper history of a region and in the art of historical research. Students may choose courses either for broadening or for developing a particular interest.

Select two of the following:
HIS 5010Colonial North America4
HIS 5020Revolutionary America4
HIS 5130American Foreign Relations Since 19334
HIS 5200Women, Gender, and Sexuality in US History3
HIS 5205Queer American History3
HIS 5251History of Feminism4
HIS 5261American History and Memory3
HIS 5290American Labor History4
HIS 5300American Capitalism Since 19454
HIS 5330History of Ancient Greece3
HIS 5340History of Ancient Rome3
HIS 5460History of the Holocaust4
HIS 5530History of World War I and II: A Social and Political History of Two World Wars4
HIS 5535History of Terrorism3
HIS 5540World Environmental History since 19004
HIS 5555Britain in the Age of Empire4
HIS 5556History of Modern Britain4

Non-History Electives (6 credits)

Electives provide students with the interdisciplinary training in allied field indispensable to a degree in Public History.

Select two of the following:
ANT 2020Global Detroit3
ANT 2130Introduction to Forensic Anthropology and Human Rights3
ANT 2400Food and Culture3
ANT 5280Field Work in Archaeology of the Americas4
ANT 5500Historical Archaeology3
ANT 5565Urban Archaeology3
COM 1610Fundamentals of New Media Production3
COM 2290Fundamentals of New Media Communication3
COM 2310Introduction to Web Design3
ENG 3210Public Humanities3
ENG 5005Digital Storytelling3
INF 6420Web Development3
INF 6460Database Design and SQL3

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