PUBLIC HISTORY WORKSHOP

The laboratory course is part of the Master’s Degree Programme in ‘History from the Middle Ages to the Present’, and is connected to the new Center for Digital and Public Humanities in the Department of Humanities.
The objectives of the course are: the acquisition of Public History’s tools and methodologies, the understanding of some of the issues related to the production and consumption of history in public, with the public, and for the public. At the core of the course is the execution of a project that combines historical research and public engagement. The achievement of these objectives will enable the student to develop the skills to navigate the world of Public History and understand the basic techniques of the dissemination of historical research to a general public.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
• Knowledge of the evolution of the Public History from the twentieth century to the present.
• Knowledge of the relevant theoretical and intellectual debate.
• Knowledge of the main techniques and methodologies of historical research carried out with the public and in public.
• Knowledge of the main techniques and methodologies of historical dissemination carried out with the public and in public.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
• Ability to apply the practice of Public History to a specific case of popular dissemination of history.
• Ability to solve the problems connected to the dissemination of historical studies in non-academic contexts.
3. Judgement skills:
• Ability to critically analyse a historical source.
• Ability to develop critical thinking skills with reference to the issue of the public use of history and the alteration of historical memory in non-scholarly contexts.
4. Communication skills:
• Ability to interact with the peers and the professor and communicate the outcomes of the student's work.

Basic knowledge of medieval, early modern, or modern history.

For its own nature, the laboratory course revolves around the execution of a project to be carried on throughout the semester. The student will work towards the writing or the editing of a Wikipedia entry of historical subject, which should fall within his competence and will be chosen together with the professor. In this respect, the work will be divided in two different phases, strictly connected one another:
1. Historical research on the secondary sources available on the topic, including their critical assessment.
2. Creation (or editing) of a Wikipedia entry.
The use of electronic tools and a digital online platform make it a form of Digital Public History.

Apart from the laboratory activity, the contents of the course will include a series of more general topics related to the theory and practice of Public History, such as:
• Public sources
• Public memory and historical sites
• Museums, archives and heritage centres
• Community history
• Oral history
• Public History writing
• History in the media and the web
• Public engagement
• Public Historian and occupational opportunities

Core Readings:
• Serge Noiret, ‘«Public History» e «storia pubblica» nella rete’, Ricerche storiche, 39.2-3 (2009), pp. 275–327.
• Thomas Cauvin, ‘The Rise of Public History: An International Perspective’, Historia Crítica, 68 (2018), pp. 3-26.
• Valentina Colombi, ‘Public Historians: la storia è un mestiere del futuro?’, in Public History. La storia contemporanea, a cura di Valentina Colombi e Giovanni Sanicola, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Milano, 2017, pp. 39-41.
• Antonino De Francesco, ‘Public History e Università’, in Public History. La storia contemporanea, a cura di Valentina Colombi e Giovanni Sanicola, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Milano, 2017, pp. 49-52.

• Roy Rosenzweig, ‘Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past’, The Journal of American History, vol. 93.1 (2006), pp. 117-146.
• Robert S. Wolff, ‘The Historian’s Craft, Popular Memory, and Wikipedia’, in Writing History in the Digital Age, eds by Jack Dougherty and Kristen Nawrotzki, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2013, pp. 64-74.

Further Reading:
• Thomas Cauvin, Public History: A Textbook of Practice, New York-London, Routledge, 2016.

Execution of the laboratory project.
Active class participation will also be taken into account.

Lessons and seminar activity with interaction between professor and students.
Execution of the laboratory project.
Given the nature of the laboratory course, attendance is strongly recommended, and students are encouraged to actively participate in class.
Didactic materials will be made available through the Moodle e-learning platform.

Italian

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