The Public's Historians

摘要

Students in my public history classes generally start out wondering why the topics extend beyond setting up attractive exhibitions, raising funds, conserving artifacts, and other practical matters. The class readings and discussions steadily draw people to recognizing the relevance of addressing social constructions, rightful ownership of artifacts, diverse voices, and the relative merits of commemoration and historical analysis. Since most of the course readings explore these issues through the experiences of individual museums, the debates initially seem distant and particularistic—not Something for students to worry about just yet.