Public History Program
Why public history?
The History Department at the State University of West Georgia offers course work in public history at the B.A. and M.A. level to prepare students for careers in museums, local and community history, archives, historic preservation, and other history-related fields.
Public historians use professional expertise and skills to document the past and to present it to the public in a wide variety of settings. They curate and interpret museum collections, process archival materials, document the region's historic structures and folklife resources, conduct oral histories, edit historical publications, and administer and direct local history museums and organizations.
One of the strengths of the West Georia public history program is the Museum Studies Certificate offered in association with the Atlanta History Center since 2000. But many of our students also pursue a more general public history program, and our faculty will tailor a student's coursework to his or her particular academic and career interests.
Over the past year, we have expanded our offerings in archives. Dr. Keith Hebert is developing additional courses in digital history and has taken on the classes in oral history and introduction to archives. Dr. Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, is developing a new Advanced Archives Practicum to be offered for the first time in the summer of 2010. UWG recently entered into an agreement with Valdosta State University's Master of Library and Information Science program to cross-list classes between our public history program and their library and archives department. We look forward to these exciting new opportunities and to better serving our students.