Table Of ContentThe Field of Public History: Planning the Curriculum: An Introduction
Author(s): G. Wesley Johnson and Noel J. Stowe
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Public Historian, Vol. 9, No. 3, The Field of Public History: Planning the
Curriculum (Summer, 1987), pp. 10-19
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the National Council on Public History
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The Field of Public Histor7:
Planning the Curriculum-
An Introduction
JOHNSON J.
G. WESLEY andN OEL STOWE
WITH
THE PUBLICH ISTORYM OVMENr scarcelmy oret hana decadeo ld,
this seemsa propitioutsi me to pausea ndt o lookm orec loselya t the
educationastlr ucturteh atw e nowp ossess foro vero ne hundredp ublic
historyt rainingp rogramhsa vee mergeda t Americaunn iversithy istory
departmentnsa tionwideO.l nceb unchedto getherw itho there merging
subjectssu cha sA fro-Americawno,m en'sf,a milya, ndq uantitativheis tory,
publich istoryh as( ash avet heo thersf)o undit so wnn ichei nm anyu niversi-
tiesa ndh asw onr ecognitioans a b onaf idef ieldo fh istoricastl udyW. hether
we haver eachedth ep ointh inteda tb yt woG allico bserverosf t heA meri-
cana cademiscc ene,T orreas ndR oussow, hos peculatteh atp ublich istory
is becominag new" schooolf h istory,i"s unclear.C ertainlpyu blich istory
2
hast he potentiatlo becomea news choool f historya, ndt he nextd ecade
shouldr eveawl hetherth ef ieldc and evelopth eoreticaalp proachaesn da n
originalilt eraturteo w arrantth isf latteryM. eanwhilteh, ef actt hats om any
universithy istoryd epartmenthsa vei nvestedi n publich istoryt raining
suggesttsh ata greatd ealo f brainpoweisr b eingm obilizetdo developth e
teachingm aterialsli,t eraturea,n ds trategiens ecessartyo insures uccess.
Whetheorr n ott heo utcomeis a news choool fh istoryo ra well-structured
approactho professionatrl ainingt,h e opportunitiaesn dc hallengekse ep
publich istoryv erym ucha " growthfi"e ld.
3
1. SecretariatN, affonaCl ouncilo n PublicH istory.
2. See the quotesb y FelixT orresa nd HenryR oussos et at the beginningo f the special
issue.
3. One argumentf or "an ew schoolo f history"is the potentialo f publich istoryt o do
historyf or the benefito f the public.T hisw ouldb e in sharpc ontrastt o the often-repeated
criticismt hat academich istoriansw rite only for their peers. If a corpuso f researcha nd
publicationisn publich istoryd evelopso ver the comingd ecadet o supportt his contention,
then a school of historym ayb e possible.T he Annales schoolp ioneereds ocialh istoryi n a
worldt iredo f politicalc hronologyt;h erea re signsa t presentt hats omeh istorianas re tiring
of the Americanv ersiono f the Annales socialh istorya ndt hata returnt o "basicos f history"is
takingp lace. Whetherp ublic historyc an become part of this new departureis open to
question.
10
The Public Histortan, Vol.9 , No. 3 (Summer1 987)
@b) y the Regentso f the Universityo f California
INTRODUCTION * 11
Mosto bserversn ow agreet hata n earlierd efensivem entalityo n the
parto f publich istorianasn dp rofessorosf publich istoryh asb eenr eplaced
by a positiveo utlook.N ot surprisinglyth, is has been linkedt o accep-
tance.I t seemsq uitec leart hata s of 1987,p ublich istoryc ann o longerb e
consideredex perimentaolr f addishI. t nows eemsf irmlyim planteidn the
mainlinceu rriculumof A mericaanc ademia.
Rathert hanc elebratet his accomplishmentth,e editorso f thisj ournal
decidedt hata criticaal ssessmenotf the emergingp ublich istoryc urricu-
lumw asc alledf or.W hilea tt he outseti n them id-1970sso mec ollegesa nd
universitieas lreadyh ad severalc oursesi n their cataloguetsh at were
reallyp ublich istorym, osth aveh adt o createn ewc oursesa nds eminarosr
radicallyre vampo ld offeringsD. espitea n abundancoef coursesa nd a
resultingc urriculumw hichv ariesf romp lacet o place,p ublich istoryh as
establisheda commonalitoyf purposea ndu niformitoyf functionw hether
one looksa t graduatep rogramos r in departmentws hereo nly several
coursesa reo ffered.
Suchv italitya ndc reativee nergys uggestt hatp ublich istoryh asn oty et
peakeda sa movementa, ndt hati ndeed,r atherth anf adingfr omt hes cene,
ass omec riticsp rofessedi,t hasg rownli keT opsyB. utb ecauseit hasc aught
the imaginatioonf manyh istoryd epartment(sa sn otedb y CarlD egleri n
'The Progresso f PublicH istory,"p . 8, above),t he questiono f how to
exerciseq ualityc orltroli n ane xpandinfgi eldb ecomesc rucialP. ublich is-
toryh ast endedt o becomei mplantedon stateu niversitcya mpusersa ther
thanp rivateu niversitie(ss omee xceptionws ouldin cludeN ewY orkU niver-
sity or GeorgeW ashingtonU niversitya)n dh as favoredc ampusesn ear
largeu rbana reasT. heI vyL eagueh asy et to recognizpe ublich istoryb, ut
thisc oulde asilyc hange,s incem anyI vy League-trainehdi storianhsa ve
figuredin the vanguarodf the publich istorym ovementG. eographically,
publich istoryp rogramasr ef oundin everys ectiono rr egiono ft hec ountry;
thes amei s trueo f employmenotp portunitiefos rp ublich istoryg raduates.
We are talkingt hen abouta nationapl henomenonw, hichs uggestst hat
standardosf e xcellencfeo ri nstructiosnh oulda lsob e nationainl s cope.T hat
is oner easonfo rt hea ppearancoef thiss peciails sueo fT heP ublicH istor7an:
tor aiseq uestionasb outt heq ualityo fp ublich istoryin structioann dt om ake
suggestionfso ri tsi mprovemenatn de xcellence.
Towardth ise nd, to reflectu ponh owt o planf orb otht he shorta ndl ong
termf uture,t woe ventst ookp lace,b othm adep ossibleb y the generosity
andi nteresto f the NationaEl ndowmenfto rt he HumanitiesF. irstw asa
conferenceh eld at the Universityo f CaliforniaS, antaB arbaroan the
subject" Howt o developt he publich istoryc urriculum?M" anyo f the
authorso f articlesc ontainedt his speciali ssue attendedt hat meeting.
Later,s omeo f themb ecamet he nucleusf ort he seconde vent,t he Sum-
mer Instituteo n PublicH istory.T his was sponsoredb y the National
Counciol n PublicH istorya ndh eldo n the campuso f ArizonaS tateU ni-
versityT. hirtyc ollegep rofessorws ereb roughtto getherto confront-and
12 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN
be confrontebdy publich istoryN. ewq uestionws erea ddedt o the con-
tinuingd ebateo n howt o teachp ublich istorya ndh owt o developt each-
inga ndr esearchm aterialTs. heset woc onferenceess tablisheadn o ngoing
dialoguaem ongd irectorosf g raduatper ogramasn do therq ualifiefda culty
whichh asr esultedin thiss peciails sue.
Severails suesa rticulateadt thesem eetingas res tillw ithu s andf orma
backgrountod t he specificp roblemtsa kenu pi n thef ollowinegs saysO. ne
is the questiono f howt o reacht he multiplep ublicss ervedb y thisn ew
field.T raditionatel achingh istoriansw, hoa rea ccustometdo relatingto
studentsw, hen approachinpgu blich istorya re oftenc atapultedin to a
worldo f museumsh, istoricaslo cieties,g overnmenatg enciesb, usiness
officesc, onsultinfgir msa, nda rchivesa,n dm ustd evelops peciaal ntennae
in ordert o adaptto thes peciailn terestas ndn eedso ft hesec onstituencies.
Establishinag p rofessionrael lationshiwpi tht hep ublicin questionis part
of the traininga ndp erformancnee cessartyo becomea successfuplu blic
historianT. hisi s one of the mainr easonsw hy publich istoryt raining
programasr e necessarys,i nceo rdinargyr aduathei storyin structiotnr adi-
tionallyfo cuseso n teachinga nds tudentn eeds.T hes tudentw hol eaves
academefo r the marketp laceo r governmenste rvices oond iscoveras
differenwt orld.I f the trainingp rogramdso no moret hans ensitizet he
studentto thisr eality thatt herea rem ultiplpe ublictso serve theyw ill
havel aunchedth eirc hargeisn ther ightd irection.
A secondis suet hato ftenp opsu pi s theq uestion", Wheries thet heory
behindp ublich istory?T"o date,n o one hasa rticulateadc ceptablteh eo-
reticalu nderpinningfosr t he teachinga ndp racticeo f publich istoryI. t
mayw ellb e thatt he pragmatisimnv olvedin traininsgt udentfso rp rofes-
sionals ervicea ndp racticeo utsideo f the universitdy oes not callf or a
theoreticarla tionaleO. nt he otherh and,p erhapas theoreticiawni lls oon
stepf orwartdo tidyu pt hep ragmatbice nto fp ublich istorianIst. seemst o
be somethinsgo ughta fterb y somep ublich istoryte acherbs uta s yet the
structurefdo rmulatiothne yd esireh asp rovede lusive.
A thirdq uestionc oncernsth e continuinegd ucationo f all historians,
sincem anyp ublich istorianbse lievet hatt heirc olleagueisn thea cademy
wouldb enefitf rome xposurteo the ideasa ndp racticetsh ath elpa nimate
thew orldo ft hep ractitioneIrn. o therw ordst, hiss peciails sueo nc urricu-
lum developmenitn publich istoryt s addressedt o all memberso f the
histortcalp rofession.A t firstg lance,t his mights eem self-servingb;u t
considetrh eq uestion", Howd ow e preparoeu rs tudenttso succeedin the
worldo f the twenty-fircste ntury?I"f the fieldso f psychologoyr econom-
ics,w hichh avel argea ppliedc omponentas,r ea nyi ndicatioonf thed irec-
tiont hes ociasl ciencesa rem ovingin , theni ncreasingaly h igherp ercent-
ageo f historianws illb e employedou tsideo f thea cademyA. ts omep oint,
possiblyb y the mid-199O(isf t he twof ieldsc iteda rea guide)t hem ajority
ofp rofessiondale greeh oldersin historyw illb e workinign publich istory
INTRODUCTION * 13
and nott eachingM. uchd ependso n the needs of the largers ociet,vin
whichw e live, but with moret han6 ,000l ocalh istoricaslo cieties,t hou-
sandso f businessesa, nd growingn umberso f governmentaolf fices( fed-
eral, state, or local)i nterestedi n the servicesa professionaltlyra ined
historiacna np rovidet, hep rospecot fp ractitioneervs entualloyu tnumber-
ingt hep rofessorssh ouldn otb e surprising.
If thesep remisesa rec orrectt, heni t mayb e desirablteo develops ome
notionso f continuinge ducationf or the rest of the professionU. nlike
medicinel,a w,a nda ccountingh, istoryd oesn ot licensei ts practitioners.
Thereforwe e simplyc annotf orceh istoriansp, ublico r academict,o take
thirtyo r fortyh ourso f continuinged ucationp rofessionasel minaresv ery
yeart o keepc urrenitn theirf ield.B utp anelsg ivena t the majohr istorical
meetings,s pecialr egionasl eminarsa, ndv isitings peakercsa nb othp ro-
vide continuinge ducationfo r publich istorianas nd help sensitizea ca-
demich istorianass to the full spectrumo f opportunitiepso ssiblei n the
sectorso f publich istory.C ontinuinegd ucationc oulda lsod eal directly
witha majors tumblingb lockf or somea cademihc istorianst:h e relation
betweent he historiana ndh is or her cliento r employerP. ublich istory
sharesw ith law, medicine,a ppliedp sychologya, ppliede conomicsa, nd
otherp rofessiontsh e fundamentaidl ea thatt he sets the agenda.
client
Thisi s, to be sure,a "marketplamcee ntality,b"u ti n thet raditionpalr ofes-
sions,t hisi s nots eena sb eingi ncompatibwlei tha professionaagl endafo r
researcha nd writing.W hy shouldn ot some historianas lso be able to
respondto a client-driveang enda?4
A fourtha ndf inalp ointr espondtso the lastq uestionh: istoriansif, they
aret o becomep arto f the growingp rofessionawlo rkf orcei n the informa-
tion-ageso ciety,w illh avet o becomem oree ntrepreneuriaFlo. re xample,
one of the mostc onservativper ofessionfso ry earsw ast hato f accounting.
Accountanwtse re supposedto be modelso f probitya ndd iscretionY. et
whatd o we findt oday?M osto f the greata ccountinfgir msh aveb ranched
out intom anagemencto nsultingS. incea ccountanatss auditorhs avel ong
examinedth e financesa ndo perationosf businesseisn greatd etail,i t was
finallyd iscoveredth at all of their expertisea nd criticala ppraisaslk ills
couldb e expandeda ndm arketedT. he analogyh oldst ruef orh istorians:
fory ears,w e haved evelopedth e abilityt o analyzela rgeb odieso f data,t o
sift throughe videncet o findt rendsa nd spot generalizationWs. e have
beent rainedto thinki n a "times treamm" entality(,a sE rnestM ayw ould
calli t,) thatm akesu s usefult o adviset hosem akingd ecision(sw hetheirn
governmenotr business)I. n otherw ords,h istorianssh ouldt akea lesson
fromt he accountinpgr ofessionan db egint o tradeo n the skillsa ndi nfor-
mationt hey possessa s parto f theirt raininga nd educationT. hosew ho
4. For those who raiseq uestionso f ethicalo bjectionsw, e refert he readert o the special
issueo n publich istorya nde thics, TheP ublicH istorian8 (Winter1 986).
14 * THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN
don'tli ket hei deao f becominmg oree ntrepreneur(iawlh ichw ouldo ffend
somed yed-in-the-woaocla demiciancs)o,u ldt hinki n termso f becoming
morec ornpetitivwe,h ichis ano ldA mericavni rtue.
Thew orldis changingb,u th istorianws, hof ancyth emselvetsh ec hroni-
clerso f sociacl hangea, rei n direp erilo f beingl eftb ehindT. hee xplosion
in informatiomna nagemenfto, re xamplei,s takingp laceb eforeo ure yes;
yet howm anyh istoryd epartmenhtsa ves oughto ut informatiosnci ence
departmenttos establishjo intc ourseso r seminarsI?n creasinglhyi,s tori-
answ illb e calledu pont o functiona sc orporatoer i nstitutionmale mories,
buth oww ellp repareda ret heyf ort hisn ewd evelopmentC?a nt heyb e
cornpetitivOe?r w illi nformatiomna nagemengot b yd efaultto ourt echni-
cala ndc omputewr izardsW? ew ills urelya pproacOh rwell'1s9 84s ociety
muchm oreq uicklyu nlessw e haveh istoriantso helpd ecidew hati s kept,
means.
howi t is retrieveda, ndm osti mportanwt, hati t Forh istoryis still
thed isciplin(ea ndp rofessionp)a re xcellencteh ata skst heq uestion", Why
didi t happen?O" thersm aya nswerth e "howo"r " whatp"a rto f the ques-
tion,b ut historiansw, itht heirt rainingin time-streampe rspectivea,r e
uniquelyq ualifietdo functionas i nterpreterosfo urs ocietyT. hata, ftera ll,
wast he primaryfu nctiono f the philosopheosf the eighteenthc entury,
andi t mayw ellb e theh allmarokf thep ublich istorianosf t het wenty-first
century.
Ourf riendsi n the ivy towerm ayp rotest," Buti sn'tt hatw hatw e've
beend oing?L ooka t HofstadterL, ascho, r Degler."O new ouldn aturally
agree,b ut the differencae t hand,a ndf ort he futurei, s thatt he larger
society,n otj ustt he universitwy orld,n eedst heses killsa ndp erceptive
observationTs.o u set he languagoef t hem arketplacwe,e haved eveloped
a respectablhe omem arketb, ut isn'ti t time we paida ttentionto the
exports ectors?I f historianws ouldb e less preoccupiewd ithr eplicating
themselve(sa st eachersa)n dt akeu p thec hallengteh eirc olleagueisn the
(createinffge ctipvrea ctitioners),
medicaal ndl awf acultiefsa ce thent he
professioonf historyw ouldb e enrichede, xpandeudp on,a ndm ader eady
to servet hei nformation-definweodr ldo ft het wenty-fircset ntury.
Andi n the processa new schoolo f history,c osmopolitainn scope,
mighwt ellb e created.
Thesea res omeb ackgrounqdu estiontso keepi n minda s the essaysin
thisi ssueu nfoldT. od iscussfu rthersp ecificsw, e turnt o myc o-editofro r
thisi ssue,N oelJ . Stowe.
G. W. J.
THEFI ELODFP UBLHIICS TORY
hasr eacheda criticaslt agei n thee volu-
tiono f programde velopmenAt.s the fieldm aturesi,t s curriculumpl an-
ners and directorsfa ce the challengeo f readyingst udentsf or careers
extendingw ell into the nextc entury a futurea nalystps redictw ill be
influencedb y forcesq uited istinctf romt hosec haracterizinthge 1945-
INTRODUCTION * 15
1980se ra.C urriculumqu estionsm ustf ocuso n whatc onstitutetsh e best
preparatioonf studentsf ort hisf uture.A soundh istoryc urriculumou ght
to incorporatpeu blich istoryt rainingw, hethero r not therei s a formal
publich istoryp rogram.
The articlesin this issuea ddressp racticaml attersh: owt o designc ur-
riculumto prepares tudentsf ort hisn ew environmenatn dh owt o estab-
lisha basisf ora student'os ngoingc areerd evelopmenAt. t the samet ime
thesea rticlesr eflecta muchb roadecro ncernt:h ea dequacayn da ppropri-
atenesso f allg raduateed ucationin historyW. hileb otht opicsa rei nterre-
latedi n anyd iscussiono n curriculumin historyw, hatm akest he discus-
siond ifferenits the context.S tudentsg raduatinfgr oma ll programasr e
enteringh istoricacla reersth atw illb e shapedb yf orcesin creasingdlyi ffer-
ent fromt hoset hati nfluencedth eirm entorst'r aininga ndc areersC. ur-
riculump lannersm ustr ecognizeth atf act.T heym usta lsoa cknowledge
thatm osth istoryp rogramws erec onceptualizefdor c areeras ppropriattoe
the 1950s,1 960s,o r 1970s.E venm uchi n the publich istorya rear epre-
sentst he bestt hinkingo f the 1970s.
Thus,f acultyw orkingw ithc urrenpt ublich istoryc urriculumiss uesa re
dealingw ithn ewf orcesi mpingingn ot onlyo n theirf ieldb ut alsoo n the
disciplinea s a whole.W hyi s thats ucha significanpto int?B ecauseit was
barelyt en yearsa go thatt he firsth istoricapl rogramcsa rryintgh e label
"publico"r "applieda"d mittedth eiri nitialc lasses.T hosep rogramesm -
ployedt hesel abelst o differentiatteh eirn ewt hrusitn curriculumde velop-
ment-one that establisheda specificc urriculumde signedt o educate
studentss ystematicallfyo r historicacla reerso utsidet he academyT. his
developmenmt arkeda majord eparturfer omt he trendf ollowingW orld
WarI I whenh istoryd epartmentsst eadilya bandonetdh e ideao f prepar-
ing historiantso worko utsidea cademec, hoosingin steadt o clonet hem-
selves.B y educatingst udentsp rimarilfyo rw orka s teacher-scholarths,e
academyq uicklyb ecamei ts ownp rincipalla borm arketa, situatione n-
hancedb y burgeoninegn rollmenttsh atn ecessitatende wf acultyh ires.
The developingp ublich istorym ovemenot f the 1970sc hallengedth e
conceptsu nderpinnintgh is narrowp reparatioonf specializedh istorians.
Thism odeo f graduatter aininhg adi gnoredth en eedso ft hep rofessiofonr
greaters tresso n the developmenotf the dtsciplinTe.h ec onsequencoef
thiss hifti n emphasihs adb eeni ncreasinsgp ecializatioanm ongh istorians,
isolationo f historianos n campusf romh istorianesm ployedo ff campus,
and separationo f the campusd epartmenftr omt he worldb eyondt he
university5.
Advocatews ithint he publich istorym ovemenat rguedfo ra returnto an
oldert raditionr, eaffirminpgr eparatiofno r professionadle velopmenats
ani mportanrte sponsibilityP.u blich istorianssu ggestedm orec omprehen-
5. Ernest Lynton, "Reexaminingth e Role of the University,"C hange 15 (October
1983),2 0.
16 * THE PUBLIC HISTOEUAN
sive trainingfo r historiansf,o r peoplew ho not only were thoroughly
groundeidn thed isciplinbe uta lsou nderstootdh ats cholarlrye searcahn d
reporwt ritingw erea ppropriattoe a greatn umbeor f settingas nda pplica-
tionsa ndk newh owt o produces eriouso utcomeos thert hant he mono-
grapha ndj ournala rticle.D ifferenbt ut equallyr igorousse minara nd
colloquiumw orkw asr equiredI.n ternshiptsh atw ouldt akes tudentbs e-
yondt hec lassroomse ttingw eren eededs o thats tudentms ightg ainf irst-
hande xperiencea s historianisn publica genciesc, onsultingfi rms,a r-
chivesa, ndc orporatoef flces.
Laidb eforet he academya ndc onventionahli storicaals sociationwsa s
the challengeto recognizeth e legitimatpe resenceo f academiocr schol-
arlyc areerso utsidet he classroomE. quallyi mportanwt as the call to
developn ewc urriculumstr ategietso educateh istorianfso rs uchc areers.
Thisc all challengedth e conventionaidl east hatu nderlayth e existing
curriculumde signo f mostp rogramas,n dt hath ads hapedth et hinkinogf
the vastm ajorityo f historiantse achingin historyd epartmentPs.u blic
historya dvocateosp eneda new debateo n howb est to trainh istorians.
Oftent he primaryis sueb ecamel ost in verbiageT. he importanist sue,
however,r emainsf or us to ponder:i t is not (as sometimesth ought)
whethero r not high-qualithyi storianasr eb eingp reparedb, utw hether
high-qualithyi storianas re being preparedfo r a varietyo f careers-
beyondth es inglec areertr acko ft eacher-scholar.
Mucho f the pastd ecade'ds ebatem istookth e filndamentiasls ue.F or
soundp rofessiondael velopmenwt e needb roadlpyr eparehdi storianns,o t
narrowltyr aineds pecialistsQ.6u estionerrse peatedlays kw hetherto pre-
pareh istorianfso rp ublico r appliedw orki s notr eallyt o prepartee chni-
cians.S uchq uestionerasg onizeo vert echniquceo ursese, .g ., in historical
administratioend,i tinga, ndc ulturarle sourcme anagemenYt.e tt he same
questionerrsa relyq uestionth e techniquetsa ughitn traditionsael minars
thate xpectp apersto be writtena lmoset xclusivelsyu itablfeo rs ubmission
to theA mertcan Htstorical Review orJ ournal of AmerecanH tstory or for
presentatioant thea nnuaml eetingo f theA mericaHn istoricaAl ssociation
orO rganizatioonfA mericaHn istorianLs.o sti n them orasosf w orrya bout
technicalm, ission-drivetena chingis the mores ubstantivises ue:n amely,
howb estt o preparhe istorianfso rp roductivcea reerssp annintgh er apidly
changinsge ttingo ft hel atet wentiethan de arlyt wenty-fircset nturies.
Unders crutinyin the articleisn thiss peciails sueo f thej ournails what
constitutetsh e veryb estp rofessionpalr eparatioonf historianws hosec a-
reersw ille ncompastsh e nextf ortyy ears.T hej obc risiso f the late1 960s
and 1970sc ompelledh istorianisn academet o reconsidetrh e narrow
preparatiocnh aracteristoicf theirc loningo perationsS. omeh istorians
haver ejecteds uchc riticisma s wella s the validityo f the debateY. etw e
6. What I am advocatingh ere is not the preparationof publich istoryg eneralists( a
strategyI questionb) utq uitea differenpt oint,a ndo ne extremelyim portanitn doctoraslt udy:
namelyc, urricultah atb roadlyp repareh istorianisn placeo f narrowlfyo cusedc urricula.
INTRODUCTION * 17
are onlyn ow beginningth oughtfulltyo appreciatteh e broaderim plica-
tionso f howb estt o educates tudentsfo rt he postindustriyael arsa heado f
us. We knowt eacher-scholacar reersw ill remainb, ut nevera gaini n the
abundancoef two decadesa go.W e mustt hinke xpansivelayn dc ompre-
hensivelya boutt he manyc areern icheso pent o historiansn, otj ust the
onei n teaching.
The articlesl ooka rounda nd ahead.T heya ssesst he currents tateo f
developmenitn publich istoryc urriculaan d,b asedu pont hata ssessment,
they lookt o the future.T heys et out ideasu sefillt o departmentisn ter-
estedi n revisingt heirc urricul(ap ublich istoryo r otherwise)T. heyc on-
siderh owt o introducpe ublich istoryc ourseworokr to incorporapteu blic
historyt opicsi ntoa curriculumT. heyr ecommenrde viewq uestionas nd
guidelinest o curriculump lannersw ho are contemplatincgu rriculum
changeT. heyr evieww aysf ori ncorporatinpgu blich istoryfe atureisn toa
programT. heys uggests trategiefso rh istoriantso followi n retoolingo r in
learninga boutw hath istorianisn thep ublich istoryfi eldd o.
Thep rofessiohna sr eacheda n importanjut ncturein curriculumde vel-
opment.N o longerc anh istorianasf fordto react to enrollmenctr isesa nd
placemendt ifficultiesT. he professionk nowst he issues,t he trends,t he
stakes.C uttingb acko n graduatae dmissioniss short-termcr isism anage-
ment,n ota strategyem anatinfgr oml ong-termgo als.C onverselye,x pand-
ing graduateen rollmentfso rs hort-livedu pswingisn the studentp opula-
tion returnsu s to the erroneousa ssumptionth at teachingi s the only
intellectuallrye wardincga reer.R etreatinfgr omt he problemo f how to
fielda soundc urriculumpe rmitso urg raduatper ogramtso drifta imlessly,
encourageosu rb estu ndergraduamtea jortso entero therp rofessionas,n d
is counterproductitvoe h avinga sound,h ealthyd isciplinela tero n. Pro-
ductivec areerfso rh istorianesx isto utsidet heu niversityM. indlesslcyl on-
ingo urselvesis folly.H owb est to educateh istorianfso rt he futurei s the
findamentaisl suew ithw hichw e mustg rapple.
Curiouslyt,h e publich istorym ovemenht as been in the vanguarodf
twoi mportanttr ends.O nea ffectsh ighere ducationt:h er evitalizeadp pre-
ciationo f liberall earningT. he otheri s the characterizatioofn t he latter
yearso f thisc enturya s well as the twenty-firstth: eyw illi ncreasinglbye
years of a knowledge-intensivpeo stindustriawl orld. How these two
trendsin tersecat nda ffectt hep ublich istorym ovemenits significant.
It is importantto recallt hatp ublich istoryc urriculumha ss oughbt road-
basedp reparatioonf historiantsh ats tressest hinkingcr iticallayn da nalyti-
callya bouts ubjectsd, isaggregatinagsw ella s synthesizindga tai n ordert o
understandit , manipulatinvga st amountso f informatioonr conversely
dealingw ith troublesompe roblemso f scarcitya, nde ffectivelyh andling
complexitya, mbiguitya, nd diversityH. avingt hese abilitiesa t handi s
essentiatlo the successo fp ublich istoryw orki n manys ettingsT. hep ublic
historys eminara ddressetsh e honingo f suchs killso n a systematibca sis.
The stresso n the appropriateneosfs c ognitives killsf itsw ell witht he
18 * THE PUBLICH ISTORIAN
currenrt e-emphaspisl acedo n the centralitoyf liberalle arnintgo degree
worki n highere ducationT. he expressedc oncernis witha curriculum
thatd eliversn arrowp reparatioann dl acko f breadthin outlookI. n con-
trast,l iberall earningg oalss trivet o fit studentsw ith the intellectual
curiosityb, readtha, ndH exibilittyo deals uccessfulwlyi thy et unforeseen
challenges.
Ther evivaol fi nteresitn thesel earninggo alsm atchetsh ea ssessmenotf
whato urs ocietyw illb e likei n itsp ostindustripahl aseW. halti esa headin
the twenty-firscte nturyi s an increasinglkyn owledge-basseedt tingd e-
mandingel asticityo f thoughat ndt he criticaal bilityt o adjustr eadilyto
ongoingch ange.7
In this atmospherteh e mosth ighlyv aluedp eoplew ill be problem
solverws hoa rec apabloe fp osingt her ightq uestionsw, hoe ffectivelcyo pe
withc omplicatesde ts of issues,a ndw ho as quickt hinkeras re ablet o
criticallayd dressc omplexa lternative"s.H owt o organizteo maked eci-
sions"w illb e a morec ruciaslk illt hano rganizintgo produceef ficientlya
majord eparturfer oma twentieth-centutrrye nd.I n a situatiown heret he
flowo f informatiosnte adilyg rows,k nowledgaec quisitioann df actuarle -
callw ill be less importanttr aitst han" cognitivper ocesseos f inquisitive-
ness,s equentiatlh inkinga, ndp roblemso lving.T" hea bilityto searcho ut
informatioann de valuateit willb e paramounFt.o rs tudents", theb estw e
cand o is to prepareth emw iths trategiefso r dealingw ithi nformation,
givet hemg oods tudys kills,t eacht hemh owt o scana ndh owt o get the
informatioton m aked ecisions."8
Whatt heni s a keys kill?I t is howt ow orka situation to understanidts
values,c onstructc, ontext,c ulturaol vertonesa, ndr elevanst ocial,e co-
nomica, ndp oliticafla cets.S uchc ompositaeb ilitieas rei nherentlsyh arp-
enedi n traditionalilb eralle arningcu rriculaL. ikewises,u cha bilitieas re
emphasizedin any soundp ublich istoryc urriculumF. or goodp ublic
historytr ainingth e basici ssuei s whetherth isc ognitivae pproacihs ade-
quatelyin corporateadn dt aughtin the courseworakn dm entorinogf the
programn,o tw hethert he outcomew illb e an exhibita, film,a research
reporto, r a monographT.o havet he latterr equiretsh e presenceo f the
former.
Whati s importantot understanids h owp ublich istoryp rogramrse flect
thel iberalle arninfga ceto f thec urriculumIf. t echniquies to be taughti,t
is thisl iberalle arninpg rocess thisa pproactho understandinthg,i ss truc-
turedo, rganizeds,y stematiacp proactho comprehendidnigv ersityd, iffer-
ences,c omplexityc,h angeo vert ime,a nda mbiguityS.u cha n approach
7. RobertJ . Callander,< 'LiberaLl earninga nd the World:A Banker'sP erspective,"
LiberaEl ducation7 2 (Spring1 986),3 -4.
8. TobyJ . Tetenbauma ndT homasA . Mulkeen", DesigningT eacherE ducationfo rt he
Twenty-FirstC entury,"Z ournalo f Higher Education5 7 (November/Decembe1r9 86),
623-24.
