Public History

HS 6198. Special Projects in Public History. 1 Semester Hour.

This course is an opportunity for the student to develop public history skills by working on a special project with a faculty member or completing a public history internship. To be arranged with consent of project/internship supervisor and Graduate Director. Students will complete a minimum of 40 hours of supervised work per credit hour. Project may not serve as sole experiential basis for HS 8310 Internship in Public History. This course can also be taken for two-credit hours (HS 6298) or three-credit hours (HS 6398).

HS 6199. Directed Readings. 1 Semester Hour.

This course is an opportunity for the student to explore an area of history of their particular interest with a professor who specializes in the area of choice. To be arranged with consent of professor and Graduate Director. This course can also be taken for one-credit hour (HS 6199) or two-credit hours (HS 6299).

HS 6298. Special Projects in Public History. 2 Semester Hours.

This course is an opportunity for the student to develop public history skills by working on a special project with a faculty member or completing a public history internship. To be arranged with consent of project/internship supervisor and Graduate Director. Students will complete a minimum of 40 hours of supervised work per credit hour. Project may not serve as sole experiential basis for HS 8310 Internship in Public History. This course can also be taken for one-credit hour (HS 6198) or three-credit hours (HS 6398).

HS 6299. Directed Readings. 2 Semester Hours.

This course is an opportunity for the student to explore an area of history of their particular interest with a professor who specializes in the area of choice. To be arranged with consent of professor and Graduate Director. This course can also be taken for one-credit hour (HS 6199) or two-credit hours (HS 6299).

HS 6301. Introduction to Public History. 3 Semester Hours.

This introduction to Public History will examine the historiographical and methodological underpinnings of the field and teach strategies for meeting the challenges of presenting historical narrative and interpretation in public settings. This course will introduce students to a variety of fields and contexts in which public historians work, and orient students to larger program goals that will culminate in an internship, capstone project, and professional preparation. Required first semester.

HS 6398. Special Projects in Public History. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is an opportunity for the student to develop public history skills by working on a special project with a faculty member or completing a public history internship. To be arranged with consent of project/internship supervisor and Graduate Director. Students will complete a minimum of 40 hours of supervised work per credit hour. Project may not serve as sole experiential basis for HS 8310 Internship in Public History. This course can also be taken for one-credit hour (HS 6198) or three-credit hours (HS 6398).

HS 6399. Directed Readings. 3 Semester Hours.

This course is an opportunity for the student to explore an area of history of their particular interest with a professor who specializes in the area of choice. To be arranged with consent of professor and Graduate Director. This course can also be taken for one-credit hour (HS 6199) or two-credit hours (HS 6299).

HS 7100. Topics in Public History. 1 Semester Hour.

Although the specific focus of this course will change with each offering, this course provides students the opportunity to study specific topics and methodologies in public and digital history. Sometimes, this course may be offered for one-credit hour (HS 7100) or two-credit hours (HS 7200). Course may be repeated with different topics.

HS 7200. Topics in Public History. 2 Semester Hours.

Although the specific focus of this course will change with each offering, this course provides students the opportunity to study specific topics and methodologies in public and digital history. Sometimes, this course may be offered for one-credit hour (HS 7100) or two-credit hours (HS 7200). Course may be repeated with different topics.

HS 7300. Topics in Public History. 3 Semester Hours.

Although the specific focus of this course will change with each offering, this course provides students the opportunity to study specific topics and methodologies in public and digital history. Sometimes, this course may be offered for one-credit hour (HS 7100) or two-credit hours (HS 7200). Course may be repeated with different topics.

HS 7302. Topics in U. S. History. 3 Semester Hours.

Although the specific focus of this course will change with each offering, this course provides students the opportunity to study specific topics and methodologies in U.S. history. Course may be repeated with different topics.

HS 7310. Public History in the Digital Age. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn to use digital media and computational analysis to further historical practice, presentation, analysis and research primarily for online audiences. Students will use technologies including blogs and social media, online publishing platforms, and mapping tools to create and share historical content with public audiences.

HS 7311. Heritage Tourism. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn to promote community historical and cultural traditions in ways that aid and advance preservation as well as economic development. Applicable settings include local government and other public institutions and venues, private businesses, community centers, and even religious institutions. Students will learn methods of discovering and uncovering unique elements of a community’s history and culture and collaborating with political and business leaders and cultural workers to highlight and advance these for a community’s overall benefit.

HS 7312. History and Museums. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn the art of historical presentation in museum settings. Presenting history in public exhibitions requires research in primary and secondary sources, critical thinking and interpretation, and concise presentations using traditional exhibit panels, material culture, digital formats, and creative curatorial skills. The course also explores the importance of incorporating diverse voices as well as accounting for community interests and sensitivities in museum exhibits.

HS 7313. Documentary Filmmaking. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn to present history through film and video, which involves combining primary textual sources, filmed oral interviews clips, oral narration, and other relevant material into historical narratives and interpretations. This includes applying conventional historiography and historical method into this practice.

HS 7314. Archives Organization and Management. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn aspects of identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, and tracking archival materials of historical significance. Students will practice techniques including cataloguing and sorting materials and creating digital archives.

HS 7315. Oral History. 3 Semester Hours.

In this course, students will learn about the methods of doing oral history, an important tool for historians and public historians alike. The course will explore debates, theories, and ethics in the field, especially within a Latinx context. Students will learn strategies for presenting historical narrative and interpretation in public settings using oral histories. Students will experience real world public history settings through participating in networking with community partners, interacting with guest speakers, and hands-on activities.

HS 7320. Historical Geographic Information Systems. 3 Semester Hours.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are computerized systems designed for the analysis of geographically referenced data. GIS uses analytical tools to explore spatial relationships, patterns, and processes of geographic phenomena. This course covers underlying geographic concepts, map design and outputs, geodatabases, importing spatial and attribute data, digitizing, and spatial data processing. The technical focus of the course includes computer lab tutorials and case studies using the leading desktop GIS software, ArcGIS from ESRI. This course will also provide an introduction to remote sensing, which is used to analysis remotely sensed objects such as satellite images, often to create base maps for use in ArcGIS.

HS 7321. Advanced Spatial Analysis. 3 Semester Hours.

This elective course will cover advanced spatial analysis techniques, focusing on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing analysis. Unlike the introductory Historical GIS course (HS 7320) which introduced students to GIS and remove sensing, this course will explore spatial analysis techniques such as cluster analysis, mapping distributions and density, and model-building. The focus on remove sensing will explore land use/land cover mapping and change mapping. Pre-requisite: HS 7320.

HS 7341. Hispanic San Antonio. 3 Semester Hours.

In this readings seminar course, students will learn about Hispanic history of San Antonio. This course will prepare students especially to work in public history fields in this city and region by helping students understand and contextualize the types of materials and histories they would be working with in public history institutions within the region.

HS 7342. American Military History and Public Memory. 3 Semester Hours.

This course examines the history of the American military from the formation of the Continental Army in 1775 to the present day. Students will study the major armed conflicts in US history, and they will also explore how the United States’ military history has been preserved and presented in the public sphere. Students will learn about competing interpretations of important historical events and about how such historical debates influence the popular historical narrative.

HS 7343. United States in World History. 3 Semester Hours.

This course interprets the history of the United States within a global context from the end of the Revolutionary War to present day. Topics include the United States’ rise as a superpower, the legacies of its policies on Latin America and the world, and the impact of major global developments on the United States. This course presupposes a basic knowledge of United States history.

HS 7345. History of the American West and Borderlands. 3 Semester Hours.

Few Americans regions have generated as many cultural narratives, myths, and icons as the American West. Exploring conflicts and conquests alongside Western culture and the creating of the mythic West, we will examine the West through the multiple perspectives of the many people who have lived there. Using novels, histories, first-hand accounts, art, and film, we will trace the history and culture of the West and its borderlands.

HS 7346. Public History and Culture in the Modern Era. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will learn a variety of theoretical frameworks to the historical genre of Cultural History, with an emphasis on the content of Modern History (1750 to the present). Students will apply those frameworks to research project that targets two audiences: a popular audience of the public and an academic audience. Students will write and revise these articles, publishing them on the StMU history Media website.

HS 7350. Topics in United States History: Gender. 3 Semester Hours.

This class explores the history of the United States through the thematic lens of gender. This course will explore questions such as: how do gender, race and class work in historical context? Does gender influence state formation and the work of the state? How have gender norms shaped U.S. society? What are some new directions in the study of gender?.

HS 7351. Topics in United States History: Race and Ethnicity. 3 Semester Hours.

This class explores the history of the United States through the thematic lens of race and ethnicity. This course will explore questions such as: How have notions of race and ethnicity developed within the U.S.? How have understandings of race and ethnicity shaped immigration policy in the U.S.? How have race relations shaped U.S. social hierarchies?.

HS 7352. Topics in United States History: Political and Diplomatic. 3 Semester Hours.

This class explores the United States through the thematic lens of political and diplomatic history. This course will explore questions such as: What have been key moments of political development in the U.S. ? How have U.S. politics shaped U.S. diplomatic engagement throughout the world? What are new trends in political and diplomatic history?.

HS 7353. Topics in United States History: Social and Economic History. 3 Semester Hours.

This class explores in United States through the thematic lens of social and economic history. This course will explore questions such as: How have new technologies driven social and economic change in the U.S.? How has capitalism structured social hierarchies in the U.S.?.

HS 8310. Internship in Public History. 3 Semester Hours.

Students will complete a minimum of 120 hours of work in an internship in a public history setting. Students will report both to the faculty internship coordinator and to a site supervisor. In this course, students will complete a series of professionalization modules to help prepare them for their future career. Prerequisite: HS 6301.

HS 8320. Capstone Proj in Public Hist. 3 Semester Hours.

This practicum supports students to build on the conceptual knowledge gained in their courses. In this course, students will create a proposal for a capstone project and execute that project, ending in a capstone defense that is required to complete the program. Students can combine their capstone project with their internship with internship coordinator approval. Prerequisite: HS 6301.