TRENT UNIVERSITY
Department of History
HIS 3071H / CAST 3071 H — PUBLIC HISTORY I
SUMMER 2010
Instructor: Michael Eamon
E-mail: michaeleamon@trentu.ca
Class Location: Traill College, Scott House, Room 102
Office Hours: Thursdays, 4 to 5 PM, by appointment.
Tuesdays and Thursdays
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
11 May to 18 June
Course Catalogue Description: “Confronting history in real life. Issues in the practice
of history outside the academy: museums, historic sites, theme parks, documentaries,
popular history. The Canadian experience in wider context.”
Course Structure: Two three-hour classes per week including a mix of lecture, seminar,
guest speakers and field study.
Goals:
 To achieve an understanding of the multiple facets of public history;
 To gain an awareness of the internal tensions amongst public historians as well as
external conflicts with “academic” history;
 To gain an appreciation for the issues behind the construction of public history;
 To acquire skills to evaluate public history projects;
 To acquire skills to construct historical commemorations and communicate
history to the public.
Expectations and Evaluation:
 Participation
15% of Final Mark (Includes attending classes and field trips, making
meaningful contributions to class discussions and presentation of readings
and first assignment).
 Assignment #1: Museum/Historic Site Review (Due: 25 May 2010)
25% of Final Mark
 Assignment #2: Research and Write an Historical Commemoration (Due: 17 June
2010) 30% of Final Mark
 Final Exam (18 June 2010)
30% of Final Mark
Assignment Summaries
Assignment #1: Museum/Historic Site Review (25% of Final Mark)
Choose a known museum or historic site. Briefly describe the site, its location, time
period and type of interpretation used. Evaluate the site from multiple points of view, i.e.
historical message and presentation, effectiveness of interpretation, physical accessibility
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etc. In no more than 1000 words write your review following the style and methods
discussed in class.
Due: 25 May 2010
Assignment #2: Research and Write an Historical Commemoration (30% of Final Mark)
Choose a real historical event, location, or person to be commemorated. Ensure that this
subject has not previously been commemorated at the federal, provincial or municipal
level. Undertake research to craft a 1500-word history of the event, location or person.
Organise your essay in a way that not only tells the history, but also argues the historical
significance of your subject. Write a commemorative plaque text for your subject. The
text must be 125 words exactly. Remember, the text must identify your subject and its
historical significance, but should not be just a summary of your essay. Both the essay
and plaque text will be written according to the style and methods discussed in class.
Due: 17 June 2010
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Readings: All of the course readings can be found online through the Trent University
Library website, or on reserve at the Bata Library. This has been done for your
convenience both to make the course materials more accessible and less expensive.
Readings are a requirement for the course. Please ensure that you read, or download
these articles well in advance of class. If you have any problems in accessing the
readings please contact me now. Being unable to access the readings the night before
class will not be seen as valid excuse for not doing the required work.
Deadline Policy: To be counted as meeting the deadline, assignments must be handed in
in person to the instructor at the beginning of class on the stipulated due date. No
assignments will be accepted after 18 June. No extensions will be granted. No make up
will be allowed for assignments or exams missed.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating,
is an extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on
an assignment to expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures
for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University’s Academic
Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself - unfamiliarity with the
policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s Academic Integrity
website to learn more - www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Access to Instruction: It is Trent University’s intent to create an inclusive learning
environment. If a student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she
may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the
Disability Services Office (BL Suite 109, 748-1281, disabilityservices@trentu.ca) as
soon as possible. Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in the
Academic Calendar.
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CLASS SCHEDULE 11 MAY TO 18 JUNE 2010
1) What is Public History?
Thursday, 11 May 2010
Readings:
Lyle Dick, “Public History in Canada: An Introduction,” The Public Historian 31,1
(2009): 7–14.
 Introduction and Discussion of First Assignment and Final Essay
2) Commemoration and Memory I
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Topics to be Covered: The purpose of commemoration; different types of
commemorations; national historic sites and monuments board/Ontario Heritage Trust;
research and writing.
Readings:
Kate Jaimet, “Canal Builders Denied Recognition,” Ottawa Citizen 8 February 2010
– on reserve.
James B. Gardner, “Contested Terrain: History, Museums, and the Public,” The Public
Historian 26,4 (2004): 11-21.
James B. Gardner and Sarah M. Henry, “September 11 and the Mourning After:
Reflections on Collecting and Interpreting the History of Tragedy,” The Public
Historian 24,3 (2002): 37-52.
3) Commemoration and Memory II (Downtown Tour: Meet at Traill College)
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Topics to be Covered: different types of commemorations; construction behind
commemorations.
Readings:
Michael Eamon, “The Huntsville, Lake of Bays and Lake Simcoe Railway,” (Toronto:
Ontario Heritage Trust, 2007).
http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/page_attachments/Library/1/1028855_Huntsville_
Lake_of_Bays_Railway_Company_ENG.pdf
Becky Rynor, “When is a Heritage Site, Not a Heritage Site” Ottawa Citizen 13 April
2010.
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Katherine Ott, “Disability and the Practice of Public History: An Introduction,” The
Public Historian 27,2 (2005): 9-24.
 Downtown Peterborough Walking Tour of Commemorations
4) Museums and Historic Sites
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Topics to be Covered: Cabinets of Curiosities and the History of the Museum, History of
National Historic Sites/Ontario Heritage Trust; Construction of Museums and Historic
Sites (Politics, History and Memory); History Tourism: Successes and Failures.
Readings:
Frits Pannekoek, “Canada's Historic Sites: Reflections on a Quarter Century, 1980–
2005,” The Public Historian 31,1 (2009): 69–88.
James S. Miller, “Mapping the Boosterist Imaginary: Colonial Williamsburg, Historical
Tourism, and the Construction of Managerial Memory,” The Public Historian
28,4 (2006): 51-74.
Alan Gordon, “Heritage and Authenticity: The Case of Ontario’s Sainte-Marie-Amongthe-Hurons,” Canadian Historical Review 85,3 (2004): 507-531.
5) CLASS PRESENTATIONS: Assignment #1 Due
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
6) CLASS PRESENTATIONS CONTINUED
Thursday, 27 May 2010
7) Museums and Interpretation: In the First Person
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
 Field Trip: Hutchison House (Meet at Traill 12:50 PM)
8) Historical Interpretation
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Topics to be Covered: What is Historical Interpretation?; Types of Interpretation and
Historical Presentation;
Readings:
Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1977) – On reserve.
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Michael Eamon and Lisa Royse, “1783: Subject or Citizen?: The Treaty of Paris Sought
to End a War and Resolve a Dilemma for U.S. and Canada,” Prologue 40,3
(2008) – on reserve.
9) Here’s The Church, Where Are All the People? Architectural History and Public
History
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Topics to be Covered: Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FEBRO); Ontario
Heritage Trust; Local Architectural and Conservation Advisory Committees.
Readings:
Parks Canada, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/beefp-fhbro/index_e.asp
Ontario Heritage Trust:
http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_7726_1.html
Peterborough ACAC: http://www.pacac.ca/home_page.htm
10) For Profit: Professional Historians and Historical Research
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Topics to be Covered: Private/Corporate Museums; Public History Research Firms,
Legal Research: Where History and Courts Meet; Scholars vs. Public Historians.
Readings:
Matthew C. Godfrey, “The Problems with Publishing: Obstacles Faced by History
Consultants in Publishing Their Work,” The Public Historian 30, 4 (2008): 28-34.
Jack M. Holl, “Cultures in Conflict: An Argument Against ‘Common Ground’ Between
Practicing Historians and Academics,” The Public Historian 30,2 (2008): 29-50.
Public History Inc. www.publichistory.ca
11) Archives and Public History
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Topics to be Covered: History of Archives; How Archives and Constructed; Provenance
and Original Order; Total Archives in Canada.
Readings:
Terry Cook, “Archival Science and Postmodernism: New Formulations for Old
Concepts,” Archival Science 1,1 (2001): 3-24.
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Laura Millar, “Discharging Our Debt: The Evolution of Total Archives Concept in
English Canada,” Archivaria 46 (1998): 103-146.
Wendy Duff, Barbara Craig and Joan Cherry, “Historians’ Use of Archival Sources:
Promises and Pitfalls of the Digital Age,” The Pubic Historian 26,2 (2004): 7-22.
 TBA: Class to be held at Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives
12) FINAL CLASS / Guest Speaker: TBA /Review
Thursday, 17 June 2010
 Final Assignment Due at Beginning of Class
** FINAL EXAM **
Friday, 18 June 2010