Introduction to Public History

Video Explaining the Class

If you are interested in a career in museums or the culturals, we have a class for you. We just added History 206: Introduction to Public History to the fall schedule. The course is designed to integrate original archival research with iterative design thinking to give students a taste of what it is like to work in a museum, library, or similar setting. The class is taught by Phillip Payne, Dennis Frank (archivists), and Rachael Schultz (reference librarian and archivists).

What we do in the class:

We conduct research in the Civil War Collection. 

We then turn that research into a game. If you don't know how to build a game, don't worry we will walk you through it. This is about the design process. If you build a cool game - great - but if you don't that is okay. We want to you to try something new so we determine the grade by how well you embrace the process. We don't expect students to have a background in game design or iterative design, just a willingness to embrace the process. 

These are the same design techniques you would use to create exhibits and programs. Plus, if you are planning to go into education this is an excellent way to understand gamification. Finally, building a game is fun.

We then take that research into different types of history. In past classes this has included podcasts and explainer videos.

                             

Students in public history going over a history themed game with Dennis Frank.

Caliva Smart presents paper at Goddess at the Crossing Place

 

Over midterm break, Dr. Kathryn Caliva Smart, assistant professor of History, presented a paper at The Goddess at the Crossing Place, a conference hosted by the Department of Humanities at Marshall University. 

Caliva Smart joined a program of international scholars from across disciplines to discuss the role of goddesses in ancient and modern societies. In her paper, "Speaking as a Woman: Authority and Magic from Hecate to #WitchTok," she explored the question of how women use authoritative speech as part of magical practice, following this thread from the goddess Hecate in ancient Greek poetry to the on-screen witch Willow from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to content creators on TikTok. 

Conference/program link: https://www.marshall.edu/humanities/150th/

More details on Civil War Bus Trip

 Have you ever wanted to visit Gettysburg?

 The History Department is sponsoring a field trip to three Civil War battlefields next month: Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harpers Ferry. The trip will depart on the afternoon of Friday, April 4 and return Sunday night, April 6. The cost is only $340 + meals.

 

This bus trip is associated with History 320: The Civil War and Reconstruction, taught by Drs. Phil Payne and Chris Mackowski, but is open to all members of the SBU community.

 

On Friday, we'll leave Bonas around noonish (the bus company will let us know). We'll stop for a fast-food dinner along the way, then we'll arrive in Harrisburg, PA, to sit in on a meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Roundtable for a talk that evening about Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs. From there, we'll head to Gettysburg to check in.

 

Saturday, we'll spend the day touring the battlefield, arguably the most famous historical landscape in America. We’ll go through the museum at the Visitor Center, and later in the evening, we’ll have special after-hours, behind-the-scenes access for a program at the Gettysburg Cyclorama, a building-sized painting that depicts part of the battle and served as the IMAX movie of its day.

 

On Sunday, we'll head down to Harpers Ferry to explore. This is where John Brown conducted a raid that become one of the key events in the lead-up to the Civil War. It was also home to the Niagara Movement, an early precursor to the Civil Rights movement. Plus, the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers is so beautiful that Thomas Jefferson said, “This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic.”

 

We'll grab lunch, then head to Antietam for the afternoon where Licensed Battlefield Guide Kevin Pawlak will show us around. Antietam was the site of the single-bloodiest day in American history, with nearly 23,000 casualties. It was also the birthplace of photojournalism, where the first images were captured in the immediate wake of battle, stunning America.

 

We'll head back to campus around 5:00 p.m., which will be about a 5-hour drive, with a quick dinner on the way.

 

For more information, or for a link to sign up, email Dr. Phil Payne at ppayne@sbu.edu or Dr. Chris Mackowski at cmackows@sbu.edu. Registration deadline is Friday, March 21.

 

Special thanks to the Jandoli School of Communication and Emerging Civil War for helping make the trip possible!

 

Thinking about Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and it's a great time to think about the contributions and achievements of Black Americans. As we know, the history of our country is complicated by the legacy of slavery and racial divisions. Understanding the experiences of those who have lived and suffered through this pain, I believe, gives us a greater appreciation of how to respect others and work out the problems we've inherited.

One of our recently graduated History majors, Natalie Merrill, who is now a graduate student in Education, has written a short piece for the blog, Her Campus. It highlights some of the research she did on the troubled past and challenges of Buffalo's black community. It also reminds us that there are pressing issues to keep in mind and ways we can move forward. 

Here's the link: The City of Segregated Neighbors

Details of the Civil War Trip

 

Friday April 4

Departs from campus via a bus between noon and 1 p.m. for Harrisburg, PA. That evening you can join the Harrisburg Civil War Roundtable . Chris Mackowski will give a talk on Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs.

Saturday April 5

Tour of the Gettysburg National Military Park with the museum and  behind the scenes tour of the cyclorama depicting the battle. The American Battlefield Trust has an animated map of the battle that will help you understand the lay of the land. The battlefield and museum are both large so spending an the day is appropriate.

Sunday April 6

Sunday morning we will depart for Harpers Ferry, featuring the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park - the site of John Brown's Raid and numerous battles.

After lunch we will visit the Antietam National Battlefield. This is one of the critical battles of the war. The American Battlefield Trust has an over of the battle on YouTube. Around 5 p.m. we will depart to return to campus. 

If you are interested email Phillip Payne (ppayne@sbu.edu) or Chris Mackowski (cmackows@sbu.edu). 

Civil War Field Trip Associated with New Class

Chris Mackowski, of the Jandoli School of Communications, and Phillip Payne, professor of history, are team teaching History 320: The Civil War and Reconstruction.  This is the first time the Civil War and Reconstruction has been taught at SBU in around 20 years. We're excited to do this and experimenting with collaborative ways to teach history. 

Taking advantage of his work with the Emerging Civil War (Dr. Mackowski is the co-founder and Editor and Chief) and the American Battlefield Trust, he has arranged a series of guest speakers bringing a real depth and breadth of expertise to the class. 

Students in the class, and members of the university community, are invited to join a field trip to tour Gettysburg, Antietam and Harpers Ferry on April 4 - 7. If you are interested contact either Chris Mackowski or Phillip Payne for cost and details.

Phillip Payne chairs panel on civics education

 

Phillip Payne chaired the session “Citizens: the Past, Present, and Future of History and Civics Education. American Historical Association, New York City: January 3 – 6, 2025. The panelist represented faculty from education and history discussed the relationship between history and civics education in k-12 and higher education.