INTERNSHIP IN PUBLIC HISTORY
56:512:699:01
By Arrangement
Professor Woloson
Supervised work experience in a public history office or private institutional setting, involving project work for one semester or a summer.
THE CRAFT OF HISTORY
56:512:550:01
M 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Marker
The Craft of History is unique in the master’s program at Rutgers-Camden. Rather than readings or research courses in a particular area of history, this course is designed to familiarize students with major problems, questions, and methods that shape the discipline of history as a whole. In the first part of the course, we will explore how scholars have historicized the study of history itself. We’ll then consider a wide variety of competing for methodological approaches to the study of the past and work through the major “historiographical turns” of the past few decades. The course will conclude with an examination of a few key historical debates, the boundaries between scholarship and fraud, and the politics of history-writing today.
READINGS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1898 TO 1945
56:512:507:01
T 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Epstein
The period from 1898 to 1945 was one of profound transformation for the United States. In the half-century from the Spanish-American War through World War II, the United States became a great power, fought in two world wars, survived the Great Depression, established the modern welfare state, and experienced major changes in race relations and gender roles. While the unifying theme of the course is political economy, the readings will expose students to a variety of topics and approaches. The course is divided into two-week units on a particular topic (examples include World War I and the New Deal). The writing assignments consist of historiographical essays. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a firmer grounding in a pivotal period of US history and to prepare them to write a research paper on a topic of their choosing in this era.
READINGS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1763 TO 1820
56:512:505:01
W 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Shankman
This course offers a broad and advanced survey of the historiography of the American Revolutionary and Early National periods. Principal issues addressed are: the origins and development of the independence movement and American federalism, the problem of slavery in an age of revolution, the emergence of a democratic and capitalist economy and society, and changing relations and attitudes within the domestic and private sphere.
ISSUES IN PUBLIC HISTORY
56:512:531:01
TH 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Mires
This seminar will go behind the scenes of the production and communication of history in settings such as museums, historic sites, and archives, and in the digital realm. We will examine issues in public history through controversies such as the display of the Enola Gay at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the creation of the President’s House site exhibit in Philadelphia. Readings and discussions also will examine how civic engagement techniques and the interpretation of diverse, multiple narratives of history have come to the forefront of public history practice. (This seminar meets concurrently with the undergraduate course Introduction to Public History. Graduate students will gain familiarity with the literature of the field by developing a paper about a selected public history issue; the seminar also will offer a realistic examination of the job market and opportunities to begin to create a professional network.) A reading list will be posted during the summer at https://charlenemires.camden.rutgers.edu.
READINGS IN GLOBAL HISTORY I
56:512:534:01
TH 6:00 pm – 8:50 pm
Professor Mokhberi
Globalization has emerged as the alternative to cultural and social theories of history. But, what precisely is global history? How is global history different from national history? Is global history a “better” approach or does it come with its own set of pitfalls? This course will introduce students to Global History. Students will discuss approaches and problems of writing a global history. We will analyze the work of historians who focus on conflict, difference, and incommensurability between cultures and those who find cooperation and connections across the globe. We will also explore specific examples of global history that focus on the movement of peoples, commodities, and diplomatic exchanges.
TOPICS IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION
56:512:515:01
By Arrangement
Professor Mires
This course combines independent directed readings with a ten-week historic preservation course offered on campus by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH). For information, please contact Dr. Charlene Mires, cmires@camden.rutgers.edu.
MARCH courses may also be taken on a non-credit basis, with an option of earning a continuing education certificate in historic preservation. For further information about the program, go to: https://preservation.rutgers.edu.