Table Of Content

The 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 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3377184 . Accessed: 05/07/2012 09:22 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . University of California Press and National Council on Public History are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Public Historian. http://www.jstor.org 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 acceptance.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 urriculumw 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 istoryh 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 urriculum 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 information-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 question,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 ecisions"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.