Public Programming for Historical Organizations and Archives

7901/1

Public Programming for Historical Organizations and Archives

Catalog Description
        Explores the nature of public programming, encompassing education, interpretation, and outreach activities for a wide range of historical organizations.  Examine the theory and practice of coordinating, developing, and presenting public programs.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, a student will be able to:

Explain the relationship between education and outreach programming and the broader disciplines within public history
Discuss the theory and methods of history education and interpretation as practiced by historical organizations
Develop an educational program, activitie, media production, and/or curriculum packet based on learning outcomes and K-12 multi-disciplinary curriculum standards as defined by state and national governments
Demonstrate  tools and techniques used to provide outreach programs for historical organizations as well as reference services for archives
Describe the methods and practices of effective advocacy for a variety of historical agencies, the theory and methods of exhibit development, emphasizing conceptualization, planning, project management, design and fabrication, and evaluation techniques to measure the effectiveness of education and outreach activities
Address emerging technologies and their impact on education outreach activities for historical organizations


Topics Covered
       
The difference in public programming for archives, museums, preservation agencies, and state/national parks
Reference Services as outreach
Planning and Coordinating Outreach Projects
Advocacy
Exhibit Development, from conceptualization to design, including label writing and fabrication
Museum education
Outreach for archives
Developing programs, activities, and media productions aligned with curriculum standards
Marketing and publicity
Technology: use of on-line tools for education and outreach
Overview of visitor service softwares
Assessment techniques