HIST 5702X – Topics in Public History: Memory, Monuments, Memorials & Commemoration

Winter 2027

In this course, students will learn about the role of public historians — before, during and after the professionalization of the field in the 1970s — in the researching, development and interpretation of monuments, memorials and commemoration initiatives in the 20th and 21st centuries. Together we will encounter stories about private and public commemoration with case studies from Canada, the United States, and internationally. Understanding the role of public historians, memory keepers, storytellers and others who have created, settled, and unsettled places and landscapes of memory and commemoration is at the heart of this course. We will explore monuments and memorials in a variety of forms – not just in bronze and stone. Students can expect guest speakers, and a hands-on approach to learning about the intersections of public history, memorialization and commemoration.