Public History

The term Public History ( German: public history ) refers to a whole range of activities that mainly deal outside the academic environment with history. These areas include memory culture, monuments, memorial sites, the archives, oral history and museology.

The concept emerged in the U.S. and Canada in the late 1970s. Since then, this field of work has been increasingly professionalized. In German-speaking these fields of work are largely still treated separately.

Definition

Public History is hard to define because it includes a wide range of activities. However, three characteristics can be identified:

• The application of historical methods
• Focusing on a public benefit, which goes beyond mere storage of documents and academic editing of the field
• The emphasis that is placed on workplace education and training.

The U.S. National Council on Public History, the 1989 formulated. Public History serve to, that is to " to promote, through professional practice the social benefits of history," "to promote the utility of history in social through professional practice".