The Public History Program, of UNCW’s Department of History, operates the Public History Laboratory, a four-room facility for instruction in collections management, exhibition design and production, web design, and documentary filmmaking. The suite’s computer room is equipped with graphic design and film production software, a wide format printer, scanner, and vinyl cutter. The collections area houses American artifacts utilized didactically in teaching artifact management and registration skills, object-based exhibition, and the interpretation of material culture. The mount-making room is where students create exhibition mounts and signage. In the Public History Laboratory, undergraduates and graduate students gain practical skills while experimenting with new techniques for facilitating public dialogue concerning the past.
Graduate student Jen Whitmer works on her M.A. thesis project, a documentary entitled Protest in the Port City: The Story of the Wilmington Ten.
Graduate students Michelle Cicero and Tom Dorgan prepare graphics for the exhibition Facing Changes: Teens and Young Adults in the 1970s (Can Ya Dig It?), November 2005.
The Public History Graduate Student Gallery in the Randall Library is an important part of instruction in museum exhibition and museum education. Students curate one new exhibit per year in the 1000sf gallery, where they also conduct evaluation studies.
Graduate student Julia Yannetti installs elements of a tenement re-creation in the Public History Graduate Gallery.
Graduate student Robin Binns talks to visitors at the opening reception for Rethreading an Industry.
Gallery case on sports and fitness equipment of the 1950s, curated by Sharad Shah. This was part of the exhibit Shaping Society: Sports and Fitness in the 1950s.
The Public History Program maintains strong relationships with historical organizations and institutions throughout the region. These ties allow UNCW students to benefit from service learning within professional settings.
Public History students may also receive scholarships to assist with tuition and fees. The Public History Program is currently pleased to be able to offer students The Stamp Defiance Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship in History and The Historic Wilmington Foundation Scholarship in Public History. These competitive scholarships are usually offered to first year graduate students.
