Center for the Study of Public History and Public Culture The Center for the Study of Public History and Public Culture provides an intellectual and practical forum for discussion of the problems and promise of public history and culture. By promoting collaborative projects with cultural institutions across the United States and abroad, the Center is able to share the latest historical knowledge and interpretive methods with the general public through the research, exhibits, and other projects it supports. The Center cultivates a lively sense of connection and respect between university scholars and public history and cultural professionals. It encourages graduate and undergraduate students to explore careers both in and outside the academy, and develops scholarship that brings academic questions about the public sphere into dialogue with the practical challenges faced by public historians, museum professionals, and teachers. American Studies students can develop a concentration in public history and public culture studies, or prepare for a doctoral field in public history or public culture, by participating in public history and public culture courses, internships, and the Center's other programs. Central Goals of the Center: Examine the role that museum exhibits, historical sites, mass media, and classroom education have in shaping a civic comity. Produce scholarship for the public that analyzes the complexity of American society. Provide training for graduate students within the academy and for public history professionals working at museums, national battlefields, historic houses, national parks, television and film, and other cultural and educational institutions as they present a vision of American history and culture that challenges traditional notions about the past. Examples of the Center's Current Projects: Research: "Presenting Race at Historic Sites: A Research Program and Workshop" (1999-2001). A public history survey project in which graduate students interview visitors and staff about the interpretation of slavery at Monticello, Harper's Ferry, and Gettysburg. Information will be used by National Park Service to help design future interpretive programs that are more responsive to visitor needs and questions. Public Educational Programs: "Presenting History in Public Schools: Developing Resources" (2000-2001). A Woodrow Wilson Foundation-funded project that enables Center graduate students and faculty to develop curriculum materials for Washington, DC area public school teachers in junior high and high schools. These materials provide teachers with the resources and methods to incorporate historical films in classroom education. Training/Institutional Support: Graduate Student internships at the National Museum American Art, National Council for Traditional Arts, and the National Council for Preservation Education (1999-2001). National Park Service training seminar, "Contextualizing Frederick Douglass" (1998), developed and facilitated by Center graduate students for park rangers and interpretive staff at the Frederick Douglass Home and National Monument. About the Center: The Center for the Study of Public History and Public Culture builds on The George Washington University's strong commitment to engaging with the public life of the city and the nation. Our location in Washington, DC and the university's strong ties to the city provide important connections to DC policy-making institutions, cultural agencies, and museums. We invite you to participate in the Center's exciting research, public education programs, and training opportunities. Please contact us through the American Studies Department, (202) 994-6070 or csph@gwu.edu, for more information regarding these programs for graduate students, public history professionals, and cultural institutions.