This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University | |
|---|---|
| Name | Public History Program |
| Institution | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Location | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Established | 1980s |
| Director | [Name varies] |
| Website | [See MTSU Department of History] |
Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University
The Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University trains students in museum practice, archival management, preservation, and interpretation for careers in cultural heritage and historic preservation. It connects students with regional institutions such as Tennessee State Museum, Cowan Center for the Arts and History, Rutherford County Courthouse, and national organizations including the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, and American Alliance of Museums.
The program emphasizes applied skills across museum studies, archival science, oral history, historic preservation, and heritage tourism, collaborating with partners like Tennessee Historical Commission, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Archives and Records Administration, Historic Nashville, Inc., and Fort Negley. Coursework and internships often engage sites such as Lotz House Museum, Oaklands Historic House Museum, Hermitage (Andrew Jackson), Carter House, and Carnton Plantation, while professional standards reference guidelines from Society of American Archivists, American Association for State and Local History, International Council on Monuments and Sites, and National Council on Public History.
MTSU's program grew from history and museum studies initiatives during the late 20th century, reflecting regional interest in Civil War interpretation at Shiloh National Military Park, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, and antebellum preservation at Belle Meade Plantation. It expanded with faculty ties to scholars of Robert E. Lee, Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett, James K. Polk, and Sam Davis, and with grant-supported projects from National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Tennessee Arts Commission.
The curriculum offers undergraduate concentrations and graduate certificates integrating practicum courses, internships, and capstone projects. Core courses address archival description and appraisal informed by Frederick Jackson Turner-influenced historiography, museum exhibit design paralleling methods used at American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New-York Historical Society, and community archives modeled after Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture practices. Students study preservation technology referencing standards from Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and digital curation using platforms promoted by Digital Public Library of America and Omeka.
Faculty include historians with specialties in Southern history, public memory, preservation, and museum education, often publishing on figures such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, William Carroll, Cordell Hull, John Sevier, and topics relating to Reconstruction Era, Civil Rights Movement, Antebellum South, and Tennessee Valley Authority. Administrators coordinate with MTSU departments including Department of History, College of Liberal Arts, School of Concrete and Construction Management (collaborations for preservation technology), and external advisory boards featuring representatives from Tennessee Historical Society, Rutherford County Historical Society, Middle Tennessee Council for the Humanities, and the American Battlefield Trust.
Research and outreach projects cover oral-history collections on communities connected to Route 66, Nashville recording industry, Grand Ole Opry, and migrant labor histories tied to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Projects include exhibit curation for Tennessee State Library and Archives, conservation work at Historic Carnton, community archives initiatives modeled on Abolitionist Record Societies, and public programs addressing commemoration debates seen at Stonewall Inn National Monument and Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. Grant-funded work has partnered with National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Students use campus collections and labs, including archival repositories, conservation labs, oral-history studios, and digital imaging suites paralleling facilities at University of Tennessee Special Collections, Vanderbilt University Special Collections, and Belmont University Special Collections. Fieldwork sites span regional museums and historic sites such as Tennessee State Museum, Lotz House, Hermitage, Carter House, and municipal archives in Nashville, Franklin (Tennessee), Columbia (Tennessee), and Knoxville. Technical resources include access to databases and tools from JSTOR, ProQuest, WorldCat, and standards from Dublin Core.
Admission typically follows MTSU graduate and undergraduate application procedures for the Department of History with prerequisites in historiography and archival methods; competitive applicants present portfolios of internships or project work linked to American Alliance of Museums standards. Graduates pursue careers at institutions including Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, Library of Congress, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Frist Art Museum, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, and smaller historical societies such as Rutherford County Historical Society and Sumner County Museum. Alumni roles include museum curators, archivists, preservationists, exhibit designers, and public historians in federal, state, and nonprofit organizations.
Category:Middle Tennessee State University Category:Public history programs Category:Museum studies in the United States