Mississippi University for Women has announced the establishment of a new degree program in public history. The new history major with a concentration in public history will be the only such program in the state of Mississippi.
Generally public history is geared toward people who are interested in research and not necessarily in an academic setting. Public history graduates frequently are employed by museums, historic sites, government agencies, and national parks and battlefields.
Amber Handy, an assistant professor of history at the Mississippi University for Women stated, “Ultimately, students who engage in ‘hands-on research’ are more likely to graduate and with a higher GPA than students who did not engage in research. Incorporating public history into the curriculum will allow history faculty to better combine research and public engagement, giving students the opportunity to experience what it is to ‘do’ history.”
Dr. Handy is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Notre Dame.