MA in Public History to Launch this September at St Mary's

St Mary’s University, Twickenham has launched its new MA in Public History, aimed at those interested in museums, galleries, cultural heritage and popular forms of history making. Experts from The National Archives will help St Mary’s historians to teach the MA. The new postgraduate degree looks at how historical knowledge is produced, mediated and consumed in public spaces. Students will examine how museums, galleries, monuments and archives function as gatekeepers of historical knowledge and carriers of social memory. The University’s Strawberry Hill campus is ideally located for the new programme and will be able to utilise its links with local institutions such as the Strawberry Hill House Trust, the Historic Palaces Agency, major London museums, and local museums and heritage centres. The course combines vocational and theoretical approaches to studying public history. The balance between these approaches will allow students to develop the work-based knowledge required to find employment in public history related fields, whilst also building critical awareness of how historical knowledge functions in the wider culture. Programme Director for the MA in Public History Dr Mark Donnelly said, “This course thinks about the importance of public history in understanding how people can live together now. The great thing about mixing academic and workplace skills on an MA is that it allows students to develop their research interests and to prepare for a career. This is a new degree with rich potential.” St Mary’s is hosting a Postgraduate Open Evening on 30^th April, where prospective postgraduate students can find out more about the MA in Public History or postgraduate studies at the University. For more information or to book a place please visit the website.