Pawn Stars

Within the past few months, I have become obsessed with the television show Pawn Stars. For those of you who haven't seen it, Pawn Stars is a show about a pawn story in Las Vegas. People will bring in items to pawn them or to sell them. To pawn an item, the person puts their item as collateral to get a certain amount of money. They have 90 days to pay back the balance and the interest. If the balance is not played, the pawn shop is allowed to sell the item.
The main reason I love the show is the stories. People bring in these items and tell what each item means. Depending on the item, they may have to get an expert to come look over the items. That's when it gets really interesting. If there is a historical object, they have a museum expert come and determine if it is legitimate. If the object is real, one of the workers will negotiate a price with the person.
On the episode I watched recently, someone brought in a Civil War diary to sell. A Civil War diary! As a public historian I was enraged. First by the fact that they were handling the diaries with their bare hands. That is a bad thing to do because it will deteriorate. If I knew they had washed their hands before handling the diaries, I would have been less upset. The other thing is that the person wanted to sell a family heirloom. I do understand that times are tough but I am an advocate of donating that kind of stuff to museums or archives. For instant, Wright State University's  Special Collection and Archives is a place that takes those kinds of donations. This is my own personal opinion when it comes to artifacts. However I feel about what people do with their artifacts, I love watching Pawn Stars. It is a good way to see how people can make a living in history outside of the academic field.

Quarter's End

The Wednesday will be the close to my quarter as a graduate student in the public history department with Wright State University. I am thrilled with my decision to go back to school and am generally loving every minute of it. While I have struggled writing papers, I know that next quarter will be easier since I am back in the swing of things.
I wanted to say I have learned so much about the public history field this quarter and I am excited to learn more about it in the following quarters. Introduction to Archives and Introduction to Public History has given me a beginners knowledge that I will continue to use as I finish school and pursue my career. Before taking Intro to Archives, I would have never thought about being a corporate archivist but it sound interested. I believe I will end up going to the museum route but never say never.
And as for you dear readers, if you have any questions, ask them. Has my blog gotten you interested in the Public History program? If so, do you know where to look? I am more than willing to give information if anybody would like to know more. Until next time.

What is Public History?

Since starting my program, everybody has asked the same question. What is public history? There is not a clear and easy answer because it encompasses so many different things. Generally when people ask me, I tell them that it involves museums and archives along with public history events such as the Renaissance Festival.
To go in more depth, a public historian can do many things with their degree. For starters, there is the archives section. With archives, you can work with old documents and 3D objects. These items will be divided into collection. While many people think archives are related to just historical events, such as the Civil War, they can relate to many different events or groups. Many big companies will have a collection of archives that they keep about their company. There are special corporate archivists who work with these specific archives. Also, there are collections from average people. Many ways we learn about the past are through diaries that have been donated. Along with working on collections, archivists are also there to answer any research questions people may have regarding specific collections.
With museums there are also numerous opportunities. For starters, at the basic level is a volunteer. Museums and archives would not survive without volunteers. Volunteers can help with anything from giving tours to answer questions. There are also people who are interpreters and help with tours. Some museums have museum educators who work with teachers to create lessons to make the students think. There is also somebody who designs the exhibit and a curator who runs the overall area.
This is just a small portion of things people can do with public history. By being a public historian, you are able to interact with the public and hopefully both entertain and education them. Both archives and museums are great options. Some archives, such as Wright State's Archives and Special Collections, get phone call all over the world for help with research. Some museums are small where it is run by only volunteers. While archives and museums may be different, they have the same goal of getting their knowledge out to the public.
I am very excited to share all my knowledge and I look forward to class each week. More to come. Until next time.

About Me

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved history. Along with a love of history, I have enjoyed helping my fellow classmates and teaching. I got my undergraduate degree in Education with an emphasis on Social Studies grades 7-12. Since graduating, I have looked for a teaching job and have not had any luck. At Wright State University's grad fair, I met with the head of the Public History department and fell in love. I knew that this would be the perfect thing for me. By being a public historian, I would be able to share my love of history with the world.
Because of my program, I decided to blog about my experiences while I go through school and beyond. I hope people will enjoy reading this and that I will only continue to grow into a job I know that I will love.
To finish out this first post, I wanted to set some goals for myself. 1. I will graduate in 2 years like the program is set up. 2. I will have an internship that I will learn a lot from. 3. For my summer internship, I will apply for opportunities in Washington D.C. 4. I will volunteer to gain some experience in the museum field. 5. Once I graduate, I will look for a job that I will love. 6. Should it take me a while to find a job, I will continue to volunteer. 7. I will take as many classes as I can so that I can have experience in a little of everything. 8. I will go to museums in my free time to see the different ways museums work. 9. I will apply for a "spring break" internship at the Smithsonian Museum. 10. No matter what happens, I will continue to work to the best of my abilities.
That is all for now. I will continue to update the blog periodically. I have a few projects due in the next few weeks that I will blog about. I'm so excited to be in school and am loving every minute I am there! Until next time...