UMontana Public History Program
projects
Building Going-to-the-Sun Road digital exhibit
University of Montana public history students created a digital exhibit on the Building the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in collaboration with the Montana History Portal. This project came out of Leif Fredrickson’s history of the automobile course. After…
Wet Missoula: Alcohol Culture and COVID-19 Oral History Project
In April 2021, University of Montana students from HSTA377: Intoxication Nation, taught by Professor Kyle G. Volk, interviewed bar owners, bartenders, brewery staff, an AA member, a recovery counselor, and others to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped Missoula’s alcohol…
Ben Williams on His Public History Internship in Virginia City
It was about 2022 when I first became interested in public history. The field of public history interested me because it bridged the gap between academia and the public sphere. The idea that historians could use their professional training and…
news
H. Duane Hampton
This month, H. Duane Hampton, Emeritus Professor in the History Department and the namesake of our Public History Program, passed away. In addition to being a scholar and teacher, Hampton was a prominent part of Missoula’s community and a profoundly influential mentor to many young historians, particularly those working in public history. “Hamp,” as he was known affectionately by his multitude of friends, was a wonderful person who lived a full life. We are so honored to have a public history program named after him.
Cooney hired at museum
Congratulations to Torrie Cooney who was recently hired as the Assistant Education Director for at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula! Cooney received her public history certificate from UM in 2023 and completed several public history internships with the museum while she was a student. We’re so excited for her!
Op-ed writing workshop
Graduate and undergraduate students joined Leif Fredrickson, Anya Jabour and Jeff Wiltse for a discussion of how history scholars (including students!) can translate their research into writing for the public, and how learning to write for the public can improve scholarly writing.
