HIST-3071H: Public History
Dr. Michael Eamon, professor and principal of Catharine Parr Traill College

Dr. Michael Eamon guides students in Trent’s Public History course as they step outside the confines of a traditional classroom and into history.

The third year history course challenges students to explore historical monuments, sites, documentaries and museums with a critical eye towards their historical message and presentation, effectiveness of interpretation, and physical accessibility. It is designed to encourage students to explore how the past is used, or abused, in public works.

“Memory is fragile and tends to change over time,” said Professor Eamon. “This is particularly prevalent in western societies that has moved away from oral storytelling traditions. Without a constant repetition of the story, details are lost or conflated with other events.”

“Although monuments, archives, and historic sites take many forms and involve different items, collectively they all are physical means in which the past is retold to those who experienced it, or introduced to the uninitiated. Sometimes commemorations have been seen as the final word on a past event. However, for me, they should be seen as gateways to the past; the beginnings of a larger and continuing conversation that should both address current issues and remain relevant into the future.”

Exploring Peterborough’s Millennium Park

On a recent outing, Prof. Eamon took students through Millennium Park – a central fixture of downtown Peterborough, Ontario. A project intended to commemorate the turn of the year 2000 and organized by Brian Buchardt, an urban planner with the City of Peterborough, the park is home to many monuments commemorating the history of the Peterborough region and the people who live there.

“These types of commemorations, found in public spaces, are some of the most accessible ways that we commune with the past,” explained Prof. Eamon. “Everywhere remnants of the past surround us, but commemorations are deliberate attempts to make people stop and pay attention to a moment in time.”

“As we have seen on the tour, a great deal of time and effort went into creating several commemorations of which the deeper meaning is now lost. My goal is to help demonstrate to my class of budding public historians both the effective, and less effective, ways we have tried to marked past events, peoples, or places in Peterborough.”

Remembering the past, understanding the future

While the tour of the park highlights the historic significance of the space and many of the natural features, the purpose is to challenge students to be critical of the way history and people are presented and then develop their own conclusions of how the information could be better presented.

“How we remember our past is unavoidably wrapped up in popular trends, politics, and, indeed, how we see ourselves,” said Prof. Eamon. “I hope that students gain a better understanding of the many spaces where the public engages with the past and the forces that shape the public understanding of the past.”