[241] History for and by the masses on the next ‘MTSU On the Record’

MURFREESBORO — The validation of public history is the focus of the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Rebecca Conard, a professor of history and director of MTSU’s public history program, will air from 5:30-6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, and from 8-8:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and http://www.wmot.org).

Conard is the author of “The Pragmatic Roots of Public History Education in the United States,” an article in the February 2015 academic journal “The Public Historian.”

She chronicles public history’s complicated, pragmatic evolution, including its interaction with museum studies, historic preservation and archival studies.

Conard also describes MTSU’s cutting-edge embrace of public history as a discipline, which began with the creation of a master’s degree in historic preservation in 1976.

“This year, we will undertake a search for a digital historian,” said Conard. “So that will be the next thing that we develop in the department, and that person will have a great role to play in the public history program as well.”

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://www.mtsunews.com and click the “more” link under “Audio Clips.”

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.