The Department of History, Geography, and Philosophy at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette knows that Black lives matter and we stand with Black Lives Matter activists. We are saddened and angered by the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many unnamed others. Coupled with the devastating public health and economic impact COVID-19 has had on communities of color, particularly in Louisiana, it should be clear to all that today’s problems have deep roots.

My name is Elizabeth Hodges, and I graduated from UL with a degree in history December 2016 and I will be attending New York University in the fall of 2017. As an undergraduate, I began not as a history major, but as a music business major.  At eighteen years old, I still was unsure what I really wanted to do with my life until I took my first college level history class.  After taking British history, I decided after two years of being a music major that I wanted to devote my life to studying history.
  

The History Department is very proud to present Dr. Skilton's talk.

There is much to reflect on with the completion of my eight-week internship in Rhode Island. The internship, which is a requirement for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Public History program, took place from June 6 through July 29, 2016. It provided me with a unique experience that allowed for the acquisition and refinement of new and previously known skills.

Our Department offers many opportunities to do and practice Public History. However, defining public history remains one of the most difficult questions we may have to answer. Our colleague Dr. Cauvin recently shared this working definition on his personal blog: "Public History is a historical process (1) informed by a consideration for the variety of audiences.