UWG's Center for Public History is hosting the event, called "Passport to Public History: Come See What Public Historians Really Do" today from 2 to 5 p.m. at Ingram Library on the university's campus.
The free drop-in event is open to the public and will showcase a compilation of student work, it also offers an opportunity to explore work done by public historians.
"Our research produces albums of music, 3-D models of artifacts for online exhibits, traveling exhibits, walking tours of historic downtowns and a whole host of other projects that make history truly engaging," said Dusty Dye, assistant director for the Center for Public History. "Ultimately, we use all of our creativity to preserve the past and tell the stories of the people who lived it."
The director of the center, Dr. Ann McCleary, said the public should be interested in the event — other than being identified in the center's title — because of the local focus of the center and the region's historical importance.
"We want everyone to come and learn about the different things we're doing," said McCleary, who shares the director title with Dr. Keith Hebert. "We have a lot of projects that people have hopefully heard about, but this will be our first chance to get all these people together to talk to the community about what we're actually doing."
The bulk of the projects the center is currently working on concern Carroll County and the west Georgia region, McCleary said, which makes the event applicable to all residents.
"We just want to promote our history and share why we think it's important," the director said.
McCleary said anyone who visits the showcase seeking more information will be invited to volunteer or become more involved in the center's work.
The event includes eight showcase tables of work completed by graduate research assistants as part of an experiential learning program.
Also, six speakers will provide informal presentations about their partnerships and research, in addition to the various displays for their showcases.
Presentations will begin every 30 minutes.
The event will include refreshments and door prizes, McCleary said.
"We think the public should be interested," the director said. "We want to preserve their stories so they can be told later."
The following are the showcases to be featured:
• The West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail — connects communities through preserving and interpreting historic sites related to the textile industry along Highway 27 from Columbus to Dalton.
• The Regional Music Project — an initiative began by the Center for Public History to document, preserve, interpret and promote the musical folk life and history of grassroots music in Carroll County and west Georgia.
• National Park Service partnerships — includes Trail of Tears and administrative history of the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site in Flat Rock, N.C.
• Georgia Humanities Council partnerships — includes the Governor's Mansion project, Georgia's National History Day Competition, New Harmonies and New Georgia Encyclopedia and Teacher's Workshop.
• Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum — located in Carrollton, the museum opened in September with a special exhibition of quilts crafted by the West Georgia Quilters Guild in honor of their 25th anniversary.
• Community projects — the center partners with local communities and individuals to highlight their heritage. While working with Goldworth Farm, the center has had the opportunity to concentrate on turning the late 19th-century farm and the Civilian Conservation Corps camp into a historic site that welcomes visitors.
• Waring Lab partnership — allows students opportunities to work on archaeological projects.
For more information, contact Dusty Dye at the center at 678-839-6141.
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