Experiencing the City

Abstract

Both history internships and urban history courses that offer place-based learning experiences provide students with an introduction to the role that historical scholarship can play in the everyday life of a community. Basic research about the built environment can have real-world applications that benefit individuals and organizations. Helping students connect intellectual pursuits with practical needs is one of the central goals of a liberal arts education. At the same time, place-based learning gives students a unique opportunity to experience the “messiness” of problem solving and to begin to understand the benefits of uncertainty as part of the process of both learning and social change.