The Role of Public History Within and Outside the United States: Critical Reflections

This article outlines the historical roots, disciplinary evolution, and contemporary significance of Public History, framing the thematic focus of this issue of USAbroad – Journal of American History and Politics. Emerging in the United States and Britain during the 1970s, Public History sought to extend historical practice beyond academia and to make the production of historical knowledge more democratic and socially engaged. Drawing on the legacies of social history and history from below, it has since developed into a global field encompassing museums, archives, media and digital platforms. The article situates the field within current debates about the public uses of the past, the politics of memory, and the blurred boundaries between scholarly research and popular history. It also highlights the uneven international development of Public History, with particular reference to its late institutionalization in Italy and the growing network of global practitioners. Finally, it introduces the essays gathered in this issue, which examine the circulation, adaptation, and redefinition of Public History across the Americas and Europe. Collectively, the contributions reveal how the discipline continues to negotiate its dual identity – as a scholarly method and as a civic practice – and to reshape the relationship between historical research, public discourse and democratic participation.