Week Fourteen

Public history this week was a lot of listening and learning from my classmates, something that I wholly enjoy doing. Even those who had chosen the same monument managed to add unique insights and observations to their presentations. I loved seeing everyone get excited about the information they had uncovered through their research. I always dislike when people feel bad for getting excited about their findings; I honestly think it makes a presentation more interesting when presenters are enthusiastic. I always want to say: You put in a lot of hard work to find all of that information and put it together, I am so glad that you enjoyed it and get to share your joy with us! 

I chose to research the Theodore Thomas memorial, also known as the Spirit of Music, located in Grant Park. Initially I knew nothing about Theodore Thomas and what he had done to deserve a statue in his honor. I was drawn to the monument through its title; “The Spirit of Music” sounded very mystical and I also just love music in general. However, what really got me interested was when I saw a photo of the monument. The statue was neither depicting Thomas himself nor was it all together not human in form. Looking through the pictures, I realized that there was a lot of deeper meaning to be found in the feminine, yet also masculine,  human figure. I had a lot of fun delving into its symbolism and history. 

This week marks the second to last week of the semester and the last ever blog post. This semester has been a whirlwind and required us to engage in the flexibility necessary for a career in public history. I am sad that this class is coming close to an end, as I have learned a lot from not only the class materials, but also from the intellect and discourse with my classmates. While I am not as interested in working in a public history setting as some of my classmates, the public history practices that I have learned in this class will be very practical if I go on to do work in a Public Library as I hope. Besides the way this class connects to my future career aspirations, I think it is generally good to understand how to be empathetic and sensitive to the history and backgrounds of others. I was really anxious about this class in the beginning, and I am so glad that I chose to stick with it!