HIST 311 History and Social Media

Examines the role of social media in shaping and sharing historical narratives with diverse audiences.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Social media serves as a powerful platform for engaging with history, but it also presents challenges related to accuracy and representation. This course equips students to navigate social media effectively as a tool for promoting historical understanding and emphasizes its potential to advance truth from a Christian perspective.

Textbook Readings and Lecture Presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

The student will complete 2 discussions in this course. The student will post 1 thread of at least 300—350 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of the assigned Module: Week. The student must then post 2 replies of at least 150—200 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned Module: Week. Students should also respond to at least 1 reply in their own thread. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 3 scholarly sources (including the course textbook). All citations should be formatted in current Turabian format. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in current Turabian format. Acceptable sources include the textbook, scholarly articles, websites, and social media profiles.

Building a List of Pages Assignment

The student will identify 4 public history organizations with a strong social media presence, as well as 1 non-public history social media account to use as examples and sources of inspiration when developing a social media plan. Ideas for graphics, content, etc., may also come from outside the field to provide alternative perspectives. The student will evaluate what each account does well and identify specific aspects that could inform the creation of an effective social media plan. For each organization or account, the student will write 2 paragraphs explaining the evaluation and must reference the course textbook at least 3 times to demonstrate how the chosen examples align with principles of an effective social media strategy. References must be listed in current Turabian format.

Identifying an Audience and Creating a Persona Assignment

The student will apply what they have learned by selecting 1 public history organization from an approved list and researching it using the organization’s website, social media pages, and other relevant sources. Based on this research, the student will determine the organization’s most prominent audience and an additional audience with which it could strengthen its relationship. Using a provided template, the student will complete detailed profiles for each persona and write 1—2 summary paragraphs describing each audience or persona and the types of content they are most likely to engage with.

Evaluating Best Platforms for Different Organizations Assignment

Depending on an organization’s goals, audience, type of content, and other factors, choosing the correct social media platforms to focus on can make or break a social media plan. For this assignment, the student will consider the most popular social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube) and select public history organizations that would benefit the most from each platform. Using a provided template, the student will write 2 paragraphs for each selection, discussing the platform’s strengths and weaknesses and explaining why the chosen public history organization is well suited for that specific platform.

Choose a Public History Organization Assignment

The student will choose 1 public history organization from an approved list to be used as a starting point for the Creating a Content Calendar Final Project Assignments. The student will write 3–5 paragraphs providing initial impressions of the selected public history organization, including what the organization is trying to accomplish with its social media presence, their most prominent audiences, the types of content that would be best suited for the organization, and areas that could be strengthened or expanded by its presence and virtual community.

Writing a Blog Post and Promoting It Assignment

For this assignment, the student will practice writing a blog post for the organization selected in the Choose a Public History Organization Assignment. The student will:

• Identify a person, artifact, or event that is interpreted by the selected organization and write a 600—700-word blog post about it.
• Include at least 2 images that apply to the blog post.
• Present a focused topic and convey accurate information in a concise but interesting way.
• Create a social media post that could be used to promote the blog post. This social media post should include brief text as well as an image or graphic.

Creating a Video and Promoting It Assignment

While video can be used for several purposes within a social media plan, in this assignment, the student will focus on using video to help tell the story of their chosen public history organization. The student will choose an artifact, person, or event interpreted by the public history organization that was selected in the Choose a Public History Organization Assignment, and the subject of this video should be different from the one selected for the Writing a Blog Post and Promoting It Assignment. Once a subject is selected, the student will create a 1—2-minute video with a strong opening hook, captions, images or b-roll, and quality information. The student may choose various styles of video, but it should include good information about the chosen subject, relate to the larger story or mission of the public history organization, and serve a purpose (promote engagement, site visitation, etc.). After the video is created, the student will write a brief text to accompany the video in a social media post.

Finding Trending Topics Assignment

Understanding which terms related to an organization are trending and where they are most popular can help optimize content and expand reach. Although there are several tools to help gain these insights, some of the best are Google Trends and AI. In this assignment, the student will use Google Trends to explore topics connected to the selected public history organization from the Choose a Public History Organization Assignment. The student will identify 5 relevant keywords or topics, analyze their popularity and related searches using Google Trends (Explore), and complete a provided template following details provided within the assignment instructions document to effectively present their findings. The student will also write 2—3 paragraphs explaining why it is useful to know what topics and keywords are trending and how this knowledge can impact content creation and audience reach.

Creating a Content Calendar Assignment

In this assignment, the student will use the provided template to create a one-month content calendar covering a month of his/her choice for the public history organization selected in the Choose a Public History Organization Assignment. The calendar should meet all required criteria outlined in the assignment instructions in Canvas and include 15—18 posts in a variety of formats, 12 of which must be in specific formats outlined by the assignment instructions, to be distributed across at least 3 social media platforms. Once the calendar is completed, the student will write 3 paragraphs explaining the planning process and how the scheduled posts work together to accomplish the organization’s goals.

Quizzes (10)

There will be 10 quizzes that cover the assigned textbook reading. Each quiz will cover the textbook reading for the assigned Module: Week. These quizzes contain 19 multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions, are open-book/open-notes, and have a 40-minute time limit.