ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the intellectual and civic outcomes to be gained from academically based community service warrant serious consideration for the inclusion of this approach in the undergraduate history curriculum. The undergraduate academic program guides students to contribute meaningfully to societal problem solving in local venues, involving them in school and neighborhood improvement projects that provide unique opportunities for the production and use of new academic knowledge. Academically based community service is a powerful form of public work uniquely appropriate for American higher education. The course also encouraged some students to devote more time to history study and research. Multimedia projects would also lend themselves to the production of truly public history, and this public role would help both undergraduates and high school students see themselves as useful and talented contributors to their communities.
