Material Culture & Humanities
William Goodwin (left), John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (second from right), and others discuss plans for preserving historic Williamsburg, Virginia.
Wednesdays 10:00 am–12:45 pm
Surge
Links to an external site. 101A
Prof. Rachel Gross
rbgross@vt.edu
Office: 211 Major Williams Hall (Links to an external site.)
Office hours by appointment.
Material Culture and Public Humanities Program
Department of Religion and Culture
Syllabus Download Syllabus
Leading discussion assignments Links to an external site.
Overview
This graduate seminar is an introduction to the public humanities, providing a background to issues in preserving, interpreting, and presenting art, history, and culture.
This class has three parts:
- Part I: Defining terms and subjects (January 20–February 24, 2016)
- Part II: Power and control in public history (March 2–March 30, 2016)
- Part III: New developments in public humanities (April 6–May 4, 2016)
We will address these issues primarily through case studies, which will enable us to ask larger questions of our subject matter, including but not limited to:
- What is the public sphere?
- Who controls public history?
- What is deemed worthy of preservation and presentation?
- How do gender, race, and class impact public history?
Case studies will focus on American examples but our analysis will be applicable to global circumstances.
Objectives
Upon the successful completion of this course, students will learn to:
- Formulate working definitions of public history, material culture, and the public sphere.
- Discuss the historical construction of public memory.
- Recognize the structures of power and control in public history.
- Reflect on readings and discussion throughout the semester orally and in writing.
Course Summary:
Date | Details | Due |
---|---|---|
Wed Jan 20, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 1. 1/20 Introductions | due by 10am |
Tue Jan 26, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 2. 1/27 Performance and puppetry | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Feb 2, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 3. 2/3 Defining public history | due by 11:59pm |
Fri Feb 5, 2016 | Calendar Event Blair Thomas & Co. Puppet Theater, Moby Dick performance | 7:30pm |
Mon Feb 8, 2016 | Calendar Event Breakfast with Chip Callahan, University of Missouri | 9am |
Tue Feb 9, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 4. 2/10 Creating the historian | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Feb 16, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 5. 2/17 Visiting museums | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Feb 23, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 6. 2/24 The built environment | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Mar 1, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 7. 3/2 Federal designs | due by 11:59pm |
Mon Mar 14, 2016 | Assignment Review paper | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Mar 15, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 8. 3/16 Heritage tourism | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Mar 22, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 9. 3/23 Living history | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Mar 29, 2016 | Calendar Event Ed Blum, San Diego State University, “War Is All Hell: Devils, Demons, and Darkness in the American Civil War” | 7pm |
Discussion Topic Week 10. 3/30 Sharing authority | due by 11:59pm | |
Tue Apr 5, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 11. 4/6 Representing American Indians | due by 11:59pm |
Mon Apr 11, 2016 | Assignment Term paper topic proposal | due by 11:59pm |
Tue Apr 12, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 12. 4/13 Folkloristic traditions and the media of transmission | due by 11:59pm |
Thu Apr 14, 2016 | Calendar Event Amy Gottlieb, The Beautiful Possible: A Novel | 7pm to 8:30pm |
Tue Apr 19, 2016 | Calendar Event Rose Ensemble, Land of Three Faiths lecture demonstration | 2pm |
Calendar Event Rose Ensemble, Land of Three Faiths recital | 7:30pm | |
Discussion Topic Week 13. 4/20 Digital humanities | due by 11:59pm | |
Tue Apr 26, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 14. 4/27 Sites of terror | due by 11:59pm |
Tue May 3, 2016 | Discussion Topic Week 15. 5/4 Boundaries and offenses | due by 11:59pm |
Mon May 9, 2016 | Assignment Term paper | due by 11:59pm |
Assignment Leading discussion | ||
Assignment Participation |