HST 236 - PUBLIC HISTORY in Practice

Explores the key concepts and current practices of public history as an academic discipline and professional field in museums, libraries, archives, historical societies, historic houses, and preservation organizations. Examines the presentation and interpretation of history to popular audiences through documentaries, motion pictures, Web sites, and other forms of media. Topics covered will include museum education, curation, fundraising, educational and interpretive programming.  Students will gain practical experience by participating in substantive, directed projects with partnering organizations. Required course for students concentrating in Public History.

HST 241 - Narrating the Past with Digital History

An introduction to the use of information technologies to narrate, preserve, access, analyze, research, and publish interpretations of the past. Students will learn how historical content is produced, presented, and published in digital form; how to find and evaluate digital primary and secondary sources; and how to use basic computational techniques to work with digital resources. No programming experience is required.

HST 296 - Building Urban America

From the ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people to the neoclassical forms of temples and monuments to the iconic nineteenth-century street grid, Americans have built cities distinguished by architectural creativity and international influence. This course explores the design history of the buildings and landscapes of America’s early cities from the pre-contact period through the 1850s. Each week students will study a different American city and its global design influences to learn about the environmental, architectural, social, and political forces that shaped these places. We’ll consider how scholars in the fields of vernacular architecture, the Atlantic World, the Broader Caribbean, and the Global South approach the study of the built environment both at home and abroad. Students will practice the techniques used by historians, preservationists, and urban planners to examine the built environment and to find traces of this history in today’s cities.

HST 374 - Jefferson to Jackson: Politics and Culture in the New Nation

Though the United States could claim victory in the Revolution, the war’s end did not guarantee a unified national identity; Americans struggled to reconcile the promise of Revolution with the realities of daily life in the new republic. Internationally, in Canada, China, Europe, India, and Africa, they grappled with the war’s global legacy. This class explores the various voices competing to be heard on the national and international stage, from the political leaders who drafted founding documents, treaties, and legislation, to the women who learned to “stand and speak” despite repeated demands for their silence. We will encounter stories of enslaved and free African-American men and women at home and abroad who called attention to the Revolution’s unfulfilled commitment to freedom and equality, and we will examine the struggles of the thousands of displaced Native peoples whose efforts for coexistence were marred by conflict and violence inflicted by an expansionist republic. This course will explore topics such as religion, domestic life, gender and sexuality, African and Native American culture, politics, and material culture. We will also discuss the techniques and practices that historians of many stripes (educators, curators, preservationists, podcasters, journalists, etc.) use to tell these stories to an array of audiences today.

HST 465 - Monumental Women: the making and unmaking of female public space

Of the estimated 5,575 statues depicting historic figures in the United States, only 559 of them commemorate women; and this disparity is echoed around the world. What are we to make of the gap between the historical “monumental women” and the physical structures that celebrate them? This class examines global efforts to memorialize important women through monuments, museums, and other public spaces. It will focus on how acts of memorialization produce public and collective memories about the past, and how these bring up issues of patriarchy, subjugation, inclusivity, and representation. We will explore the contradictions between women’s empowerment and historical exploitation, expressed in things like pussy hats and other feminist gear; in artistic representations of the female form; in exploration of cultural difference; and in grass-roots and official forms of activism.

CI 185 - City of Stories: Walking Tours of Boston’s Past

Often referred to as “America’s walking city,” Boston is full of places to explore. How have Bostonians throughout history understood their city through the neighborhoods, streets, and buildings around them? How can designing walking tours teach us about innovative approaches to telling Boston’s diverse and varied history? Why is the act of walking an inherently creative endeavor? Through field trips, group projects, personal reflections, and discussions, you’ll learn the techniques that historians use to bring historical information and ideas to broader audiences—a field known as “public history.” We’ll put those techniques to use developing our own walking tours of Boston. As we learn to understand the city around us on foot, we’ll also incorporate sensory techniques (smell, taste, touch, and sound) to accompany the content of our tours. We’ll focus our research on the unheard stories of Boston’s past and the underrepresented perspectives, including the stories of different races, cultures, classes, genders, sexualities, and more that surround us every day.