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Historic Preservation Home > Syllabi > 100 Level Courses > HISP 102-01 Preserving Historic America

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION
HISP 102-Section 1, PRESERVING HISTORIC AMERICA

Spring 2008
Combs 139
Assoc. Prof. Douglas W. Sanford
TR, 11:00 AM -12:15 PM

This course constitutes the second half of a two-course introduction to American historic preservation.  Historic Preservation 101, The American Heritage, focuses on archaeology and architectural history.  In contrast, HISP 102 develops the relation between American-style historic preservation and the fields of museum studies, folklore, and preservation law and planning.  Students do not need to have taken HISP 101 to successfully accomplish HISP 102.

The course also considers community and government mechanisms for preservation at the local, regional, and national levels.  It also develops awareness for the “real world” issues facing preservation-in-action:  how surveys of historic resources are accomplished; who and what constitute preservation’s allies, opponents, obstacles, and sources; what knowledge and methods are employed by preservationists to achieve their objectives; and, what does preservation mean to the public (various audiences).

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  1. To foster an understanding of how preservation works at the local, state, and national levels; answering such questions as “Who does preservation?”; “Why and how is preservation undertaken?”; “What does or does not get preserved, and why.”
  2. To create an awareness of the current and common social, political, and economic issues affecting preservation in the public realm.
  3. Through assignments, to have students interact with the “real world” of preservation, such as physical (cultural) resources, text sources, community activities, and people.
  4. To develop an understanding of the goals and methods for museum studies, folklore, and preservation law and planning in relation to the broader field of historic preservation.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Text and Readings:  the following text is required:
            Robert E. Stipe, editor.  A Richer Heritage: Preservation in the Twenty-First Century.  Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
            Additional readings for the course will be made available through Internet links or within the course’s Blackboard webpage (see syllabus for additional details).  The Blackboard webpage also will contain lecture outlines and assignment and test guidelines.  Please view the Department’s website (via the College homepage) for related materials and information.

Tests:  there will be two tests and a final examination.  All three tests must be completed to pass the class.  Test 1 is scheduled for February 14th; while Test 2 is scheduled for April 1st.  The final examination will on Tuesday, April 29th, from noon to 2:30 PM.

Writing Assignments:  While each of the course’s three writing assignments will be addressed specifically in class and through guidelines, please review the following information for general guidelines pertaining to all the assignments.  You are responsible for fulfilling these requirements and grade reductions will be applied for either partial or non-completion.  As necessary, I strongly encourage students to discuss these assignments with me.

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES:  All assignments are to be submitted at the beginning of the class period on the scheduled due date.  Each assignment will be double-spaced with one-inch margins at the sides, top, and bottom of the page.  Pages will be numbered in plain fashion.  Where necessary, include endnotes on a separate page, but the endnote page does not count as a page in an assignment of a specified length.  You do not need to include a separate bibliography for these assignments, but the endnote for each cited source should clearly identify that source and relevant page numbers from which information was taken.  Please take note that the three assignments are out-of-class projects, requiring time and effort beyond the classroom.  In two instances, the projects require time off campus, in downtown Fredericksburg.  Please budget your time for “fieldwork” and drafting the paper’s text accordingly.

NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PENALTY.
ALL CLASS ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPLETED TO PASS THE CLASS.
ON YOUR HONOR, EACH PAPER IS YOUR OWN WORK, AS NO COLLABORATIVE WORK IS ALLOWED.

Assignment 1, Block Survey:  You will be provided a copy of a fire insurance map for a Fredericksburg city block, a document showing how the buildings in the block appeared at a certain date in the past.  The overall goal of this project is to compare architecture and functions of the block in the past with those same aspects in the present.  This assignment requires that you personally survey the same block and assess its buildings, landscape, and activities; and then compare and contrast the two time periods along these lines, noting reasons for the observed changes in a three-page paper.  You will be provided access to other research materials, such as historic maps and photographs, to assist your analysis.  Due date: February 26th.

Assignment 2, Architectural Oral History:  In this task you’ll interpret a building’s social use through oral history, that is, a personal interview.  In a three-page paper you will discuss a building that you’ve never seen before, by having that building described by an older relative or friend, preferably the house (or apartment, mobile home, etc.) in which that person grew up as a child.  The project’s goal is not to simply gain an architectural description of the building, but to understand how it was used and by whom.  Conducting a proper oral history (one in which you take notes, describe your relation to the interviewed person, and provide context for the building) is another project goal.  Finally, you will assess how interpreting architecture through oral history differs from that of physical observation.  Due date: March 27th.

Assignment 3, The Architectural Review Board (ARB) in action:  This assignment requires that you attend and analyze a working session of the Fredericksburg Architectural Review Board, an entity that applies preservation standards (part of the municipal preservation ordinance) to buildings within the City’s historic district.  The April meeting will be held on Monday, April 14th, at 7:30 PM in the City Council chambers of the City Hall building on the corner of Princess Anne and Hanover Streets.  You will choose an individual homeowner or business person and his/her application for architectural changes, and take notes on the nature and outcome of the case, how the ARB made its decision, and the manner in which preservation standards were involved, specifically “The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation” and the City’s “Historic District Handbook.”  Discuss the process and its results in a three-page paper.  Due date:  April 24th.

COURSE INFORMATION

Grading Scale:  A: 94-100;  A-: 90-93;  B+: 87-89;  B: 83-86;  B-: 80-82;  C+: 77-79;  C: 73-76;  C-: 70-72;  D+: 67-69;  D: 60-66;  F: 0-59.  Your final grade will be calculated as follows:  Test 1: 15%;  Test 2: 15%;  Assignment 1: 15%;  Assignment 2: 15%;  Assignment 3: 15%;  Final examination: 20%; Participation (5%).
Instructor information:  Office: Combs 133, 654-1314.  Office hours: M.: 11 AM – 12 noon; Tu.: 9:30-10:30 AM; W.: 3-4 PM; Thurs: 2-3 PM; F: 11 AM – 12 noon; and by appointment.  I work best by e-mail: dsanford@umw.edu.

COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

I. INTRODUCTING HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Jan. 15   Course Introduction.

Jan. 17   The Nature of American Historic Preservation and Its “Players”.
            Reading:  Diane Lea, “America’s Preservation Ethos: A Tribute to Enduring Ideals.”

Jan. 22   Preservation’s Ideals, Goals, and Fundamentals.
            Reading: Robert E. Stipe, “Some Preservation Fundamentals.”

II. FIELD-BASED RESEARCH METHODS

Jan. 24   The Role of Survey in the Built Environment: Architectural Elements & Styles;
Cultural Landscape (power of context); Survey Methods.

Jan. 29   Research Sources:  Public Documents and Maps.
            Reading:  Norman Tyler, pp. 97-105 (on Blackboard).

Jan. 31   Interlude 1:  Threat, Reaction, and Advocacy:  Historic Preservation and Wal-Mart.            Video & Discussion: “Back Against the Wal.”
Receive Assignment 1

III. HISTORIC PRESERVATION HISTORY & MUSEUM APPROACHES

Feb. 5    Museum History & Patterns of Practice:  Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg.            Reading: Kathryn Welch Howe, “Private Sector Involvement in Historic Preservation.”

Feb. 7    History and House Museums:  Methods, Goals, and Issues.

Feb. 12  Museum Speaker:  TBA.

Feb. 14  Test 1.

Feb. 19  Interlude 2:  Preservation and Politics:  Ethnicity, Class, & Racism.
            Reading: Antoinette J. Lee, “The Social and Ethnic Dimensions of Historic Preservation” or “An American Beach” by Alan Huffman (Preservation, 57(4):34-38, July/August 2006).

IV. THREAT & REACTIONS: LEGAL & GOVERNMENT-BASED RESPONSES AS HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMES OF AGE

Feb. 21  “Gutting Urban America”: Highways, HUD, Dams – and the Historic District as Initial Response

Feb. 26  Legal Concepts and Precedents.  The Federal Government gets Involved: Early Archaeology Laws.
            Reading: Thompson Mayes, “Preservation Law and Public Policy: Balancing Priorities and Building an Ethic.”

Assignment 1 Due.

Feb. 28  The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966: the National Register and the State Historic Preservation Office.
            National Register online:  http://www.nps.gov/history/places.htm  (click on National Register Listings);  Virginia SHPO online: http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/

March 4, 6  NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK

Mar. 11  Section 106 & Cultural Resource Management Practices.
            Reading: John H. Sprinkle, Jr., “Uncertain Destiny: The Changing Role of Archaeology in Historic Preservation.”
            Section 106 online:  http://www.nps.gov/phso/archeology/sec106.html 
            Section 106 online:  http://www.achp.gov/work106.html (go to Users Guide)

Mar. 13  Finish CRM.  The Federal Preservation Program and the National Trust.
            Reading: John M. Fowler, “The Federal Preservation Program.”
            National Trust online:  http://www.nationaltrust.org/

Mar. 18  Interlude 3:  Preservation, Disaster, and American Politics:  Outcomes of Hurricane Katrina and for New Orleans.
            Reading: Class split amongst – “Mississippi’s Morning After” by Alan Huffman (Preservation 58(1):27-37, January/February 2006); “Life Goes On” by Reed Karaim (Preservation 58(2):26-31, March/April 2006); and “Road to Recovery” by Wayne Curtis (Preservation 58(5):49-51, September/October 2006).

V. PRESERVATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: GOVERNMENT, PLANNING, NONPROFITS, & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.

Mar. 20  Local Preservation:  Planning & the Historic District (again).
            Reading: Lina Cofresi and Rosetta Radtke, “Local Government Programs: Preservation Where It Counts.”
            Assignment 3 Resource: “Old and Historic District Handbook”:  http://departments.umw.edu/hipr/www/Fred/toc.htm;  the Fredericksburg Historic District Ordinance (“Old and Historic District Code, 1990”): http://departments.umw.edu/hipr/www/Fredericksburg/hfdcode/hfdcode.htm

Mar. 25  Local Preservation Speaker: TBA.
            Reading: J. Myrick Howard, “Nonprofits in the American Preservation Movement.”

Mar. 27  Local Preservation & Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction.
                        Video:  “Block by Block” – Neighborhood Revitalization.”

Assignment 2 Due.

Apr. 1    Test 2.

Apr. 3    Local Preservation and the Secretary of Interior Standards.

Readings:  “The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties.”  http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/standguide/
            “The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.”
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/TPS/tax/rhb

VI. PRESERVATION BEYOND BUILDINGS & IN OTHER CONTEXTS.

Apr. 8    Rural Preservation and Rural Landscapes, Historic Districts.
            Reading: Genevieve P. Keller and J. Timothy Keller, “Preserving Important Landscapes.”

Apr. 10  Rural Preservation and Development: The Rural to Urban Continuum.
            Reading: Charles E. Roe, “The Natural Environment.”
            Video:  The View from Malabar.
ARB Meeting:  April 14th, 7:30 PM, City Council Chambers

Apr. 15  Fieldtrip: Rehabilitation in downtown Fredericksburg.
Meet in front of Sammy T’s Restaurant at the corner of Caroline and Hanover Streets.

Apr. 17  Folklife & Intangible Culture.
            Reading: Alan Jabbour, “Folklife, Intangible Heritage, and the Promise and Perils of Cultural Cooperation.”

Apr. 22  Folklife (continued).  International and Global Preservation.
            Reading: Russell V. Keune, “Historic Preservation in a Global Context: An International Perspective.”

Apr. 24    International Preservation Case Study.
Video:  The Lost Treasures of Tibet.

Assignment 3 Due.

Final Examination:            Tuesday, April 29th, noon – 2:30 PM