[Course Objectives]
[Instructor "Helpful Hints"]

COURSE OBJECTIVES

You should be able to:

• To learn the fundamentals of the field of historic preservation and critique some common assumptions by writing an introductory essay based upon material from Tyler and Lowenthal

• To evaluate critically techniques, approaches, and the thinking behind historic sites, site presentation and interpretation by investigating a specific historic house or structure and writing a report based upon your findings.

• To create a research design (proposal), based upon the site examined in objective 2, and available resources at the site and in the region, that corrects defects, adds an element not existing, and/or utilizes current critical theory (Lowenthal) to reinterpret the site or certain portions of it.

NOTE: The above will be used by the instructor to evaluate each assignment.

INSTRUCTOR "HELPFUL HINTS"

To give you an example of what sites other students have done effectively, here are some previous papers and activities: the California Missions; Lincoln's birthplace; a 100-year-old Montana farmhouse; a Mississippi Plantation house; historic sites in Russia; railroad museums; Canadian French forts; Civil War battlefields; Arizona cliff dwellings; the Hiroshima Peace Monument; European castles; etc. As you can see, there is almost no limit to the possibilities of sites, both great and small. Undeveloped sites have also been "discovered" by some students...

It may also be useful to mention some common failings of papers previously submitted. The most common problem is that many students fail to respond to the questions asked in the course guide (pg. 6 in the printed materials). They blithely go along as if there were no questions, write an essay that is shallow and inappropriate, and obviously have learned very little that is new to them. Another difficulty is that some submit a breezy travelogue, which is zippy, but superficial and saccharine (as most travelogue pieces tend to be). Although we heartily encourage good writing, we must emphasize that this paper is not to be written for an audience of potential vacationers who know nothing about the sites or region. Another failing is that students often leave out the "history" part of the historic site. They describe everything, but fail to give the historic background of the site, the people or person who lived there, and why it is important in the history of the region in which it sits.

If you still have questions, don't hesitate to contact your instructor.

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