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Preserving the American Past

Session 2, Summer 2027

History 216—Preserving the American Past investigates ways in which Americans came to understand, preserve, and tell their history beginning in the late 19th century and continuing into the present. The course traces the invention of house museums and the establishment of historic sites, battlefields, historic landmarks, and national historical park sites as well as the contestations over whose histories would be preserved and told. Students in this class will learn about the late 19th and 20th century worlds in which historic preservation techniques were invented and historic places were “saved,” while getting insight into the longer histories that preservationists valued, from the establishment of Jamestown in 1607 through the United States Civil War and beyond. The class will consider how objects are displayed and how history is communicated through public spaces and exhibitions at museums and historic sites. Discussions will investigate questions such as: How is history shared? How does it celebrate, marginalize, or oppress? How do monuments and memorials shape our understanding of the past? And how do new technologies enhance our study of history?

This course is built upon the world-class museum resources of the region, including two of the first sites designated as National Historic Sites, the country’s largest living history museum at Colonial Williamsburg, prominent Civil War battlefields, and many other museums and heritage sites. Students interested in understanding career pathways in conservation, museology, historical research, heritage interpretation, archives management, and other professions in the cultural heritage fields are particularly welcome.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Use historical thinking to analyze, evaluate, and interpret primary and secondary sources.
• Use evidence-based reasoning and diverse historical sources (written records, material objects, archaeological artifacts, buildings, and landscapes) to interpret the past coherently, develop an argument, and present an argument both in discussions and in written assignments.
• Analyze the reasons behind the invention of historic house museums and the establishment of historic sites, battlefields, historic landmarks, and national historical park sites.
• Examine and describe the ways in which museums, historic sites, national parks, archaeological artifacts, monuments, and material objects help people of the 21st century to learn about the past.
• Explore ways in which museum professionals preserve the American past and how a preservationist’s selection of what is saved shapes our knowledge of the past.