History 792M - S- AdvAmericanMaterialCulture

This course explores methods for studying material culture and assesses historical writings focusing on objects as historical evidence. The collections, buildings and grounds of Historic Deerfield provide a laboratory for first-hand examination of objects, the built environment and the landscape in order to test a variety of approaches for analyzing artifacts and to develop the skills and knowledge needed to interpret the meanings of material productions in their historical contexts. Analysis of high chests, dwelling houses, bed hangings, petticoats, chocolate pots, splint baskets, gravestones and many other artifacts of everyday life will serve as a starting point for exploring these objects' materials, the ideas governing their designs and processes by which they were made, the makers who produced them and the recipients who used them and passed them down to the present.

Students enrolling in the 700-level version of the course must produce a substantial research paper grounded in original research involving artifact collections.

Open to Doctoral and Masters History students only.