Southeast Missouri State University
Department of History
Course Syllabus
Historic Preservation Field School: HP552
I. Catalog Description and Credit Hours of Course:
Intensive field experience in documenting and preserving the built environment and the historic landscape. 3 credit hours
II. Prerequisites:
HP100 and HP200 or equivalent or permission of instructor.
III. Purposes or Objectives of the Course:
1. To provide field experience in the documentation and preservation of the built environment.
2. To familiarize students with various methods of gathering data and understanding past cultures, including historic archaeology.
3. To deepen the student
=s understanding of the historic landscape.4. To strengthen the student
=s skills in field observation and historical research.5. To broaden student understanding of past human behavior from a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural perspective.
IV. Expectations of students:
This course will be a field experience class. Students will divide their time between library and archival research and the collection of data in the field. There will also be hands-on projects relating to the study and preservation of historic buildings and objects, including work with standing structures and archaeological sites. Students are expected to: attend all sessions, read assigned materials, conduct themselves as professionals, participate fully in group projects, and complete any written assignments. Graduate students will prepare a research paper, based on original research, in consultation with the instructor(s).
In general, the class will meet four days per week for four weeks during the regular summer session. Class sessions will consist of two hours of lecture/discussion and four hours of field work/lab. Lecture and discussion will focus on a specific research project relating to a historic site. Field work will include tours and inspection, photography and documentation, archaeological excavations, and hands-on demonstrations.
V. Course Outline
A. Field work methodology.
B. Research in primary and secondary sources.
C. Lectures on the built environment and the historic landscape.
D. Practice in analyzing and reporting data gathered from the field and from documentary research.
E. Field experience in techniques of preserving buildings and sites.
VI. Textbooks
Various readings will be assigned to enhance the student
=s understanding of observations made in the field. General readings will be assigned from the following texts:Tyler, Norman. Historic Preservation. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999.
Additional readings will relate to the particular site on which research is being conducted.
VII. Basis for Student Evaluation
Grades for undergraduates will be based on performance in field exercises (50%), written assignments (30%), and class participation (20%).
Graduate students will be evaluated on field exercises (40%), class participation (20%), and a substantial research paper (40%).