Introduction to Public History

 

HIS 311/511 • MWF 1:30–2:35 p.m. • MC 322 • Fall 2007                                                 

 

J. Mark Souther, Associate Professor of History, Cleveland State University

B.A. Furman University, M.A. University of Richmond, Ph.D. Tulane University

 

Contact info:  Rhodes Tower, Room 1904 • (216) 687-3970 • m.souther@csuohio.edu

Office hours:  MWF 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m., or by appointment

Course-related websites:  academic.csuohio.edu/souther_m/HIS311.html and del.icio.us/jmarksouther/his311reading

 

 

This course will explore "public history," or history as it is applied beyond the classroom.  It will examine urban history as a rich source for interaction between historians and the broader public.  The course will examine the use of archival resources and the interpretation and presentation of history through museum exhibits, documentary films, public art, heritage tourism sites, community history projects, and various other public history venues.  It will explore how these venues identify their public and how they utilize historical evidence to reach that audience.  The course will also consider the role of race, class, and public memory in advancing certain interpretations and suppressing others.

 

The practical component of the course involves developing public history exhibits that interpret the transformation of urban space, specifically Cleveland's Euclid Corridor.  Students will receive training and field experience in visualizing the past through the critical examination of historical images, local history research materials, and oral histories, as well as improving technological skills.  The course project—part of a larger collaboration between the Cleveland State University Department of History and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Cleveland Public Art, and ideastreamª to create a new sense of place along Euclid Avenue—will culminate in student-created exhibits and presentations combining historical images and sounds with interpretive text.  These projects will contribute to the transformation of Euclid Avenue, in effect, into an outdoor history museum.

 

Required Readings

Available at the CSU Bookstore, 2400 Euclid Avenue, www.csuohiobookstore.com. You may opt to purchase books online or request them on OhioLink, olc1.ohiolink.edu/search.

 

David Glassberg, Sense of History:  The Place of the Past in American Life (Amherst: 

University of Massachusetts Press, 2001).

 

Dolores Hayden, The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History (Cambridge:  MIT

            Press, 1997).

 

Max Page and Randall Mason, eds., Giving Preservation a History:  Histories of Historic

            Preservation in the United States (New York:  Routledge, 2004).

 

Additional readings are available online at del.icio.us/jmarksouther/his311reading.  A number of these readings are linked to CSU's Electronic Course Reserve (ECR) and will require you to enter your CSU ID.  Some links will also require you to sign up for a free online membership to the New York Times, www.nytimes.com, before you view them.  The computer labs on the fourth floor of Main Classroom Building and in Fenn Tower offer free printing.  You should bring a copy of required reading to class on the day for which it is assigned.

 

Assignments–HIS 311 Students

 

Notice:

  1. All assignments prepared outside class must by typed (double-spaced) using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.
  2. You must submit all assignments in hard copy (i.e., on paper).

 

Midterm and Final Exams.  20% (10% each)

In lieu of written responses to reading assignments, I will use the midterm and final exams to assess your understanding of materials encountered in class lectures, discussions, and readings.  The exams will consist of writing two essays (chosen from a list of three essay topics).  Since the final exam period lasts two hours, I will expect more detailed responses than on the midterm exam.

 

Landscape Essay.  10%

After receiving your assigned section of the Euclid Corridor (selected by lottery from the "Sections for Assignment" section below), visit your section, exercising the caution you would in any urban setting.  You may find it useful to look at adjacent streets as well.  Take a notebook or voice recorder and note or record your observations.  If you want, you may also take digital pictures.  Note what buildings/houses you see.  What might be the history of your site, judging from what you see?  Speculate on the past and present uses of your site.  Next, prepare an essay of no less than 3 1/2 pages of double-spaced text in which you describe your site in detail.

 

Image and Address Analyses / Bibliography.  20%

  1. Collect and analyze at least 20 historical images that you order on a CD from the CSU Special Collections.  Turn in photocopies of the images (your CD probably won't be ready in time for this deadline) along with your analyses, which must include 1 typed, single-spaced paragraph per image that describes what is in each image and speculates on conclusions that might be drawn from looking at each image.  (Suggestion:  Try to find images that reveal changes over time whenever possible as this will make for an interesting presentation at the end!)
  2. Collect photocopies of your sectionÕs addresses found in Cleveland city directories in Special Collections, using the section organized alphabetically by street address (not the section organized by name).  Do this for 5 different years spread out at reasonable intervals:  i.e., 1920, 1940, 1960, 1980, 2000.  The intervals need not be exact, as the collection is missing some years.  Trace at least 25 addresses across the five different years.  Choose addresses that you think reflect significant continuity or change.  You may wish to choose addresses for which you find images.  Keep in mind that one address in a given year any correspond to the footprint of more than one address in another year.  Create an Excel document (.xls format only) with columns for the address and five different years, and list what was located at each address during each year.
  3. Prepare a bibliography of sources you plan to use in your research paper.  The bibliography must include all available publication information (using a documentation guide based on Chicago Manual of Style that I will distribute in class and on my main website) and must list a) individual newspaper articles, b) scholarly books, chapters, or articles, c) encyclopedia entries, d) any other print sources.  You may divide your bibliography into types of sources and alphabetize within each type.

 

Research Paper.  35%(15% first draft; 20% second draft)

Your research paper should start with common knowledge about your section of Euclid Avenue (the landmarks and the generally known history) and should then delve into the "hidden history," or those places and happenings that might not be so widely known.  It should be pitched to a public history audience and must make an interpretive statement about your site (i.e., What is its history and what "hidden history" have you discovered?  How did the area develop and change over time?  What stories might you tell with your site and what individual places would you include to tell these stories?).  It must be no fewer than 12 pages of double-spaced text.  WAC credit pertains to this assignment, and I will assign a first-draft grade and return to you with suggested revisions.  You will then revise and resubmit a final draft, for which you will receive a second grade.

 

Site Descriptions.  5%

You will write two 125-150 word site descriptions, or "blurbs," about any two places within your section of the Euclid Corridor.  Please avoid well-known places such as Playhouse Square, Cleveland Clinic, etc.  Your descriptions should also focus on places that are not currently plotted on the interactive Euclid Corridor map at www.culturalgardens.org/euclidcorridor.  You should consult that map, however, for models for blurbs.  You must draw on more than just the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History to write your blurbs.   

 

Powerpoint Presentation.  10%

Create a Powerpoint presentation of at least 6 slides and at least 15 images that encapsulates the history of your section of the Euclid Corridor.  You must make your presentation available to me electronically, either on a CD or thumb drive, and you must present your Powerpoint to the class during the fifteenth week of the semester.  I will dock 2%, or 2 of 10 points, if you do not present.  Like your research paper, your presentation should briefly acknowledge the commonly known history of the area but, more importantly, focus on the "hidden history."  It is very appropriate to draw upon your analyses of images and addresses and your site descriptions in preparing this presentation.  As part of this assignment, I encourage you to consider oral history as a source.  In some cases, we may already have oral histories that touch on your topic, but you may choose to do an oral history of your own in accordance with the guidelines below.  If you wish to include sound in your presentation, you may do so by using the free software Audacity, available at audacity.sourceforge.net/download, to create sound clips that you can then insert in your presentation.  I will help you as needed.  (Note:  If you are proficient in using iMovie or MovieMaker, you may opt to create a movie on DVD instead of a Powerpoint presentation.)

 

Optional Oral History.  +5%

For optional extra credit, identify and interview someone knowledgeable about some aspect of your chosen section of Euclid Avenue.  Schedule and conduct a 45-60 minute interview, which I will facilitate (taking care of making the sound recording).  After completing the interview, I will burn a CD for you, which you will listen to and create a concise, minute-by-minute subject log, using a form I will provide.     

 

Sections for Assignment–HIS 311 Students

100–899 Euclid Ave. (East of Public Square to West of E. 9th St.)

900–1699 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 9th St. to West of E. 17th St.)

1700–2999 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 17th St. to West of E. 30th St.)

3000–3999 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 30th St. to West of E. 40th St.)

4000–5499 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 40th St. to West of E. 55th St.)

5500–6499 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 55th St. to West of E. 65th St.)

6500–7899 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 65th St. to West of E. 79th St.)

7900–9299 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 79th St. to West of E. 93rd St.)

9300–10499 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 93rd St. to West of E. 105th St.)

10500–10699 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 105th St. to West of Stokes Blvd.)

10700–11999 Euclid Ave. (East of Stokes Blvd. to West of E. 120th St.)

12000–14399 Euclid Ave. (East of E. 120th St. to West of Lee Blvd.)

* Note that you may also examine places on side streets that cross Euclid Avenue when appropriate.

Assignments–HIS 511 Students

Your course project will be similar to that of undergraduate students but with some differences.  Your assignment will be to think of yourself as a curator for a Euclid Corridor outdoor history museum. 

 

Image and Address Analyses and Bibliography.  20%

  1. Your job is to mine the photos of Euclid Avenue (and adjacent streets to the extent you think necessary) at Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Public Library Photographic Division, and Cleveland State University Special Collections – What is there? What hidden histories might you reveal with these photos?  Choose 50 historical photos that you believe reveal the "hidden history" of the Corridor.  Make photocopies at WRHS and CPL, and order a CD of the images you find at CSU.  Prepare 1 typed, single-spaced paragraph per image hat describes that is in each image and speculates on conclusions that might be drawn from looking at each image. 
  2. Next, analyze all of the addresses for the sites in your images, choosing at least 5 different Cleveland city directories spread out at reasonable intervals:  i.e., 1920, 1940, 1960, 1980, 2000.  The intervals need not be exact, as the collection is missing some years.  You should create an Excel document (.xls format only) with columns for the addresses and the 5 different years, and list what was located at each address during each year. 
  3. Next, prepare a bibliography following the instructions for undergraduates. 

 

Research Paper.  35% (15% first draft; 20% second draft)

Write a 15-20 page interpretive research paper for which you will conduct research similar to that of the undergraduates in this course.  As with the undergraduates, you should strive to reveal the "hidden history" of the Euclid Corridor, but in your case you will want to make a broader assessment of the area's history rather than focusing on just one section.  One way to do this is to consider the Corridor's changes in tandem with the larger history of Cleveland.  Think of the landscape as a way of narrating the economic, cultural, and social history of the city.  Be sure to note what stories you might tell with particular sites along the Corridor.  Although WAC rules do not apply to you, you are still required to submit a first and second draft on the due dates observed by the undergraduates. 

 

Site Descriptions.  5%

You will write two site descriptions, following the instructions for undergraduates. 

 

Powerpoint Presentation.  10%

While following the general guidelines for undergraduates, your Powerpoint presentation will be more extensive, including at least 8 slides and at least 25 of your chosen images.

 

Optional Oral History.  +5%

You are also eligible for extra credit if you identify and interview someone about some aspect of your topics (in consultation with me and according to the guidelines set for undergraduates).

 

Review Essays and Reading Seminars.  30%

You will not be responsible for the midterm and final exams but will instead prepare 4-5 page review essays for three public history–related books that you will choose in consultation with me.  The first book should relate to public memory; the second, historical controversy; the third, heritage tourism.  The due dates for these essays are September 21, October 26, and November 30.  We will meet as a group for two hours to discuss these books, most likely on the due dates.  I will assess the quality of your grasp of each book by evaluating both your essays and your ability to discuss the books. 

 

Policies

 

Assignment Submissions.  All assignments must be submitted in complete form in class on the due date.  Any assignments submitted late will incur a penalty of 10 percent after class on the due date, with an additional 10 percent subtracted per subsequent day (including weekends and holidays). 

 

Extensions.  In the event of extreme circumstances that prevent your submitting an assignment on time, you may request an extension.  If granted, a new due date will be assigned.  Extension requests must be made more than 24 hours before the start of class on the due date.  After that, I require written documentation that clearly demonstrates your inability to complete the assignment on time. 

 

Attendance.  If you anticipate being unable to be in class consistently, you should withdraw from the course.  I will take account of absences and may deduct 1/3 of a letter grade from your final average if you accumulate more than three unexcused absences.  Excused absences are those for which you request permission to miss via email or phone prior to the start of class (pending my approval) or produce appropriate written documentation (again, pending my approval).

 

Student Conduct.  Unacceptable conduct in this course includes but is not limited to: excessive or disruptive talking or noisemaking, arriving late or leaving early without appropriate notice, intimidating or threatening anyone in the classroom, sleeping, bringing any activated personal electronic devices to the classroom, and "surfing" the Web.

 

Academic Integrity.  Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.  "Ideas or phrasing" includes written or spoken material ranging from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences and phrases.  "Someone else" can mean a professional source, such as a published writer or critic in a book, magazine, encyclopedia, or journal; an electronic resource such as material we discover on the Web; another student at CSU or elsewhere; and a paper-writing "service" (online or otherwise) which offers to sell written papers for a fee.   Source:  Capitol Community College's guide to plagiarism (based on the MLA style): webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.shtml. 

I will assign a grade of "0" on any plagiarized work and reserve the right to notify the University according to University procedures.

 

Writing Assistance.  The Department of History offers a History Tutoring Center where you may seek assistance in preparing written work.  The Center is located in Rhodes Tower, Room 1913, and may reached at (216) 687-3921.

 

Student Disabilities.  If you have a disability, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of Student Disabilities, which will work with you to develop a reasonable course of action that will enable you to complete this course successfully.  You must then provide proper documentation to me if you are requesting any special consideration of your disability.

 

Writing Across the Curriculum (Applies only to HIS 311).  This course meets the following criteria for the Writing Across the Curriculum General Education requirement:

 

  1. Students must be required to write a minimum of 2,000 words in writing assignments.
  2. The required writing must be in at least two separate assignments or drafts.  The instructor should give feedback to assist the student in preparing subsequent papers or drafts of papers.  This must include feedback on the writing.  It should not consist entirely of mechanical correction of punctuation and grammar.
  3. In order to receive a C or better in this course, the student must write at a satisfactory skill level (C or better).  If a student's writing is weak but shows understanding of the course material, the student may be assigned a D, in which case WAC credit will not be received for the course.
  4. Maximum enrollment for this course is 35.

 

In order to receive Writing Across the Curriculum credit for this course, you must complete the course with at least a C average.  You must also turn in all written on time in order to avoid substantial penalties to your grade.

 

Daily Schedule

º Denotes readings linked to del.icio.us/jmarksouther/his311reading.  Some of these readings are PDF documents housed in CSUÕs Electronic Course Reserve (ECR) and thus require that you enter your CSU ID.  Others will require you to sign up for a free online membership to the New York Times, www.nytimes.com.

 

Week 1

M 8/27            Course Introduction

W 8/29            What is Public History?

                                    Glassberg, Sense of History, chap. 1

                                    º Linenthal, "Committing History in Public"

F 8/31              Introduction to Euclid Corridor Oral History Project

 

Week 2

M 9/3              LABOR DAY (No Class)

W 9/5              Guidelines for Course Project

F 9/7               The State of Existing Public History on Euclid Avenue

 

Week 3

M 9/10            The History of Historians and the Public

                                    º Mooney-Melvin, "Professional Historians & the Challenge of Redefinition"          

W 9/12            Using Local History Resources (in Special Collections)

F 9/14             Visual Analysis (in Special Collections)

 

Week 4

M 9/17            Public Memory and Commemoration

                                    Glassberg, Sense of History, chap. 2  

W 9/19            Celebrations and Commemorations

                                    Glassberg, Sense of History, chap. 3

                                    º Rothstein, "Captain Smith, the Tides Are Shifting on the James"

                                    Due Sept. 19:  Landscape Essay (HIS 311 Only)

F 9/21              Sense of Place

                                    Glassberg, Sense of Place, intro, chap. 6

                                    Due Sept. 21:  Review Essay #1 (HIS 511 Only)

 

Week 5                      

M 9/24             Urban History as Public History

                                    Hayden, Power of Place, intro, chaps. 1–5, + 1 chapter from chaps. 6–10

W 9/26             Oral History – Conducting

                                    º Truesdell, "Oral History Techniques"

F 9/28              Oral History – Analyzing and Applying

                                    º Frisch, "Oral History and the Digital Revolution"

 

Week 6

M 10/1            Who "Owns" History and Why?  Balancing Stakeholders and the Grassroots 

                                    º Pogrebin & Collins, "Shift at Historical Society Raises Concerns"

W 10/3            Controversial History:  Problems

                                    º Rothstein, "Drawing Battle Lines in Museum View of War"

F 10/5              Controversial History:  Solutions

                                    º Abram, "Kitchen Conversations"

                                    Due Oct. 5:  Image and Address Analyses / Bibliography

 

Week 7

M 10/8             COLUMBUS DAY (No Class)

W 10/10          Midterm Exam (HIS 311 Only)

F 10/12            Discovering Hidden History

                                    º Weyeneth, "The Architecture of Racial Segregation"

 

Week 8

M 10/15          Archives

                                    º Tryon, "Archivists and Records Managers"

W 10/17          Archives (cont'd.) ­– Guest: Dr. Judith Cetina, Cuyahoga Co. Archives

F 10/19            Historical Societies

                                    º Franco, "In Urban History Museums and Historical Societies"

 

Week 9

M 10/22          The History of History Museums

                                    º Kulik, "Designing the Past"

W 10/24          Planning Interpretation in Museums

                                    º Gardner, "Contested Terrain"

F 10/26            Museum Education – Guest: Janice Ziegler, Western Reserve Historical Society

                                    Due Oct. 26:  Review Essay #2 (HIS 511 Only)

           

Week 10

M 10/29          Outdoor/Living History Museums

W 10/31          Colonial Williamsburg

                                    º Rothstein, "An Upgrade for Ye Olde History Park"

F 11/2              The History of Historic Preservation

                                    Page & Mason, Giving Preservation a History, intro., chap. 1, + any four

                                    chapters from chaps. 4–10

 

Week 11

M 11/5            Widening the Scope of Historic Preservation

                                    º Hodder, "Savannah's Changing Past"

                                    Due Nov. 5: Research Paper and Site Descriptions

W 11/7            How Preservation Works

                                    º Gray, "A Guide to Researching the History of a NYC Building"

F 11/9              Heritage Tourism:  Preservation as Pillar of Tourism in New Orleans

                                    º Souther, "Preservation vs. Profit in the French Quarter"   

Week 12

M 11/12          VETERANS DAY (No Class)

W 11/14          Heritage Tourism:  Broadening the Scope of Plantation Tours

                                    º Eichstedt & Small, "Trivializing and Deflecting the Experience of Enslavement"

                                    º Quick, "Plantations' Slavery Exhibits Hope to Attract More Tourists"

F 11/16            Heritage Tourism:  Race, Heritage Tourism, and the Civil War in Richmond

                                    º Tyler-McGraw, "Southern Comfort Levels"

 

Week 13

M 11/19          Historical Film–Assessing Hollywood History

                                    º Toplin, "Cinematic History as Genre"

W 11/21          Historical Film–Documentaries

                                    Glassberg, Sense of History, chap. 5

F 11/23            THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY (No Class)

 

Week 14

M 11/26          History on the Web

                                    Due Nov. 26: Revised Research Paper and Powerpoint Presentation

W 11/28          History on the Web (cont'd.)

F 11/30            Individual Student Project Consultations

                                    Due Nov. 30:  Review Essay #3 (HIS 511 Only)

 

Week 15

M 12/3             Student Presentations 1-4

W 12/5             Student Presentations 5-8

F 12/7              Student Presentations 9-12

 

W 12/12          Final Exam (HIS 311 Only)  1:00–3:00 p.m.