History and theory of historic preservation

Lectures: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

This class examines the history and theory of historic preservation, focusing on the United States, but with reference to traditions and practices in other countries. The class is designed to examine the largely untold history of the historic preservation movement in this country, and explore how laws, public policies and cultural attitudes shape how we preserve or do not preserve the built environment. The class will give students a grounding in the history, theory and practice of historic preservation, but is not an applied, technical course. We will not, for example, be examining in great detail the practice of building conservation and restoration. The course will also involve visits to historic preservation sites in and around Boston. Students will have the opportunity to pursue either a traditional research paper or an applied project. Graduate students from Urban Studies and Planning, Architecture, History, and other related fields are welcome. Advanced undergraduates in these fields may take the class with permission of the instructor.

The textbooks for this class are:

Page, Max, and Randall Mason. Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003. ISBN: 9780415934435.

Walkowitz, Daniel J., and Lisa Maya Knauer. Memory and the Impact of Political Transformation in Public Space. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780822333647.

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