ARCH 1764: 25 Things! 250 Years of Brown’s Material Past
Class Meeting: Tuesday 4-6:20pm
Location: Rhode Island Hall Room 008
Class Wiki: http://proteus.brown.edu/25things/19901 (password: thingsprivate)
Instructor: Claudia Moser
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Rhode Island Hall, 60 George Street, E-mail: Claudia_Moser@Brown.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 2:00-4:00pm, and/or by appointment.
Course Description:
Did you know that Brunonia, the boat with which Brown entered the boat race of 1860, weighed only 112
pounds and was so fragile that it broke and sank in the middle of the race? That the house of the first president
of Brown lies under what is today the Quiet Green, facing the Manning Hall? Or that 2014 marks the 250th
anniversary of Brown University?
To help commemorate Brown’s anniversary, this course will focus on 25 objects from Brown’s material past. The
class will focus each week on one of 10 different themes (Photography, Streets and Infrastructure, Maps,
Statues, Death and Commemoration, Residential Buildings, Nature, Texts, Technology, Art and Design). The first
class will introduce the first two objects. In each week following, the class will focus on 2 or 3 objects that speak
to the theme – an object from Brown’s more remote past and one from Brown’s recent present. We will let the
objects tell stories of Brown’s history and its present.
Archaeologists have an obsession with things: with how things are made, used, improved, broken, recycled, and
destroyed. This course will examine a wide variety of approaches to the world of objects, artifacts, material
goods, etc. with the goal of unpacking the relationships between people and things. Objects for this class can be
anything from buildings to places to infrastructure to natural features to animals to pieces of paper. To be
considered, the 25 things examined must have a lasting material presence and must be able to be seen today (in
some capacity). We will critically question the place and importance of things for humanity (things of)
humanity: is the world of objects separate from that of subjects? How should objects be understood? Are things
objects that actually hold society together? 25 Things examines a variety of objects (everything from statuary to
buildings to maps to commemoration plaques) from a number of disciplinary angles and is designed to appeal to
a wide range of students from anthropology, archaeology, design studies, engineering, and the history of
technology, for example.
This is not a lecture-based course – emphasis is on class participation, discussion, and presentations. The
seminar will include a number of mini field trips to ‘excavate’ and analyze the objects we are studying in their
contexts. Occasionally, these visits will be accompanied by guest lecturers and specialists in the field.
Course Objectives:
The course will require students to develop and demonstrate core communication and quantitative skills; critical
thinking; integration of knowledge; intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptability; and understanding of society
and culture.
Students will be expected to conform to academic honesty codes of conduct. Cheating includes dishonesty of
any kind with respect to exams or assignments. Plagiarism is the offering of someone else’s work as your own:
this includes taking un-cited material from books, web pages, or other students, turning in the same or
substantially similar work as other students, or failing to properly cite other research. Please consult with me if
you have any questions.
Prerequisites: None.
Course format and requirements:
Classes will be a mix of lectures, guest speakers, field trips, discussion, and student presentations. This course
requires active and consistent participation through steady reading, writing, and participation. Students are
expected to attend class, read the articles as assigned, participate in field trips, and discuss the course content.
Each class with be organized as follows: the first 2/3 will be spent discussing the readings for the week,
grounding our study of the objects in contextual and theoretical readings. The last 1/3 of every class will be
spent outside the classroom, with visits to the objects or places we are focusing on that week. Specialists, guest
lecturers, and guides will often be accompanying us on these mini field trips.
At the start of the semester, students will be asked to select one of the course’s themes to become a ‘specialist’
in (beginning with the 2nd week of class, February 4th). Each student will be asked to come up with a thing
beyond the objects studied in class which they personally think exemplifies Brown and the specific theme
chosen. The class content will cover 25 objects previously selected by the instructor; each student will select
his/her own additional object that falls under one of the ten themes of the class, thus making up a separate list
of 25 things. In the class focused on his/her selected theme, each student will be responsible for presenting a
short summary of one of the assigned readings. This 5-10 minute presentation will include a brief summary of
the article or book chapter as well as two-three discussion questions for the class. All students are required to
do all the readings and to participate in the discussion; each student, though, throughout the semester, will be
the point person for a particular reading. Through these class discussions and the readings, students will
develop their individual research projects based on an object that fit the theme. Final projects (virtual and
research paper) will be based on these chosen objects and grounded in the issues and theories discussed in
class. On the last day of class we will have a display featuring the class’ 25 things.
Students must be available to attend the University’s celebration for the 250th anniversary March 7-8.
Required reading:
All readings are available on the wiki in PDF form or links provided to websites. Please refer to the “Readings”
page on the class wiki for the most up-to-date reading assignments
Assesment:
This course emphasizes project-based learning. Project-based learning involves the creative and critical integration of
the topics, approaches, and the skills attained throughout the course within the study of a thing chosen by each course
member. Collaboration among course members is welcome and encouraged.
Assesment will be based on class participation, students presentations on readings, wiki and blog posts, two shortanswer quizzes (February 25 and April 1), project proposal, and final paper and presentation.
Wiki and blog posts will be an essential component of the course throughout the semester. Students are required to
post on 3 objects.
Class members are required to develop their individual projects over the course of the semester by meeting a number of
milestones at set dates—from specifying a thing to writing a project proposal to completing the final assignment.
Final projects will take the form of virtual presentation and research-based paper (10-12 pages)
Class Participation: 15 %
Student Presentations on Readings: 10%
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 2 of 8
Wiki and Blog postings about objects (2 throughout semester): 10%
Quizzes (February 25 and April 1): 20%
Mid-Semester project proposal (2-3 pages): 5% Due March 18th
Final Virtual Presentation: 15% Due in class April 29th
Final Paper (10-12 pages): 25%
Seminar Participation
The ability to participate in seminar discussions is an essential skill. Seminars will take a variety of forms
including short presentations, debates, question and answer sessions with guest speakers, field trips, and open
discussions.
Emergency-related absences must be communicated to me via e-mail or phone BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS!
Unavoidable Realities
If you cannot complete an assignment on time for any reason, you are responsible for contacting me as soon as
possible. Exercises that are turned in late will be penalized for each day they're late if you do not negotiate an
extension with me beforehand. You are responsible for knowing all due dates on the syllabus. The final syllabus
posted at the beginning of the term will include deadlines for all assignments: it is your responsibility to know
when assignments are due. There will be no extra credit material. If you do not complete course work by term's
end, you will receive no credit for unfinished work.
COURSE CALENDAR
Note: All readings should be done before the class for which they are assigned.
All readings are available on the wiki. Unless otherwise noted, the selections from each assigned reading will be
posted on the wiki a week before the class meeting.
Please rely on the “readings” page on the wiki (http://proteus.brown.edu/25thingsprivate/19912) for the most
up-to-date syllabus. Things may change slightly, readings may be added or eliminated, so please follow the class
calendar you see there.
WEEK 1 (TUESDAY JAN. 28)
INTRODUCTION:
Introduction to the 25 things!
What the class is all about and what to expect- selection of themes
NO READINGS ASSIGNED.
BROWN FACADES APP
WEEK 2 (FEB. 4)
MAPS: WHAT IS AND WHAT NEVER WAS
INTRODUCTION TO “THINGS” AND “THING THEORY”
Read for Feb. 4:
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Gosden, C., and Y. Marshall. “The cultural biography of objects.” World Archaeology 31 2(1999): 169–
178
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 3 of 8
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Joy, J. “Reinvigorating object biography: reproducing the drama of object lives.” World Archaeology 41 4
(2009): 540–556.
Turnbull, D. Maps are territories. Science is an atlas. The University of Chicago Press, 1994. 1-28; and
look at list of questions of p.37
Seasholes, Nancy S. “On the use of historical maps.” Documentary archaeology in the New World. M.
Beaudry (ed). Cambridge: CUP 1988. 92-118.
Neumann, D. Unbuilt Providence. Exhibition Catalogue.
See also and play around with: http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/ (The University of New Hampshire has
digitized the historical topographic maps for all of New England)
Possible Objects: What IS: visit to John Carter Brown Library to see early maps of Rhode Island with Susan
Danforth; What never was: Unbuilt brown; Unbuilt Providence
WEEK 3 (FEB. 11)
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS/DORMITORIES
Read for Feb. 11:
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Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten: an archaeology of early American life. New York: Anchor,
1996 [1977]. Chapter 5: 125-165
King, J.A. “Household archaeology, identities, and biographies.” The Cambridge Companion to
Historical Archaeology. D. Hicks and Mary C. Beaudry (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2006. 293-313.
Joyce, Rosemary. "Heirlooms and Houses: Materiality and Social Memory." Beyond kinship : social
and material reproduction in house societies. Rosemary A. Joyce and Susan D. Gillespie (eds.).
Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. 189-212.
Mrozowski, Stephen A. “Shifting the focus: archaeology of the urban household.” The Archaeology
of Class in Urban America. Cambridge: CUP, 2006. pgs. 36-62.
University Hall:
http://library.brown.edu/cds/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=1098447551250000&coli
d=5&view=pageturner
Emlen, R. “Slave Labor at the College Edifice: Building Brown University’s University Hall in 1770,”
Rhode Island History 66, no. 3 (Summer, 2008)
Emlen, R. “Retrofitting the Mansions: The Colonial Revival Impulse in the Brown Houses of
Providence.” The Colonial Revival in Rhode Island 1890- 1940. Joan Rich (ed.). Providence: The
Providence Preservation Society, 1989.
Possible Objects: Aldrich Dexter Field, University Hall; John Brown House
Guest: Rob Emlen
WEEK 4 (FEB. 18)
NO CLASS: UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 4 of 8
WEEK 5 (FEB.25)
STATUES
WE WILL DO 3 OBJECTS THIS WEEK
QUIZ #1
Read for Feb 25:
 Osborne, R. and J. Tanner (eds). Art’s Agency and Art History. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007.
 Pearce, S. Collecting in Contemporary Practice. London: AltaMira Sage, 1997. pp 1-22
 Meskell, Lynn. “Statue worlds and divine things.” Object worlds in ancient Egypt: material biographies
past and present. New York: Berg, 2004. 87-115.Electronic resource at Josiah.
 Winter, Irene J. “The affective properties of styles: An inquiry into analytical process and the inscription
of meaning in art history.” Picturing Science, Producing Art. C.A. Jones and P. Galison (eds.), New York &
London: Routledge, 1998. 55-77.
 Pinney, C. and N. Thomas (eds). Beyond Aesthetics: Art and the Technologies of Enhancement. Oxford:
Berg Publishers, 2001. Chapter 6: Captivating Agency of Art: Many Ways of Seeing. (electronic resource
at Josiah)
 http://blogs.brown.edu/archaeology250/2013/10/26/classical-statues/
Objects: The Bear; Marcus Aurelius and Augustus; Casts in Poli-Sci Basement
WEEK 6 (MAR. 4)
ART, DESIGN, AND DISPLAY
Read for Mar 4.
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Shanks, M. and C. Tilly. “Social Values, social constraints, and material culture: the design of
contemporary beer cans.” Re-constructing Archaeology: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, 172240. Skim.
Benjamin, W. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Illuminations. H. Arendt (ed.).
New York, 1973
Petroski, H. Invention by design: How Engineers get from Thought to Thing. Cambridge: CUP.
Introduction (pp. 1-8).
Norman, D.A. Emotional Design: why we love (or hate) everyday things. NY: Basic books, 2005. Chapter 1
(Attractive Things Work Better: 17-35)
Gell, A. Art and Agency. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Chapter 1.
Look at Haffenreffer: http://brown.edu/Facilities/Haffenreffer/publications/index.html
Granoff’s architects: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/arts/design/momas-plan-to-demolish-folkart-museum-lacks-vision.html?_r=0
Jenks: http://jenksmuseum.wordpress.com/about-the-jenks-museum/
Possible Objects: Granoff Center; portraits in Sayles Hall; Jenks’ taxidermy
Guest: TBA
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 5 of 8
WEEK 7 (MAR. 11)
DEATH AND COMMEMORATION
Read for Mar 11:
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Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten: an archaeology of early American life. New York:Anchor 1996
[1977]. Chapter 4: 89-125
Parker Pearson, M. “Chapter 6: Placing the dead.” The archaeology of death and burial. College Station:
Texas A&M University Press, 1999. 124-141.
Joyce, R. A. "Burying the Dead at Tlatilco: Social Memory and Social Identities."Social Memory, Identity
and Death: Anthropological Perspectives on Mortuary Rituals. Edited by M. S. Chesson. Arlington, VA:
Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association (10) (2001):12-26.
Emlen, R. “Rhode Island History Carved in Stone.” 1980. 37-40.
Swan Point Cemetery Entry: http://ofgraveyardsandthings.wordpress.com/tag/brown-university/ and
explore this website: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1584940
AnnMary Brown Founding
Possible Objects: AnnMary Brown Memorial (coffin); Swan Point Cemetery
Guest Lecturer: Steve Lubar
WEEK 8 (MAR. 18)
TEXTS
Read for Mar. 18
 Buchli, V. “Interpreting material culture: the trouble with text.” Interpreting Archaeology: Finding
Meaning in the Past. I. Hodder, M. Shanks, A. Alexandri, V. Buchli, J. Carman, J. Last, and G. Lucas (eds).
London: Routledge, 1995. 181-193
 Eisenstein, E.L., The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Cambridge University Press, 1979. Selections.
 Te Heesen, A. “The notebook: a paper technology.” Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy.
Latour, B., and Weibel, P (eds). Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 582-589.
 Olsen, B. “Material Culture After Text.” Norwegian Archaeology Review (36) (2003): 87-104
 Brown’s books bound in human skin:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=20060111&id=KlYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rVYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5031,2157846
 CHARTER: http://books.google.com/books?id=lvtt90d6f8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Read pp 495507
Possible Objects: damaged charter and its tin box; human skin book (or inscriptions on campus)
Guest: TBA
WEEK 9 (MAR. 25TH) NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 6 of 8
WEEK 10 (APRIL 1ST)
TECHNOLOGY
QUIZ #2
Read for April 1
 Bijker, W. Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Towards a theory of Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge: MIT
Press. Introduction [*think Bicycle club of Brown pre 20th century*]
 Bijker, W.E., and J. Law. “General Introduction.” Shaping Technology/Building Society. W.E. Bijker and J.
Law (eds.). Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992. 1-14.
 Du Guy et al. Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage, 1997. Introduction
 Ingold, Tim. “Society, nature and the concept of technology” The perception of the environment. London
and New York: Routledge, 2000. 312-322.
Possible Objects: Early computer (CIT) and typology of different computers; Digital Scholarship Lab in Rock;
Ladd Observatory
Guest: Patrick Rashleigh
WEEK 11 (APRIL 8TH)
PHOTOGRAPHY
GUEST LECTURER: BETH SAUNDERS, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART; GRADUATE CENTER, CUNY.
Read for Apr. 8:
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Crary, J. Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity in the 19th Century. The MIT Press, 1992.
Selections.
Bradley, R. “Seeing things: perception, experience and the constraints of excavation.” Journal of Social
Archaeology 3(2) (2003):151-168
TBA
Objects: 19th century photographs of Ancient Rome (in the poli-sci basement!)
WEEK 12 (APR. 15)
STREETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Read for Apr. 15:
 Alexander, C. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977.
Selections
 Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten: an archaeology of early American life. New York: Anchor,
1996 [1977]. Chapter 7: 187-212.
 Allen, B.A., P. Armstrong, E. Hu-Dehart, and M. Orr. Slavery and Justice: Report of the Brown
University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. Providence, Rhode Island, 2006. 7-21.
 Hedges, James B. The Browns of Providence Plantations: The Colonial Years (Providence: Brown
University Press, 1968, orig. pub. 1952), pp. 22-46; Selections
 McCusker, John J. Rum and the American Revolution: The Rum Trade and the Balance of Payments
of the Thirteen Continental Colonies (New York: Garland Publishing,1989); Selections
 Sheridan, Richard B. Sugar and Slavery: An Economic History of the British West Indies, 1623-1775
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974); Selections
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 7 of 8
Possible Objects: Benefit Street; Secret Tunnels; triangle trade and rum
Guest: Tim Sandiford
WEEK 13 (APR. 22)
NATURE
Read for Apr. 22:
 Attifield, J. Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
 Holtorf, C. “The life-history of megaliths in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany).” World
Archaeology 30 (1) (1998): 23-38
 Tilley, C. The Materiality of Stone. Explorations in Landscape Phenomenology. Oxford: Berg. e-book
 Emlen, R. “The Great Gale of 1815: Artifactual Evidence of Rhode Island's First Hurricane,” Rhode
Island History 48, no. 2 (May 1990)
Possible Objects: Roger William’s Well; Elmo; Greenhouse; Parks
Guest: TBA
WEEK 14 (APR. 29) LAST CLASS
FINAL PRESENTATIONS
FINAL PAPER DUE
ARCH 1764 25 Things, page 8 of 8