The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
at George Washington University
Contents
Overview ....................................................................................................................... 2
Requirements ................................................................................................................ 2
Faculty For Courses in Preservation ............................................................................. 3
Richard Longstreth ................................................................................................... 3
Wilton Corkern .......................................................................................................... 4
Pamela Cressey ...........................................................................................................5
Sherry Hutt................................................................................................................ 6
Constance Werner Ramirez ....................................................................................... 7
Orlando Ridout V ....................................................................................................... 7
Carol Stapp ................................................................................................................ 8
Richard Striner .......................................................................................................... 9
Richard Wagner, AIA ............................................................................................... 10
Faculty for Courses in Supporting Fields .................................................................... 11
Lisa Benton-Short .................................................................................................... 11
Chad Heap ................................................................................................................ 11
James Oliver Horton ................................................................................................ 12
Bernard Mergen ....................................................................................................... 13
Shelley Nickles ......................................................................................................... 14
John Michael Vlach .................................................................................................. 14
Courses Focusing on Historic Preservation ................................................................ 15
Related Courses ........................................................................................................... 17
Sample Curricula ......................................................................................................... 21
Thesis Topics............................................................................................................... 22
Self-Funding: Employment Options While in the Program ....................................... 23
Alumni Accomplishments........................................................................................... 26
The Classroom and the Community: Historic Preservation at George
Washington University ............................................................................................... 32
Last updated 12-Feb-16
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
Overview
Since 1975, George Washington University has offered a unique interdisciplinary
program in historic preservation through its departments of American Studies and
History. The program affords a strong intellectual perspective on critical issues in the
preservation as well as a sound practical training for the field.
Historic preservation is examined as an intricate process that involves many
participants and can vary in its complexion, focus, and goals. Topics examined include
the legal framework, the nature and dynamics of preservation organizations, economic
factors in rehabilitation, long-range planning and management techniques, the role of
community activism, the opportunities for adaptive use and community revitalization,
the management of historic sites, and the theoretical bases for current practices.
The program further presents the opportunity to deepen one's understanding of the
richness and complexity of the built environment as a cultural landscape and the
historical significance of its varied parts and relationships; to develop skills in
documenting, assessing, and protecting this legacy; and to recognizing the design and
planning issues that are central to managing the forces of growth and change within a
historic context.
The curriculum also provides an unparalleled variety of cultural views, drawing
from the fields of architectural, social, urban, women's, and African-American history;
historical archaeology; folklife; and decorative arts – all offered by the sponsoring
departments. The program is home-based in the Department of American Studies and
is closely tied to that department’s multi-faceted approach to the historical study of
society and culture.
In addition, numerous opportunities exist for fieldwork and interaction with local
officials and citizens. (See "The Classroom and the Community," reprinted from the
National Park Service’s CRM, below.)
The program provides a framework for synthesizing the multi-faceted concerns of
preservation. The ability to solve problems in the field is emphasized over any set of
administrative or political procedures. As a result, graduates of the program have
succeeded in pursuing a wide variety of tracks in the preservation field, working in the
private and public sectors at the local, state, and national levels. From the president of
Preservation Action to the chief of the Technical Preservation Services division in the
National Park Service, from the director of Preservation Dallas to the founder of
Historic St. Michaels (Maryland), from deputy state historic preservation officer for the
District of Columbia, to National Register coordinator for the state of Oregon, from
principal of a major historic resources consulting firm in Atlanta to historic
preservation director for the Fairmount Park Commission in Philadelphia, alumni have
achieved distinction in the field nationwide.
Requirements
M.A. candidates in historic preservation generally take 30 credit hours of course
work and 6 credit hours of thesis research; however, they may opt for 6 additional
credit hours of courses instead of the thesis. Students should have at least two college
courses beyond the introductory level in American social and/or intellectual history
and one course in the history of American architecture. Candidates lacking some or all
Historic Preservation @ GWU
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of this background can be admitted to the program with the understanding that they
will take the appropriate courses as prerequisites during the first academic year in
which they are enrolled. Credit is given for these courses, but they do not count toward
degree requirements. An internship is also required. A wide range of excellent
opportunities exists in the region. See “Self-Funding Employment Opportunities”
below.
Inquiries should be addressed to:
Richard Longstreth
Director, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
American Studies Department
George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052.
Tel. 202 994-6098 (Main department tel: 202 994-6070)
Fax 202 994-8651.
email rwl@gwu.edu.
Faculty For Courses in Preservation
Richard Longstreth
Richard Longstreth is professor of American studies and director of the Graduate
Program in Historic Preservation. He received his A.B. in architecture from the
University of Pennsylvania and Ph.D. in architectural history from the University of
California, Berkeley. He worked in the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission
and taught at Kansas State University before joining the GW faculty in 1983.
Like his academic responsibilities, Professor Longstreth's professional interests lie
in two, complementary realms. As a scholar, he has written extensively on the history
of nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture in the U.S. In recent years, his
research has focused on retail decentralization in major metropolitan areas, relating
economic, design, urbanistic, and cultural factors that have fundamentally reshaped
the American landscape since 1920. His City Center to Regional Mall won the Lewis
Mumford Prize from the Society for American City and Regional Planning History, the
Abbott Lowell Cummings Prize from the Vernacular Architecture Forum, and the Spiro
Kostof Award from the Society of Architectural Historians. Currently, he is preparing a
complementary study, The Department Store Transformed, to be published by Johns
Hopkins University Press.
Professor Longstreth has also been involved in the preservation field at the national,
state, and local levels and in the public and private sectors. Since 1984 he has taken an
active role in Washington-area initiatives. Testimony he gave on a few of these cases
has been published in a case-study book by the National Park Service and National
Council for Preservation Education. Much of his other writing on the subject has
addressed preserving the recent past. He has figured prominently in successful efforts
to protect both high-style and vernacular examples of architecture and landscape
design from the mid twentieth century.
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
Professor Longstreth served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians
from 1998 to 2000. He chairs the Maryland Governor's Consulting Committee on the
National Register of Historic Places. He was first vice president of the Vernacular
Architecture Forum (1989-1991), a trustee of the National Building Museum (19881994), and a board member of Preservation Action (1980-1995).
Selected Publications
 The Charnley House: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making
of Chicago’s Gold Coast, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, editor
 The Drive-In, the Supermarket, and the Transformation of Commercial
Space in Los Angeles, 1914-1941, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999
 History on the Line: Testimony in the Cause of Preservation, Washington:
National Park Service, and Ithaca, N.Y.: National Council for Preservation
Education, 1998
 City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing
in Los Angeles, 1920-1950, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997
 The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991, 1991; reprint ed. Washington:
National Gallery of Art, and New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003,
editor
 The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to American Commercial
Architecture, 1987; revised ed. Walnut Creek, Cal.: Alta Mira Press, 2000
 On the Edge of the World: Four Architects in San Francisco at the Turn of
the Century, 1983; reprint ed., Berkeley: University of California Press,
1998
 Articles in APT Bulletin, Architectural Record, CRM, Harvard
Architecture Review, Historic Preservation Forum, Journal of the Society
of Architectural Historians, Journal of Urban History, Perspecta, and
Winterthur Portfolio
Wilton Corkern
Wilton Corkern is adjunct professor of heritage tourism in the Department of
Tourism and Hospitality Management. Since 1990 he has been president of the
Accokeek Foundation, a private, not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to
foster public understanding of relationships between people and the land. Working in
partnership with the National Park Service, the foundation operates programs in
Piscataway National Park, which protects six-and-one-half miles of Potomac River
shoreline near Mount Vernon and Washington. Previously, he served as vice president
of the Consortium Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.
Among his numerous additional activities, Professor Corkern has served as
president of the Environmental Fund of Maryland, vice president of the Potomac River
Basin Consortium, chair of the Maryland Historical and Cultural Museums Advisory
Panel, as well as a trustee of the Corina Higginson Trust and a member of the executive
committee of the Southern Maryland Executive Committee. He received his B.A., M.
Phil., and Ph.D. from George Washington University.
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Selected Publications
 “Old Time River Man: Fred Tilp and the Potomac River,” Potomac Review,
fall 2000
 “Heritage Areas: Preservation’s Next Generation,” Preservation News,
November 1993
 Outdoor Life on the Colonial Potomac, 3 vols., Accokeek, Md.: Accokeek
Foundation, 1991, author of vol. 1, editor of vols. 2-3
 The Nation’s River: Toward the Twenty-First Century, Accokeek, Md.:
Accokeek Foundation, 1991, co-editor
Pamela Cressey
Pamela Cressey is adjunct associate professor in American studies and
anthropology. After receiving her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles,
she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Iowa. Since 1977
she has been City Archaeologist for the City of Alexandria, Virginia. As part of her
responsibilities, she directs the Alexandria Urban Archaeology Program, which has
won national acclaim for its innovative methods of public involvement and education
in the archaeological practice. She was also principal author of the historic
preservation component of Alexandria's 1990 Master Plan.
Professor Cressey has received numerous grants for her work, including from the
Institute of Museum Services, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Trust
for Historic Preservation, National Science Foundation, and Virginia Historic
Landmarks Commission. She has lectured widely on a variety of subject pertaining to
archaeology and historic preservation.
Among her many other professional contributions, Professor Cressey was president
of the Society of Historical Archaeology and served on the Virginia Department of
Historic Resources State Review Board. She remains active in the educational
initiatives of both the Society of Historical Archaeology and the Society for American
Archaeology. In 1993 she won the Virginia Governor's Award for Environmental
Excellence in Historic Preservation.
Selected Publications
 “Held in Trust: Community Archaeology in Alexandria, Virginia,” in Linda
Derry and Maureen Malloy, eds., Archaeologists and Local Communities:
Partners in Exploring the Past, Washington: Society for American
Archaeology, 2003, co-author
 The Alexandria Heritage Trail, A Guide to Exploring a Virginia Town’s
Hidden Past, Sterling, Va.: Capital Books, 2002
 “Community Relations: What the Practicing Archaeologist Needs to Know
to Work Effectively with Local and/or Descendant Communities,” in Susan
J. Bender and George J. Smith, eds., Teaching Archaeology in the Twentyfirst Century, Washington: Society for American Archaeology, 2000, coauthor
 "Setting the Scene: A Look at 19th Century Virginia," in John H. Sprinkle
and Theodore R. Reinhart, eds., The Archaeology of 19th Century Virginia,
Richmond: Archeological Society of Virginia, 1999
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 To Witness the Past: African-American Archaeology in Alexandria,
Virginia, Alexandria: by the City, 1995
 "How Sweet It Was: Alexandria Sugar Refining and the Chesapeake," in P.
A. Shacker and B. J. Little, eds., The Historic Chesapeake: Archaeological
Contributions, Washington: Smithsonian Press, 1995
 "The Virginia Archaeological Survey and Planning Program: A Community
Archaeologist's Perspective," in Archaeological Survey in Virginia:
Toward Preservation Planning, Richmond: Department of Conservation
and Historic Landmarks, 1988
Sherry Hutt
Professor Hutt is nationally regarded as a leading authority on cultural property law.
She brings to the field extensive judicial experience, enhanced by work in
environmental and cultural studies. After receiving her B.A. and J.D. from Arizona
State University, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney, White Mountain Apache
tribal judge, and Arizona Superior Court judge. In 2001 she received her Ph.D. from
the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. Currently she is president of
Cultural Property Consulting, Inc., with offices in Washington and Paradise Valley,
Arizona.
Professor Hutt has received the Department of the Interior Conservation Service
Award among many other honors. In 2002 she was a Smithsonian Fellow in museum
studies. She has taught at the University of Arizona, George Mason University, Arizona
State University, the University of Nevada among other institutions and has also gives
courses for the Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, Department of
Justice, and the American Bar Association. She is a professorial lecturer at GW.
Selected Publications
 Cultural Property Law: A Guide to Management, Protection, and
Preservation of Heritage Resources, Washington: American Bar
Association, 2004
 “Cultural Resource Protection and Natural Resource Development,” in
Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute Review, 2002
 “Control of Cultural Property as Human Rights Law,” in Roxanne Adams,
ed., Implementing the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act, Washington: American Association of Museums, 2001
 Heritage Resources Law, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999, co-author
 Archeological Resource Protection, Washington: Preservation Press, 1992,
co-author
 “The Civil Prosecution Process of the Archeological Resources Protection
Act,” National Park Service, Technical Brief 16 (February 1994)
 Articles in Arizona Attorney, Arbizona State Law Journal, CRM, and
Federal Lawyer
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Constance Werner Ramirez
Constance Werner Ramirez is director of the National Park Service’s Federal
Preservation Institute, which provides professional preservation training to federal
employees. Previously she was preservation officer of the U.S. General Services
Administration (1997-2000) and the Department of the Army (1985-1997). She has
been a consultant on numerous projects conducted by the Paterson Archeology Lab,
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, Historic American Buildings Survey,
Historic Annapolis Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Professor Ramirez also serves as president of the Preservation Institute in
Washington and is a member of the Advisory Committee of Virginia department of
Historic Resources. She has served on the boards of the U.S. Chapter of the
International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Arlington Heritage Alliance.
After receiving her B.A. at Wheaton College, Professor Ramirez earned her M.C.P. at
Yale University and Ph.D. in planning at Cornell University. She has taught at the
University of Virginia, Goucher College, Arizona State University, and George Mason
University and is a professorial lecturer at GW.
Selected Publications
 “The Economics of Preserving Historic Federal Buildings,” Forum News,
September-October 1999, co-author
 “A Summary History of the Army’s Preservation Program,” CRM 20 (1997)
 “The Legacy Program: A Model for Federal Agencies,” Historic
Preservation Forum, October 1993
 “Housing the Military,” in Lisa Taylor, ed., Housing: Symbol, Structure,
Site, New York: Cooper-Hewitt Museum and Rizzoli,, 1990, co-author
 “Historic Preservation in Federal Agencies,” in Ronald W. Johnson and
Michael G. Schene, eds., Cultural Resources Management, Malabar, Fla.:
R. E. Krieger, 1986, co-author
 Georgetown Historic Waterfront, Washington: U.S. Commission of Fine
Arts, 1968
 Preserving Historic America, Washington: U.S. Housing and Home
Finance Agency, 1966
Orlando Ridout V
Orlando Ridout V is chief of the Office of Research, Survey and Registration at the
Maryland Historical Trust (the state historic preservation office), where he has worked
since completing his B.A. in architectural history at the University of Virginia. He is
assistant professorial lecturer in American studies at GW.
For over twenty years, Professor Ridout has conducted extensive research on the
seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and early nineteenth-century architecture of the Chesapeake
region. He has served as a consultant for Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon,
Historic Charleston Foundation, Tudor Place Foundation, and the Montpelier
Foundation. His Building the Octagon won the Abbott Lowell Cummings Award from
the Vernacular Architecture Forum in 1989.
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Professor Ridout is also a widely-recognized leader in developing new techniques for
field documentation. He has conducted detailed architectural analyses of major
buildings of the colonial and early republican periods, including the Simmons-Edwards
and Nathaniel Russell houses in Charleston, advised on the reconstruction of the Digue
Run barn at Mount Vernon and the restoration of Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest,
and the reconstruction of eighteenth-century slave quarters at Carter's Grove
plantation.
Selected Publications
 "Re-editing the Architectural Past: A Comparison of Surviving Physical and
Documentary Evidence on Maryland's Eastern Shore," in Bernard L.
Herman and Michael P. Steinitz, eds., A Singular List...American
Architecture and Landscape at the End of the Eighteenth Century,
Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, forthcoming
 Architecture and Change in the Chesapeake, Annapolis: Maryland
Historical Trust, 1998, co-author with Michael Bourne, Paul Touart, and
Donna Ware
 Architecture in Annapolis, Annapolis: Maryland Historical Trust, 1998, coauthor with Marcia Miller
 Building the Octagon, Washington: American Institute of Architects Press,
1989
 "An Architectural History of Third Haven Meeting House," in Kenneth
Carroll, ed., Three Centuries of Maryland Quakerism, Easton, Md.: Queen
Anne Press, 1984
Carol Stapp
Since 1983, Carol Stapp has been Director of GW's Museum Education Program.
She received her B.A. from Tulane, M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and
Ph.D., in American studies, from George Washington University.
Professor Stapp has long been active in museum issues nationally. She is on the
Advisory Council of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, the Education Advisory
Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the executive board of
the American Association of Museums Standing Professional Committee on Education.
She was a consultant to Save Outdoor Sculpture!/Heritage Preservation. Since 1996,
she has been on the editorial board of Curator: The Museum Journal and was editorin-chief of the Journal of Museum Education from 1993 to 1996.
Among her local projects, Professor Stapp has sat on the Octagon Committee of the
American Architectural Foundation and worked with the National Park Service on
updating the interpretative program at Ford's Theater.
Selected Publications
 “Illuminating the Paradox of the Museum,” in J. S. Hirsch and L. H.
Silverman, eds., Transforming Practice: Selections from the Journal of
Museum Education, 1992-1999, Washington: Museum Education
Roundtable, 2000
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 “Introspection with Reflection: The Museum Practitioner Seminar, 19791999,” Journal of Museum Education 24 (fall 1999), editor of issue
 “Museums and Community Development,” Curator: The Museum Journal,
December 1998
 Advancing the Museum Profession through Self Development,
Washington: American Association of Museums, 1995, co – author with
Joanne Hirsch
 Afro-Americans in Antebellum Boston: An Analysis of Probate Records,
New York: Garland, 1993
Richard Striner
In addition to serving as professorial lecturer of American studies at GW, Richard
Striner is professor of history and director of the American studies program at
Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. For many years he was a leading
activist for preservation in the Washington metropolitan area. In 1982 he founded the
Art Deco Society of Washington and served as its president for ten years. He also
served as co-chair of the Alliance for Preservation (1987-90), an Advisory
Neighborhood Commissioner (1986-88), and a member of the Committee of 100 on
the Federal City.
In his various civic capacities, Professor Striner played a major role not only in
saving an array of long neglected and overlooked twentieth-century buildings, he
greatly broadened public consciousness as to the significance of the region’s early
modernist legacy. In mounting what were often dismissed as fruitless campaigns he
enlisted the support of a wide range of professionals and laypersons alike to develop
and evolve successful strategies for rescuing all-but-lost properties that have since
come to be regarded as highly important examples of their period. Professor Striner
also had a substantial impact on preservation practices through his insistent and
sometimes unpopular calls for exercising high ethical standards.
Selected Publications
 The Civic Deal: Re-Empowering Our Great Republic, Washington:
Pericles Institute, 2000
 “Determining Historical Significance: Mind Over Matter, in Michael A.
Tomlan, ed., Preservation of What, for Whom? A Critical Look at
Historical Significance, Ithaca N.Y.: National Council for Preservation
Education, 1999
 “Scholarship, Strategy, and Activism in Preserving the Recent Past,”
Historic Preservation Forum, October 1995
 “Preservation and the Recent Past,” Information (National Trust for
Historic Preservation), 69 (1993), whole issue
 The Committee of 100 on the Federal City: Its History and Service to the
Community, Washington: by the Committee, 1991
 “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis,” Winterthur Portfolio, spring 1990
 Washington Deco: Art Deco Design in the Nation’s Capital, Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
Richard Wagner, AIA
Richard Wagner is a principal in David H. Gleason Associates, a Baltimore-based
architectural firm that includes a variety of preservation services among its specialties.
In addition to being an associate professorial lecturer at GW, he directs the Graduate
Historic Preservation Program at Goucher College, which offers the nation's only online curriculum in the field.
After receiving his B. Arch. from the University of Virginia and Ph.D. in architecture
from the University of Edinburgh, Professor Wagner taught at Kansas State University
before joining the National Main Street Center at the National Trust in 1983. While at
the center, he served as Urban Program Manager and Program Manager for Design
and Special Initiatives.
In 1990 Professor Wagner entered private practice, where he has been involved in
the rehabilitation and restoration of historic buildings, commercial district
revitalization and management, and in directing multi-disciplinary teams to address
problem solving and consensus building among diverse groups. He has prepared
design guidelines for historic districts in Easton, Calvert County, and Sykesville,
Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Berkeley, California; and Atlanta, Georgia, among other
communities. Professor Wagner has lectured and written widely on these and other
preservation issues.
Selected Publications
 So You Want to Buy an Old House?, Washington: National Trust for
Historic Preservation, 2001
 Local Government and Historic Preservation, Washington: National Trust
for Historic Preservation, 1998
 Preserving a Heritage: Illustrated Guidelines for Preserving Historic Air
Force Buildings, Washington: U.S. Air Force and National Park Service,
1996
 Guiding Design on Main Street, 1988; revised ed., Washington: National
Main Street Center, 1994
 The Old House Starter Kit, Washington: Center for Historic Houses, 1993
 Preservation Leadership Training Manual, Washington: National Trust,
1991
 Guiding Design on Main Street, Washington: National Main Street Center,
1988, with Kennedy Smith
 New Directions for Urban Main Streets, Washington: National Trust for
Historic Preservation, 1988, with Dolores Palma
 Revitalizing Downtown 1976-1986, Washington: National Trust, 1988,
with Linda Glisson and Ted Miller
 Articles in: Association for Preservation Technology Bulletin, Edinburgh
Architectural Review, Historic Preservation Forum, Main Street News,
Policy Studies Journal, Small Town, and Traditional Building
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Faculty for Courses in Supporting Fields
Lisa Benton-Short
Lisa Benton-Short is assistant professor of Geography, having received her B.A. at
Stanford University and M.A. and Ph.D. in geography at Syracuse University. She
taught at Colgate University for two years before joining the GW faculty in 2001. In
addition to chairing a standing committee of the Association of American Geographers,
she is pursuing research interests in the challenges facing national parks located in
cities, urban environmental issues, and the impact of cultural globalization of
metropolitan areas.
Selected Publications
 Environmental Discourse: A Reader, Oxford: Blackwell, 2000, co-editor
 Environmental Discourses and Practice, Oxford: Blackwell, 1999, coauthor
 The Presidio: From Army Post to National Park, Boston: Northeastern
University Press, 1998
 “Reconstructing the Image of an Industrial City,” in John R. Short, ed., The
Urban Order, Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1996, co-author
 “New Signs of Struggle and Resistance in the City,” in W. Reilly, ed.,
Environment Strategy America 1994, London: Campden, 1994
 Articles in Annals of the Association of American Geographers,
Environment and Planning A, Environmental Ethics, Journal of
Architectural Education, and Urban Geography
Chad Heap
Chad Heap joined the American Studies faculty in 2000. His interests include the
history of sexuality, lesbian and gay studies, U.S. urban, spaces and communities, and
social and cultural theory. He is currently completing his first book, entitled
Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in the Nightlife of Urban America, 18901940. Looking at a crucial historical moment when the mixing of social classes
dominated American nightlife, this book explores the extent to which commercial
culture and spaces transformed the popular conceptualization of early twentiethcentury racial, sexual and class difference.
At GW, he teaches undergraduate courses in cultural criticism, sexuality in U.S.
history, and U.S. urban history. His graduate seminars have included "Space, Place and
Identity" and "Sexuality in American Culture."
He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago, where his work was
supported, in part, by a Sexuality Research Fellowship from the Social Science
Research Council with funds provided by the Ford Foundation. During the 2002-03
academic year, he is on leave from the university as a Mellon Postdoctoral Research
Fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago.
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Selected Publications:
 "The City as a Sexual Laboratory: The Chicago School and the Sociology of
Sex," Qualitative Sociology, winter 2003
 Homosexuality in the City: A Century of Research at the University of
Chicago, Chicago: University of Chicago Library, 2000
James Oliver Horton
James Oliver Horton is the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and
History at George Washington University and Director of the Afro-American
Communities Project of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
Institution. He received his Ph.D. in history from Brandeis University in 1973. He was
Senior Fulbright Professor of American Studies at the University of Munich, in
Germany (1988-89) and has also lectured throughout Europe and in Thailand and
Japan. In 1991 he assisted the German government in developing American Studies
programs in the former East Germany. In 1993 Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt
appointed Professor Horton to serve on the National Park System Advisory Board and
in 1996 he was elected board chair. In 1994-5 he served as Senior Advisor on Historical
Interpretation and Public Education for the Director of the National Park Service.
He has served as historical advisor to several museums in the United States and
abroad, including the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, the
National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Colonial Williamsburg, and Monticello. An
advocate of public history, he has been historical consultant to numerous film and
video productions including those seen on ABC, PBS, the Discovery Channels, C-Span
TV, and the History Channel. He was historical consultant to and appeared in the PBS
series “Africans in America” and The American Experience Series “John Brown’s Holy
War.” Other PBS appearances include ” Duke Ellington’s Washington,” and “New
England and the Civil War.” Professor Horton appears regularly on The History
Channel including the film, "The Underground Railroad," “The History of the U.S.
Marshals,” The Bounty Hunters,” and as the subject of an episode in The History
Channel series, "Great Minds in American History," hosted by Roger Mudd. He
provides historical commentary on the Civil War that is included in the DVD version of
the movie “Glory” and he is a regular panelist on The History Channel's weekly
program, "The History Center." Most recently, Professor Horton appeared on the CSPAN American Writers series focusing on Abraham Lincoln. He is also host of the TV
Special, “A Fragile Freedom: African American Historic Sites” on The History Channel
in February, 2002, based on his forthcoming book from Oxford University Press, The
Landmarks of African American History.
From 1998 to 2000, Professor Horton served on the White House Millennium
Council, acting as historical expert for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. He traveled
with the First Lady's "Save American Treasures" bus tour of historic places in the
summer of 1998 and accompanied her on a tour of historic sites in Boston in the winter
of 1998. In the fall of 2000, he was one of two historians appointed by President
William Clinton to serve on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
Professor Horton has been recognized for excellence in scholarship and teaching,
receiving the Carnegie Foundation, CASE Professor of the Year for the District of
Columbia, in 1996 and the Trachtenberg Distinguished Teaching Award for George
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Washington University, 1994. He is the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Alumni
Award from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In March of 2004 Professor
Horton will assume the presidency of the Organization of American Historians.
Selected Publications:
 "Free at Last: A History of the Abolition of Slavery," a traveling exhibit
curated with David Brion Davis, opened Fall, 1997 at Fifth/Third Bank
Exhibition Gallery, Cincinnati and Independence Hall, New York City.
Currently touring the United States until 2004. Recent completion of
accompanying CD, “Free at Last: The Virtual Exhibition.”
 Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America, Rutgers University
Press, 2001, coauthored with Lois E. Horton.
 Von Benin Nach Baltimore: Geschichte der African Americans,
Hamburger Edition, Germany, 1999, co-authored with Norbert Finzsch
and Lois E. Horton.
 In Hope of Liberty: Free Black Culture and Community in the North,
1700-1865, Oxford University Press, 1997, co-authored with Lois E.
Horton. Oxford University Press nominee for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in
History.
 The History of the African American People, Smithmark Publishers, 1995,
co-edited with Lois E. Horton; (paper edition, Wayne State University
Press, 1997.
 Free People of Color: Interior Issues in African American Community,
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
 City of Magnificent Intentions, A History of the District of Columbia
(Intac, Inc., Washington, D.C., 1983), Pilot Series editor.
 Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum
North, New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1979, Second edition,
2000, co-authored with Lois E. Horton.
Bernard Mergen
Bernard Mergen is interested in all aspects of American history, especially issues of
work and leisure, human impact on the physical environment, material and visual
representations of nature and culture, and the internationalization of American
Studies. He has been a Fulbright Professor of American Studies in Sweden, Germany,
and Mongolia, and has served as Senior Editor of the journal American Studies
International since 1980. He was Assistant Editor of American Quarterly from 1988 to
1991. He is currently working on a book on American attitudes toward weather and
climate in the 20th century, focusing on representations of weather in science,
literature, art, and popular culture; management of weather hazards by federal and
local authorities; and the social and economic consequences of weather disasters.
Selected publications:
 "Private Snow, Public Snow: The Politics of Ski Area Development on
Federal Land, 1935-1985", Proceedings of the International Ski History
Congress, Park City, Utah, January 2002.
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
 "Can America Be Globalized?", American Studies, Summer/Fall 2000,
303-320.
 Snow in America, Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.
 "Winter Landscape in the Early Republic," Views of American Landscapes,
ed. Mick Gidley & Robert Lawson-Peebles, Cambridge University Press,
1989, 167-182.
 Play and Playthings, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.
Shelley Nickles
In addition to teaching as an assistant professorial lecturer at GW, Professor Nickles
has been project curator in the Division of Social History at the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of American History since 1999. She co-curated
“Within these Walls…”, a major, permanent exhibition exploring 200 years of
American history through the lives of the families that occupied one house and was
lead curator on an exhibit on Victory Gardens. Professor Nickles also served as
consultant to the award-winning “Fashionable, Functional, Frugal: Modern Style
Comes Home, 1930-1946,” held at the Greenbelt Museum in 1998.
Among her awards, Professor Nickles received a Hagley-Winterthur Fellowship in
Arts and Industries, a Wolfsonian Museum Fellowship, and a Smithsonian PostDoctoral Fellowship. She has spoken widely at conferences and symposia on a variety
of topics related to decorative arts and domestic culture and was interviewed oncamera for the History Channel’s “Household Wonders.”
Professor Nickles received her B.A. at Cornell University, her M.A. from the
University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, and Ph.D. in
history from the University of Virginia. Before joining the adjunct faculty at GW, she
taught at Parsons School of Design and the University of Virginia.
Selected Publications
 Kitchen Debates: Gender, Class Identity, and Household Goods in
Twentieth-Century America, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
forthcoming
 “The Bryn Athyn Cathedral Project: Craft, Community and Faith,” in Bert
Denker, ed., The Substance of Style: Perspectives on the American Arts
and Crafts Movement, New York: W. W. Norton, 1996
 Articles in American Quarterly and Technology and Culture
John Michael Vlach
John Michael Vlach, Professor of American Studies and Anthropology and director of
the Folklife Program at the George Washington University, has pursued a career of
scholarly research both in the university and in museum settings. Author or editor of
ten books, he has also produced thirty book chapters, forty articles in academic
journals, and more than sixty book reviews. He has also curated six museum exhibits
for a variety of institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Institute of
Texan Cultures, the Washington Historical Society, and the Library of Congress. In
addition, he has served as a consultant to many museums and government agencies
Historic Preservation @ GWU
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including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
United States Information Service. His service with the National Endowment for the
Arts includes three years as a member of the Review Panel for the Folk and Traditional
Arts Program and one as chair of that panel. In addition to reaching out to various
audiences – professional scholars, the academic community, and the general public –
he has recently undertaken the task of retooling primary and secondary school teachers
as the member of the National Faculty.
The variety of his range of scholarly interests, which include American folk culture,
vernacular architecture, traditional arts and crafts, and the peoples of the African
diaspora, are revealed in the following list of books which he either wrote or edited,
including: The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts (1978), Charleston
Blacksmith: The Work of Philip Simmons (1981), Common Places: Readings in
American Vernacular Architecture (1986), Plain Painters: Making Sense of American
Folk Art (1988), Back of Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slavery (1993),
The Planters Prospect: Privilege and Slavery in Plantation Paintings (2002), and
Barns (2003).
Courses Focusing on Historic Preservation
Historic Preservation: Principles and Methods I (AmSt/Hist 277)
Longstreth
This course and its second semester sequel address the scope and purpose of the
preservation movement in the U.S., with focus on developments since the 1960s.
Topics examined include the development of ideas and approaches to preservation at
home and abroad since the late 18th century and the legislative and organizational
frameworks through which preservation operates today. Throughout the course, both
pragmatic and conceptual aspects are explored, as are the implications of preservation
practice on broader realms, ranging from our attitudes toward the past to the tangible
benefits for a community or business. Preservation must be a practical line of work
imbued with political, technical, and economic expertise, but its ultimate worth is as a
form of cultural expression.
Historic Preservation: Principles and Methods II (AmSt/Hist 278) Longstreth
Investigation of selected aspects of contemporary preservation practice in the U.S.,
including the survey and documentation of historic properties, the nature of historic
districts and the changes to which they are subjected over time, the bearing of physical
context for historic properties, the meanings of significance in historic preservation
and the criteria by which it is determined, and the implications of new design within a
preservation framework. The primary focus of this course is on physical aspects of
preservation and on the broad issues these aspects represent. While class lectures and
discussions will address these concerns in a general way, the opportunity to explore
some matters in detail and out in the field will be afforded by the semester assignment.
Economics of Preservation (AmSt 276)
Wagner
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
Analysis of economic techniques used to implement historic preservation projects
and of the costs and benefits of preserving both historic buildings and districts. The
roles of public agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and other private-sector
contingents are examined as are the tools used to promote historic preservation.
Objectives of the course include to develop an understanding of revitalization and
preservation economic strategies and how they can be used to affect the real estate
development process; to examine current economic tools used to advance historic
preservation; and to allow students to conduct individual research in an aspect of the
economics of preservation.
Preservation Planning (AmSt 289.11)
Ramirez
Examination of issues related to the role of historic preservation in land-use
planning. Communities are shaped by local, state, federal, and private decisions.
Historic places and cultural resources are affected by these decisions and by their
economic, social, environmental, and cultural values. Exploration of how historic
resources are treated in local planning activities in the Washington metropolitan area
and of how to make recommendations for ways in which historic preservation
objectives can be achieved with other institutional growth
Politics of Preservation (AmSt 275)
Striner
Examination of the central importance of citizen activism and advocacy in historic
preservation. Such activism has been critically important in transforming preservation
into a major force in community revitalization in many parts of the U.S. While such
work still figures prominently in many communities, it had become conspicuously
neglected in others, with serious consequences. This course will also explore the
history of preservation activism in the U.S. and examine methods by which
preservation campaigns can be successfully launched, sustained, and concluded. It will
address a range of basic issues in working with public officials, community groups,
developers, architects, scholars, the press, the legal profession, and the extended
preservation movement across the country.
Field Methods in Architectural Documentation (AmSt 280)
Ridout
Indepth thematic study of the cultural landscape, focusing on the basic field
techniques and skills necessary to interpret accurately the fabric of historic buildings
and their settings. Additional attention given to major thematic issues of both rural
and urban landscapes. Topics considered include housing, agriculture, industry, and
the architectural legacy of African-American culture. A variety of building types and
sites are examined firsthand, with emphasis on the broader issue of interplay between
natural and cultural landscapes. Intensive study is conducted on a single site, with
members of the class divided into recording teams. Exploration of research methods
based on building fabric and physical landscape rather than published and archival
sources. Work in the field constitutes a major component of the course.
Cultural Property Law and Policy (AmSt 289.12)
Hutt
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Analysis of theories of ownership; the common law of cultural items; and federal,
state, local, tribal, and international policies, laws, and treaties that address cultural
property and underlie its management in the public realm, decision-making, planning,
preservation, protection in war, restoration, and repatriation. Cultural property is
studied not only as the physical, but also the intellectual vestige of any community of
people that defines them, their past, and their views on the present. Cultural property
includes the built environment, manipulated landscapes, sacred places, archaeological
sites, burial grounds, monuments, marine resources, religious ceremonies and
symbols, art, and personal images wherever they may be located. Central issues
examined include discussion of who owns the past, especially in cases where two or
more groups claim or assume stewardship; methods by which to establish sound
decision-making and management policies; conflicts between the views of “culture”
and “science;” the complex, multi-dimensional nature of cultural property; and
analysis of the existing legal framework.
Managing Heritage Sites (TSTD 290)
Corkern
Focus on the practical aspects of managing heritage sites, on where heritage sites fit
into the range of tourist attractions that may be available to visitors, and on what
makes a heritage site different from any other kind of attraction. Heritage sites are
examined for the ways in which they help a community or region define itself and
create a sense of place for its own residents, as well as provide the opportunity to
develop a marketable identity for tourism and economic development. Topics covered
include budgeting, staffing and personnel management, board relations, fund raising,
and strategic planning. Management issues are further addressed on a comparative
basis, examining how they are similar to, and different from, other tourist attractions.
Visits to major heritage sites in the Washington area include detailed discussions with
their managers.
Interpretation in the Historic House Museum (AmSt/Educ 286)
Stapp
A multidisciplinary look at historic house museums, exploring concepts about
home, methods of interpretation, and theories of history, integrating advanced
practices of museum education with current scholarship in architectural history,
material culture, social history, and women's studies. Extensive use of Washington
house museum resources.
Related Courses
American Architecture, 1600-1860 (AmSt 175/Art Hist 176)
Longstreth
Examination of selected aspects of the built environment in the United States from
the first period of European settlement to the eve of the Civil War. Stylistic properties,
form type characteristics, technological developments, and urbanistic patterns are
introduced as vehicles for interpreting the historical significance of this legacy.
Buildings are analyzed both as artifacts and as signifiers of broader social, cultural, and
economic tendencies. Other concerns introduced include the role of the designer, the
influence of region, and architecture as a component of landscape. Among the topics
examined are the multi-faceted nature of colonial building and settlement patterns, the
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
emergence of national expression, the rise of city building and a commercial
architecture, the complexities of eclecticism, evolving views of nature and the
landscape, and the impact of technology. A special section exists for graduate
students.(*)
American Architecture, 1860-1940 (AmSt 176/Art Hist 191)
Longstreth
Examination of selected aspects of the built environment in the United States from
the mid-nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. Stylistic properties, form
type characteristics, technological developments, and urbanistic patterns are
introduced as vehicles for interpreting the historical significance of this legacy.
Buildings are analyzed both as artifacts and as signifiers of broader social, cultural, and
economic tendencies. Other concerns introduced include the role of the designer, the
influence of region, and architecture as a component of landscape. Among the topics
examined are the impacts of urbanization and suburbanization, the increasing diversity
of housing, the implications of the tall commercial building, the changing objectives of
eclecticism, the multi-directional rise of modernism, and the impact of the automobile
on architecture and landscape. A special section exists for graduate students. (*)
Seminar in American Architecture (AmSt 282)
Longstreth
Advanced research problems addressing artistic, cultural, social, technical, and
urbanistic aspects of the built environment in the United States during the post-World
War II period. Focus is on exploring some of the profound changes that occurred to
metropolitan areas, affecting the nature of places for living, work, shopping, and
recreation. Additional attention is paid to the forces inducing urban decay and renewal.
Major shifts in design concerns as well as the impact of widespread motor vehicle use
on the metropolis, the rise of a mass consumer market for goods and housing,
fundamental shifts in popular taste, critical views of the city, and the undercurrent of
persistence in traditional patterns of settlement.
American Vernacular Architecture (AmSt 258)
Vlach
Examination of the vernacular dimensions of the built environment; that is,
buildings derived from local, regional, popular, and folk sources rather than those
designed by architects or dependent on “official styles”. Analysis of buildings of
ordinary citizens that, in the main, are dwelling houses and their associated spaces and
structures. In addition, the course investigates the range and history of vernacular
forms as well as modes of interpretation, the techniques for recording structures, and
the uses of vernacular architecture in the museum and preservation fields.
Seminar in American Folklife (AmSt 257)
Vlach
Focus on the materials of American folklife, concentrating on folk architecture, folk
crafts, and folk art. Major organizing themes are regionalism and the use of objects as
indicators of cultural intention. National coverage focuses on architectural expression.
Topical consideration of insights to be gained by the analysis of objects in the social
contexts.
Historic Preservation @ GWU
U.S. Urban History (AmSt 289.10)
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Heap
Exploration of the history of U.S. urban life and culture, focusing on the period
since the late nineteenth century when a majority of Americans have lived either in
urban centers or in the suburban developments that sprang up around them.
Approaching the American city as a contested cultural terrain, the course analyzes the
urban politics of race, class, gender, and sexuality; the changing definition of urban
work and its effects on life in the city; the reconfiguration of urban space and the built
environment; social and moral reform efforts to police the city and its inhabitants; the
role of mass culture and public assessments in shaping urban experience; the rise of
popular discontent; the increasing tendency toward suburbanization; the so-called
“disintegration” of urban neighborhoods; gentrification; and the post-industrial, multicultural city.
American Decorative Arts (AmSt 252)
Nickles
Exploration of selected topics in the history of home and family in the U.S. from the
colonial period to the present through the lens of material culture: architecture, spaces,
furnishings, utensils, technological systems, and artifacts associated with ritual and
play. Through museum collections, exhibits, and readings, the course examines a range
of issues, including ideal and actual standards of living; life stages, rituals, household
economies, daily activities, property, foodways, community, and museum
interpretation. Particular focus will be given to the home as a place for constructing
and performing social identity (ethnicity, class, gender, race, religion), reproducing
and contesting the social and political order, and producing and consuming goods and
services.
American Material Culture (AmSt 250)
Mergen
Analysis of the cultural messages embedded in our material environment,
addressing a full range of humanly created evidence, from small artifacts to extensive
landscapes. Provides a synthesis of theories and methods drawn from art and
architectural history, anthropology and archaeology, geography, environmental
history, and the history of the decorative arts and of technology. Focus is on a variety of
topics ranging from women’s material culture to that of the American presidency, from
artifacts of the armed forces to those of popular culture and entertainment.
Theory and Practice of Public History (AmSt 268)
Horton
Focus on how historians present history to the public and the practical work in
which public historians are engaged. Examination of controversies surrounding
historical interpretation, including disputes over the symbols of the Civil War. Analysis
of roles of scholars outside the academy in educating the public in the places where the
majority of American people learn. Among the topic considered are how people,
including children, learn about and conceptualize history; lobbying efforts on behalf of
history; and the efforts of the historians employed by the federal government to
present history in different venues.
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
U.S. Social History (AmSt 289.12)
Horton
Investigation of the lives of common working people in their struggle for survival
and achievement from the earliest ‘pre-discovery” and settlement of North America to
the Civil War. Emphasis given to the role of family, work, class, race, ethnicity, and
gender as they helped to shape American society during the 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries. Exploration of our collective ancestry and the historical roots of the things
Americans now often think of as “common sense.” Included throughout the course is
discussion of current debates and new tendencies in the American historical
profession.
Public Archaeology (Anth 282)
Cressey
Exploration of the ethics and issues of the profession in terms of responsibilities and
accountability to different publics and various scales. Students look at their thoughts
and beliefs concerning material culture to become aware of their voices; thus becoming
more open to encourage multiple voices in the creation and re-creation of the past. A
central theme is examining how the past is told, absorbed, and experienced by people.
Questions analyzed in detail include: What is the value of the past? What are the uses
of the past? Who creates the stories and myths of the past? Aspects of public
archaeology addressed are ethics: preservation law; goals, methods, and standards;
management of sites, resources, and collections; interpretation; presentation methods;
education; partnerships; and promotion.
Historical Archaeology (AmSt/Anth 294)
Cressey
Survey of the basic data and methods of research in the material culture of recent
history, focusing on archaeological studies in historical sites and with historical
materials. Considerable attention is given to effective ways to present complex, stateof-the-art thinking in the field in ways that are understandable and engaging to the
public. Topics examined include basic goals of and source materials for the discipline,
classification, stratigraphy, artifact analysis, spatial analysis, and the interpretation of
landscape, foodways, ethnicity, and gender.
Archaeology Field/Laboratory Research (AmSt 193/Anth 113)
Cressey
Intensive study of field and laboratory techniques and interpretations. Topics
include excavation methods; artifact identification, dating, cleaning, and recordation;
photographic techniques; conservation; stratigraphy; environmental reconstruction;
typology; use-wear analysis; spatial analysis; factual analysis; provenance studies; and
strategies for public outreach and interpretation. (*)
Environmental History (AmSt 167)
Mergen
Examination of American attitudes toward nature and the physical environment
over the past two hundred years, with emphasis on the conflicts that have arisen
between aesthetic and spiritual values and economic and technological development.
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Particular attention paid to the changing definitions of nature, wilderness, and natural
resources. (*)
Urban Environmental Issues (Geog 244)
Benton-Short
Focus on the connection between nature and cities, considering four key themes:
water, air and land quality/degradation, and urban design and sustainability. Topics
discussed include water pollution policy, waste and garbage, and air pollution,
addressing the different challenges facing cities in rich, industrialized countries and
those in poorer and developing countries. Comparative perspective used to explore the
many types and causes of urban environmental issues. Analysis of the complex
challenges facing environmental regulation in urban areas. Exploration of trends in
urban design and planning and how these express ideas about the environment,
focusing on how the future of cities and the quality of life for those who live there can
be improved through environmentally sensitive design and sustainable development
projects.
Urban Geography (Geog 140)
Benton-Short
Investigation of urbanization as a complex and continuous process, with cities
continually creating and recreating themselves and in the process changing cultures
and even nations over time. Focus on economic, political, and social/cultural changes.
Emphasis given to cities in the U.S., while exploring global connections and challenges
facing selected foreign cities.(*)
(*) Upper division courses frequently taken for credit by students enrolled in the
graduate program.
Sample Curricula
Part time:
Fall
Preservation: Principles & Methods I (277)
6 credits total
Scope and Methods in American Studies
(Amst 231 – required for all incoming
graduate students)
Spring
Preservation: Principles & Methods II (278)
12 credits total
Electives
Full Time:
Fall
Electives
18 credits total
Spring
Electives
24 credits total
Fall
Electives
30 credits total
Spring
Thesis
36 credits total
Fall
Preservation: Principles & Methods I (277)
Scope & Methods in American Studies (231)
Elective
9 credits total
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
Spring
Electives
18 credits total
Fall
Electives
27 credits total
Spring
Elective
36 credits total
Thesis
Thesis Topics
Considerable emphasis is given to research for and writing of a thesis due to the broad
based value derived from this exercise in organizing substantial amounts of material,
developing a concise and persuasive argument for grant and other proposals, and for
gaining greater insight on topics that are important for preservation to address. Focus
may be either on a contemporary topics addressing aspects of preservation practice or
on a historical topic.
A sample of theses completed in the last decade:
 Alison Barr, “The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits and the States’ Role
in Encouraging Its Use,” 2001
 Heather Barrett, “Baltimore Society and the Fashionable Squares of Mount
Vernon and Eutaw Place,” 2004
 Katherine Basye, “”Essential if Regimental Spirit Is to Be Developed’: The
Planning and Architecture of Family Housing at Fort George G. Meade,
Maryland," 1999
 Shannon Bell, “From Ticket Booth to Screen Tower: An Architectural Study
of Drive-In Theaters in the Baltimore-Washington-Richmond Corridor,”
1999
 Laura Bobeczko, “America Builds for Her Renter Millions: The Legacy of
the Rental Housing Division of the Federal Housing Administration, 19351942,” 1999
 Theresa Burr, “Building Fashions: Department Store Architecture in
Washington, D.C., 1885-1930,” 1996
 Lisa Greenhouse, “Oskar Stonorov: Building Community on Shifting
Ground, 1934-1954,” 1997
 Daniel Krasnoff, “Midtown St. Louis: The Making of a Major Outlying
Commercial Center, 1900-1930,” 1996
 Michael McCarthy, “Cities of Order: The Evolution of the American
Military Base,” 1999
 Patricia McCloskey, “Urban Renewal and Historic Preservation in
Alexandria, Virginia, 1945-1980,” 1999
 Sharon MacDonald, “Row House Construction in Washington, D.C.,
Between the World Wars,” 1995
 Susan West Montgomery, “The Parking Garage: A Place for the Automobile
in the Center City,” 1999
Historic Preservation @ GWU
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 Harold Reem, “Memorializing America’s Flanders: National Park Service
Preservation and Development of Virginia Civil War Battlefield Parks,
1933-1942,” 2000
 Thomas Reinhart, “A Study of Blandair Farm in Howard County,
Maryland,” 2003
 Christopher Shaheen, “Beyond the Grand Design: City Planning in
Washington Beyond the Federal Core, 1919-1941,” 2000
 Scott Whipple, “Urbanization and the Rural Cultural Landscape: A Study
of Loudon County, Virginia,” 2001
Some theses in progress:
 Metta Barbour, “Reviving the City Through Preservation: The
Transformation of Society Hill in Philadelphia”
 Patricia Kuhn, “The Motor Hotel: The Development of Large, Luxury
Motels in the 1950s and 1960s”
 Anne Mercer, “The Original Rowhouse Clusters of Reston, Virginia, and
Their Legacy”
 Nancy Niedernhofer, “Reconciling Nature and Recreation: The Work of the
CCC in Oregon State Parks”
 Sandra Uskokovic, “Contextualism and Modernity: A Comparative Study of
the Work of Hugh Newell Jacobsen and Boris Pedrecca”
Self-Funding: Employment Options While in the Program
At present, half-tuition packages exist for two exceptionally well qualified
candidates entering the program each year. For the past quarter century, however,
students have helped defray the cost of graduate education by working part- or even
full-, time in the preservation field while enrolled in courses and working on their
theses.
Individuals of all ages and from a wide variety of backgrounds enter the program.
Some have recently graduated from college. Others are established in preservation and
wish to broaden and deepen their knowledge. Yet others are seeking a new career.
Irrespective of their circumstances, most students satisfy their internship requirement
through part- or even full-time jobs while taking courses and writing their theses.
While this arrangement requires a longer timeframe for earning the degree, it affords
unparalleled opportunities to get experience in the field and greatly enhances the
prospects for securing top entry-level positions. The rate of job placement for
graduates of the program has been consistently high.
At GW, the Center for the Study of Public History and Public Culture offers a variety
of assistantship opportunities through faculty-initiated projects.
Several internships are available at Alexandria Archaeology, a program of the Office
of Historic Alexandria conducted in cooperation with other city agencies and local
groups that provides a comprehensive laboratory for developing and applying
techniques of data gathering, organization, and analysis. The program is a national
model in demonstrating how archaeology can involve the public and broaden the
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Historic Preservation @ GWU
constituency for historic resources as it retrieves valuable information on a
community's past.
Washington, D.C., and surrounding communities present an unusually broad range
of other employment opportunities in the field. Agencies and organizations with which
students have worked in recent years include:
 Committee of 100 on the Federal City
 D.C. Preservation League
 General Services Administration, Center for Historic Buildings
 Maryland Historical Trust
 Mount Vernon
 National Building Museum
 National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
 National Park Service: HABS/HAER/HALS, Historic Landscapes
Initiative, National Register Division, Technical Preservation Services
 National Trust for Historic Preservation
 Parks Department, Arlington County
 Preservation Action
 Sewall-Belmont House
 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
 U.S. Army National Guard
 and private-sector research/consulting firms in Washington and
Charlottesville, Virginia
In their own words:
Erin Brasell (ebrasell@gwu.edu) (entered program 2002)
“I am currently working in the Center for Historic Buildings at the General
Services Administration in Washington. As part of my internship, I am
responsible for researching and writing the text for the GSA’s Public Buildings
Heritage Program brochures. Each of these publications outlines the historical
significance and salient physical features of, as well as current information
about, historic federal buildings in the GSA’s eleven regions across the
country.”
“In an ongoing project to document the GSA’s architectural legacy, I have been
compiling information on groups of buildings for potential nomination to the
National Register, either thematically or by region. These include such diverse
groups as border stations and buildings of the recent past. Additionally, I have
completed and gathered material on nominations of individual properties. I am
also updating and indexing the Center’s library to archival standards.”
Kim Lackey (kalckey@gwu.edu) (entered program 2002)
“In the summer of 2003, I worked at the department of Cultural Resources in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for Donna Ware, a GW graduate, who was a
wonderful mentor and teacher. Most of my time was devoted to conducting
research for and writing a multiple property nomination of early Quaker
archaeological sites for the National Register. I also prepared the Maryland
Historic Preservation @ GWU
Inventory of Historic Properties form for an early twentieth-century AfricanAmerican fraternal lodge.”
“Recently I have joined the staff of the Technical Preservation Services division
at the National Park Service to conduct research for the Preservation Briefs
series, beginning with a case study of certified rehabilitation of housing for lowincome occupants.”
Craig Tuminaro (ct2u@comcast.net) (entered program 2001)
“Since 1996 I have served as curator of Woodlawn Plantation and Frank Lloyd
Wright’s Pope-Leighey house, properties of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation in Fairfax County, Virginia. In addition to managing the
collections and archives, my work at these sites has focused largely on research
and preservation issues and has included serving as the site liaison for the
Pope-Leighey house restoration and for a historic structures and landscape
report for Woodlawn. In 1998-99, I served as the project coordinator for Mount
Vernon’s first national traveling exhibition, “Treasures of Mount Vernon:
George Washington Revealed,” and for the newly renovated museum space at
Mount Vernon, which contains a new exhibition on Washington and his
household, which I co-curated.”
“In 2001-2000 I was also responsible for a refocused interpretation at
Woodlawn based largely on new scholarship and social history of the early 19th
century and have developed a number of changing exhibitions and seasonal
programs. I have participated in several panels at the annual meetings of the
American Association of Museums, the American Association of State and Local
History, and the Organization of American Historians. In addition to my
position at the two sites, I am also working at the National Trust’s headquarters
office in the Historic Sites Department, developing an information-sharing
system among the Trust sites and consulting on a number of other collectionsrelated issues.”
Sandra Uskokovic (susk@gwu.edu) (entered program 2001) –
“In the summer of 2002 I was a summer intern at the U.S. office of the
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) coordinating the
‘ICOMOS Action Plan on 20th Century Heritage,’ which is the product of a
global survey of 20th-century heritage themes, with material developed by 110
ICOMOS national committees. Thereafter I continued in the office as a program
assistant, helping to prepare for the 6th US/ICOMOS International Symposium,
maintaining the website, preparing grant proposals, and continued to work on
the ‘Action Plan.’ I received a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to
participate in the 13th ICOMOS General Assembly in Madrid, where I presented
the ‘Action Plan,’ I also secured a grant from the Graham Foundation for
Advancement in the Study of the Arts to publish the plan.”
“From September to December 2003, I was an intern at the International
Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
(ICCROM) in Rome. I have been assisting on the development and completion
of case studies for the World Heritage Cities Management Guide, which is
intended to stimulate exchange among those involved in managing the day-to-
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day exigencies of urban life within historic towns, while conserving their
particular values and quality.”
Barbara Vosilla (bovsilla@usc.net) (entered program 2001)
“I got my start at the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a summer
intern and soon was given a part-time administrative position, while I
completed by coursework at GW. I am now in the Center for Preservation
Leadership at the Trust, an office that provides educational opportunities and
information resources to preservationists.”
“My responsibilities include coordinating the National Preservation Awards
program, which recognizes excellence achieved in projects and by individuals
and organizations. I oversee the call for nominations, processing applications,
coordinating multiple juries, and producing the ceremony at the annual
National Preservation Conference. I also work with such training programs as
Preservation Leadership Training (PLT), Advanced PLT, and Better Boards,
providing on-site assistance to the staff, trainers, and participants.
“While I am at work on my thesis, my position at the Trust has been a
wonderful complement to my academic training, allowing me to network with
preservationists from around the country and work with individuals and
organizations involved in pioneering preservation projects.”
Alumni Accomplishments
Program alumni have made a distinguished contribution to the preservation field in
both the public and private sectors at the local, state, and national levels throughout
the country. A sampling of positions held after completing the program includes:
 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, historic preservation specialist
 College of Urban Affairs, University of New Orleans, director of Culture
and Preservation Partnerships
 D. C. Historic Preservation Office, Deputy State Historic Preservation
Officer
 D.C. Preservation League, president
 Fairmount Park Commission, Philadelphia, preservation officer
 Graduate Program in Industrial Archaeology and History, Michigan
Technological University, associate professor
 Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering
Record, National Park Service, deputy chief
 Historic St. Michaels (Maryland), founder, president
 Maryland Historical Trust, administrator of architectural research
 National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, director
 National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, historian
 National Trust for Historic Preservation, program associate for
preservation services
 Philadelphia Historical Commission, historic preservation planner
 Preservation Action, president
Historic Preservation @ GWU
 Prince George's County, Maryland, Historic Preservation Commission,
director
 Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service, chief
 Texas Historical Commission, National Register coordinator
 Seattle Office of Urban Conservation, director
 Virginia Department of Transportation, historian/preservation specialist
 private-sector research/consulting practices
In their own words:
Katherine Basye (1999)
"I am employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, as a
cultural resource manager. While technically listed as a historian, my duties are
entirely preservation-related. Compliance issues related to sections 106 and 110
of the National Historic Preservation Act are a primary responsibility. Projects
range from the simple evaluation of a property for National Register eligibility
to complex and politically sensitive issues related to large complexes of
considerable significance scheduled for closure."
"One of the most interesting projects on which I am currently working is the
update of the cultural resource plan for Walter Reed Army Medical Center and
its annex at Forest Glen. In 1994, the Army was sued by the National Trust for
neglecting its Section 110 duties at Forest Glen and allowing this remarkable
former resort hotel complex to fall into near ruin. Although the Army won the
lawsuit, Walter Reed has pledged to improve its management of its cultural
resources. Currently, extensive research and documentation is being conducted
on Forest Glen to enhance the prospects for its future restoration/
rehabilitation."
"This is one of many opportunities in my work to help properly manage the
Army's cultural resources and to find creative solutions for the future use of
redundant properties."
Shannon Bell (1999)
“I am a historian with the National Register division of the National Park
Service, working with print and electronic publications. During the past five
years I have helped develop the Register’s heritage tourism program of online
travel itineraries, partnering with state and local organizations to highlight
historic places listed on the National Register across the country.”
“Several years ago I helped found the Recent Past Preservation Network (the
organizing meeting was held at GW) – a new national non-profit preservation
organization focusing on the legacy of the built environment in the United
States since World War II. I serve on the board of directors and helped shape
the direction and goals of this organization. RPPN’s basic goal is to disseminate
a wide variety of information about the recent past, ranging from published
scholarly sources to surveys and nominations, from endangered properties to
successful case studies of protection and adaptive use, from sponsorship and
co-sponsorship of symposia to hosting online dialogues on current issues. The
great majority of RPPN’s material is disseminated on a website:
www.recentpast.org.”
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“I am also involved in my own community of Arlington, Virginia, as chair of the
Arlington Heritage Alliance, after serving as vice-chair for three years under
another GW alumnae, Laura Bobeczko. This preservation advocacy group keeps
me busy delivering public testimony and helping develop a website, public
programs, brochures, newsletters, displays, press releases, and our annual
“Most Endangered List.” Find out more at www.arlingtonheritage.org.”
Sally Berk (1989)
"I began doing volunteer work for the D.C. Preservation League in 1982, later
serving on the Landmarks Committee, editing the newsletter, and chairing the
issues committee. I served as president of D.C.P.L. from 1995 to 1998, during
which time I worked with both the board and the staff to make the organization
a more proactive force in the community."
"We inaugurated an annual list of most endangered properties in the District.
Legislation was drafted and introduced to the City Council for a D.C. income tax
credit for rehabilitation of properties fifty years and older. Legislation was also
drafted and adopted by the Council on an emergency basis to have a temporary
demolition moratorium on properties deemed potentially eligible for listing in
the vicinity of the site of the new conventional center."
"When not president of D.C.P.L, I have had a consulting practice, advising
neighborhood and non-profit groups, writing landmarks nominations and
environmental impact statements, and serving as an expert witness for
preservation. I played an active role in getting my neighborhood designated a
historic district and the serve on the board of its (Sheridan-Kalorama)
Historical Association as well as that of the Friends of the Alice Pike Barney
Studio House. From 2001 to 2003 I co-chaired the Preservation SubCommittee of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, a longstanding citizen
activist group focusing on a variety of environmental, planning, and
preservation issues."
Dwayne Jones (1985)
“Three years ago I became executive director of Preservation Dallas. While
involved in historic preservation for more than twenty years, it was my first
venture as head of an organization. This thirty-year-old non-profit with more
than a thousand members wanted to expand its programs and develop its
presence within the nation’s eighth largest city. I came aboard to make that
happen.”
“Dallas is not known for its interest in the past, but Preservation Dallas,
founded as the Historic Preservation League, is principally responsible for
establishing the city’s first historic district, Swiss Avenue, which became an
early model for how to set up a local district and become recognized in the field.
Over the course of the organization’s history, we have advocated for the highest
standards in local ordinances and incentive programs that today place Dallas
among the best in the county.”
“My training and education at GW provided a broad perspective on, as well as
detailed information about, planning, preservation, and historical issues that I
use every day. Whether speaking to elected officials, advocating before boards
and commissions, or being questioned in legal proceedings, my educational
Historic Preservation @ GWU
experience gave me the confidence that I know what I am supporting and the
qualifications to have an impact. The role of executive director is challenging
and can range from corporate fundraising to sweeping the porch preceding an
event. Each day is different and each hour is rich in expectation. That’s what
makes this work rewarding.”
Marcia Miller (1993)
"Since 1990, I have worked in the office of Research, Survey and Registration
for the Maryland Historical Trust. As Administrator of Architectural Research,
my main responsibility is to oversee the state's survey program and work with a
variety of partners to identify and document the state's resources. My focus has
been on indepth field analysis and I have documented a diverse array of
resources from agricultural structures and pre-industrial housing to early
twentieth-century neighborhoods and urban buildings of all types."
"Working on sites throughout the state has provided an avenue to look more
closely at the interaction between architecture and social history of the
Chesapeake region, especially during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Most recently, my research and writing have focused on Annapolis and the
craftsmen and laborers who helped create the colonial city. The concentration
of surviving eighteenth-century buildings, together with documentary evidence,
has allowed for an indepth study of these individual and how they became a
significant force in the social, political, and mercantile life of the city."
Susan West Montgomery (1999)
“While a student at GW I had the opportunity to work part time for the
Committee of 100 on the Federal City and at the university Institute for Urban
Development Research. Both served as a way to become more active in historic
preservation issues locally and to meet people working at the national level as
well. In 1998 I became president of Preservation Action, the national grassroots
lobby for historic preservation.”
“Preservation Action gives preservation a voice on Capitol Hill. We lobby for
federal policies, programs, and funding that support historic preservation
activities at the local level. In 1998, and again in 2003, we defended the
Transportation Enhancements program, which provides billions of dollars in
funding for historic preservation activities through state departments of
transportation. We worked to re-authorize the Historic Preservation Fund in
2000, which underwrites the work of the state and tribal historic preservation
offices, the Save America’s Treasures program, and other federal preservation
initiatives and we succeeded in securing a $20 million increase for that fund in
2001.”
“We have also worked with the Congress and our preservation partners to draft
legislation to expand upon the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit to provide tax
incentives for rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing and to make the credit
work better for smaller scale projects, affordable housing, and in areas that are
proving to be difficult to redevelop. All our efforts are driven by the needs and
opportunities identified and championed by our national membership of
preservation professionals, architects, developers, and citizen activists. Clearly
federal policies have dramatically shaped the way our communities grow and
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change over time. Preservation Action is dedicated to ensuring that those
policies encourage, not discourage, historic preservation.”
“I also serve as an advisor to the National Trust’s Forum, a program of its
Center for Preservation Leadership; as a trustee of the National Association for
Olmsted parks; and an instructor in the Historic Preservation Certificate
Program at Goucher College.”
Bamby Ray (1994)
"I head Ray & Associates, a group of preservation consultants who work with
owners and developers to plan and implement projects that are compatible with
the historic attributes of their properties. I began to work in this vein shortly
after moving to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1991. As the size and complexity of projects
grew, three other women joined the office as associates, two with historic
preservation degrees, the third a practicing architect. Each of us brings
different skills and interests to the group."
"We research building history, provide photographic documentation before and
after rehabilitation, prepare all state and national register and certification
forms, and advise clients to ensure projects meet the required preservation
standards. To date, we have completed or are currently working on dozens of
commercial projects, including hotels, schools, office buildings, warehouses,
and factories."
"We have also written numerous National Register nominations for other
individual properties, nominating and updating historic districts, working on
Section 106 compliance, preparing facade easement donations, research
historic gardens, and designing historic exhibits. As a small firm, we pride
ourselves on the quality of our products and on our ability to work closely with
clients."
Laura M. Spina (1992)
"As one of three historic preservation planners on the staff of the Philadelphia
Historical Commission (the city's preservation office), I am Keeper of the
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, which includes three districts and over
9000 sites. My work includes researching and preparing nominations for
historic districts to both the local and national registers."
"Two recent projects include a historic district nomination for Society Hill –
both as a rich assemblage of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century
architecture and as a pioneering preservation/revitalization project of the 1960s
– and a multiple resource nomination for streets citywide retaining historic
pavements."
"Other tasks include reviewing design changes proposed for listed properties,
providing technical assistance to property owners, and assisting researchers
using our extensive building archive. The varied daily routine involves a great
amount of contact with the general public and innumerable unanticipated
opportunities to learn about the history of the city. Recently I have also become
involved in national issues as a new member of the board of Preservation
Action."
Scott Whipple (2001)
Historic Preservation @ GWU
“I am administrator of local preservation programs at the Maryland Historical
Trust’s Office of Heritage Planning and Outreach. In this capacity, I provide
training and technical assistance to historic preservation commissions, local
governments, preservation organizations, and interested individuals. I
administer the MHT Non-Capital grants given to local governments and
organizations, manage the Preservation Incentives for Local Governments
initiative, and work on a number of special projects.”
“In working with communities, I help them establish local preservation
programs and enact historic area zoning ordinances and have seen the number
of Maryland jurisdictions with historic preservation commissions grow to fortyfour. For communities with a preservation ordinance, I provide training and
educational resources for historic preservation commission members and staff;
review design guidelines, rules of procedures, and amendments to ordinances;
and offer technical assistance as needed. I help create and implement the
Preservation Incentives for Local Governments program, overseeing nearly
$500,000 in grants that assisted in the creation of expansion of heritage
preservation programs in twelve counties.”
“Currently, I am participating on a team surveying approximately seventy
communities to determine their National register eligibility and I am a member
of a task force developing a plan to improve the visitor experience at Maryland’s
State House while ensuring adequate protection of this National Historic
Landmark.”
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The Classroom and the Community:
Historic Preservation at George Washington University
Richard Longstreth
[lead article in special issue of CRM (Cultural Resource Management, National Park
Service) devoted to preservation education, 21:3 (1998)]
Interaction with communities is not just a good idea in preservation education; it is
an essential one. From the start, students must be aware of the fact the preservation is
seldom, if ever, a viable activity without substantial community involvement. The most
stringent, comprehensive ordinance, the most well-funded and equipped city
preservation office, the richest array of historic resources ultimately mean little for
protection purposes unless a critical mass of residents actively participate in the
process. Building a constituency and working with it on an ongoing basis is vital if
preservation is to have any impact on a community. Equally important, citizens should
not rely on the leadership, or even always the wisdom, of government officials. Many
cases exist where preservation has succeeded only because a strong-willed, wellinformed, and politically savvy private sector has insisted high standards be applied to
the tasks at hand.1
As important as such endeavors are, the intricacies of community interaction are
extremely difficult to teach. Strong arguments can be made for leaving this sphere of
preservation training to internships and other experiences outside the classroom. Case
studies may be examined in detail, but seminar discussions cannot begin to
approximate the rough-and-tumble world of activism. Direct involvement in a case is
problematic on several counts. Preservation initiatives cannot be scheduled at the
convenience of the academic calendar. Frequently they last months or years longer that
a single semester. Working on such projects may demand one's full attention, requiring
that other obligations be put aside until an unexpected crisis is resolved. How can
students effectively participate in such ventures without jeopardizing their grades? And
what if a student, in the process of learning, does something impolitic or that in
another way undermines a preservation effort months or years in the making?
At the same time, sidestepping community issues in a graduate program has serious
drawbacks as well. Most internships do not focus on the salient issues at stake even
when the job performed allows one to glean some understanding of the community's
key role. The issues are critical to learn, for irrespective of what kind of work one
pursues in preservation, having a clear sense of the community's vital contribution
should be part of one's basic perspective on the field. Under the circumstances, these
matters should be integral to many facets of the academic curriculum, complementing
practical experiences gained outside the classroom.
Established in 1975, the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at George
Washington University has enjoyed the benefits of an institution that is centrally
located in a major metropolitan area and that has a long tradition of community
1. Of course, the importance of public officials and others acting in a professional capacity should not be
underestimated either. The accomplishments of preservation would be no where near what they are today were
concerned laypersons the only participating party. My point is only that both are necessary for success in the field.
Historic Preservation @ GWU
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interaction. Furthermore, the program is based in the Department of American
Studies, which, virtually from its inception, has nurtured ties to the public realm. Most
preservation courses offered entail components that not only allow students to learn
about the importance of the community's role, but also contribute to the community.
The tone is set from the outset by a methods course required of all incoming
students in the first semester. The focus of reading and classroom discussion is the
preservation process, which includes analysis of the dynamics between public and
private sectors at the local as well as at the national and state levels. After the first
month, one meeting each week is given to a guest speaker, prominent in the field, for
informal discussion of his/her current work. Complementing national leaders, are a
number of distinguished local ones from both the public and private spheres. The
semester assignment introduces students to the demands of preparing a landmark
nomination and then requires the development of a realistic scenario of how the
property selected might be protected were it threatened. This latter component,
especially, necessitates understanding how government offices and citizen groups
interact. The research conducted on the property (which must not be already listed) is
often used is subsequent preservation efforts.
Another methods course, also required, but usually taken toward the end of
enrollment, focuses on issues of community-based preservation. The class works as a
group on conducting an indepth historic resources survey of a neighborhood in the
metropolitan area. The criteria for selection include a precinct that is: reasonably
typical of its place and time and thus representative of the mainstream of preservation
efforts, a likely candidate for historic district designation, and a place whose residents
are generally receptive to having the study conducted. Throughout the project,
emphasis is placed on understanding the past rather than on advancing protective
measures to underscore the importance of building a constituency before embarking
on a regulatory agenda. The class works with local and state preservation offices,
additional public agencies, civic groups, property owners, and others as well. At the
semester's end, the class makes a pubic presentation in the community, some of which
have been televised. The material – research papers, survey documentation, and final
report – is given to an appropriate local repository. Besides heightening community
awareness, these studies have in some cases led to concrete action, including drives to
expand existing districts or to establish new ones. A thematic study of garden
apartment complexes of the 1930s and early 1940s in Arlington County, Virginia,
helped lead to the designation of one of the most historically significant among them.
Additional courses afford other opportunities. One devoted to onsite building
documentation and analysis, conducted by Orlando Ridout V of the Maryland
Historical Trust, yields detailed field notes and measured drawings of a property
theretofore neglected. A course devoted to preservation planning and management,
taught by de Teel Patterson Tiller of the National Park Service, entails research
assignments on the impact of preservation and of new development on communities of
the metropolitan area. In the spring 1997 semester, this class examined the potential
effect of proposed convention, entertainment, and museum facilities on the eastern
part of downtown Washington, working with the Committee of 100 on the Federal City
and other concerned groups. A course on the economics of preservation, taught by
Richard Wagner, principal in a Baltimore architectural firm, requires detailed
feasibility studies of buildings in the region, some of which have afforded a basis for
their rehabilitation. Courses taught by Pamela Cressey, director of the Alexandria
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Archaeology Program, allow students the opportunity to become involved in one of the
country's most innovative undertakings of its kind, where a public agency and citizens
work hand-in-hand to discover and protect archaeological resources.
The professionalization of preservation over the past quarter century has left a
growing gap in the activist side. Too many people assume others will take care of
problems. To drive home the crucial need for aggressive, intelligent, informed activism,
a new course on the subject is being inaugurated for the fall 1997 semester. Taught by
Richard Striner, founder of a public policy institute in Washington and a veteran
citizen activist in preservation, the course will allow students to study the intricacies of
the private-sector's role and meet with a number of prominent figures in the region.
Such exposure to community needs in the classroom is far from a substitute for
experience in the field. The curriculum nevertheless enables students to attain a
reasonable exposure to this sphere and to work more effectively in or with the privatesector once they have completed the program. The community benefits too, both from
information received and from insights on the many values of preservation.