Revitalizing Historic House Museums
HIST 0293A
Monday and Wednesday evenings: 6:00-9:30PM
Summer 2012
Syllabus
Instructor Contact Information:
Kenneth Turino: 617-994-5958; kturino@historicnewengland.org
Barbara Silberman: 978-281-5801; silberman_barbara@yahoo.com
Office Hours and Communication:
We do not have regular office hours on campus. We are available to meet on and off campus by
appointment. Please contact us directly to set up appointments. We welcome communication.
Questions and correspondence should be directed to both Ken and Barbara.
Course Overview and Goals:
Historic house museums are the largest category of museums in the US. There is one in every
village and town. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive
understanding and first-hand experience of the rewards and challenges facing historic house
museums today. Students will learn about the history of the historic house movement, what
makes a historic house museum successful and sustainable and what the options are for those
that struggle. The course is designed for graduate and undergraduate students in History and
Museum Studies. The format will include lectures, readings, case studies, classroom activities
and discussion, interviews with professionals, a field trip and a final project.
The course will address the following History/Museum Studies learning outcomes:
1)Understanding historic house museum issues and how these issues compare to those in
other types of museums. Familiarity with all aspects of historic house museum operations and
how they work together to support mission and serve the public. Ability to interpret primary
and secondary sources, including material and visual culture, quickly and critically.
2) Familiarity with (and knowledge of how to find) museum literature generated by museum
professionals, and an understanding of how insider-generated work differs from museum
literature produced by outsiders (academics, critics, the public).
3) Familiarity with broad outlines of interpretation and approaches to public history.
4)Application of skills and knowledge gained through coursework to real-world
museum settings.
Draft document
Additional Learning Outcomes
1) Familiarity with the variety of uses for historic buildings beyond the usual paradigm of
preserving them as house museums.
2) Understanding the need to create community value and build an audience in order to
sustain house museums today.
3) Familiarity with professional standards and characteristics for ensuring sustainability and
providing high-quality public history experiences.
Required Course Readings:
· Harris, Donna Ann, New Solutions for House Museums (New York, Altamira Press,
2007).
· West, Patricia, Domesticating History: the Political Origins of America's House
Museums (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999).
· Online Readings: Digital copies or links of readings are posted on blackboard and listed
by week. Online readings are required. Additional readings may be added as the course
continues.
Guest Speakers:
Guest speakers will come to class to impart their knowledge and experience. In many cases these
speakers are scheduled for the start of class. We ask that you make every effort to be on time.
Please use the time with our guests wisely; come to class with questions and be prepared to talk.
Trunk
Trunk is the new electronic educational platform for teachers and students at Tufts,
available at trunk.tufts.edu. We rely heavily on this site for information and
communication. You are required to use and check Trunk regularly. It is your
responsibility to make sure you have access and that your email address is correctly listed.
Course Requirements and Grades:
Students are required to complete all readings and assignments, to attend class, to participate in
class discussions and to contribute to group work. Students are expected to work effectively and
efficiently, possibly in groups and teams. This will require out-of-class communication via
email, meetings or another agreed upon method.
There are two field trips scheduled. One during class hours on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 to the
Tenant Farmer’s House at the Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm, and one on Saturday June 23, 2012
(Sargent House, Gloucester, MA). Information will be distributed in class. Attendance is
expected. On Wednesday, June 20, class will meet at the Otis House, 141 Cambridge Street,
Boston MA. We will be joined by students from the Program in New England Studies offered
by Historic New England. Class will begin at 6:30.
A telephone or in-person interview with a practitioner is required. Suggested questions and
interviewees will be distributed in class.
During the last week of class, you are expected to present your site assessment of one of these
museums: Beauport of Historic New England, Nichols House or Gibson House.
Assignments (with grade percentage)
Assignment One: House Museum Visit (Individual 10%)
Visit a historic house museum of your choice. What works? What doesn’t? Would you return?
Would you tell a friend about it?
Questions distributed in class for house museum visit.
Due Wednesday, May 30, 2012 for in-class discussion.
Assignment Two: Interview (Individual 20%)
Class room presentation and paper based on Practitioner Interview. 2-3 pages in length.
Questions for interview distributed in class.
Due in class Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Assignment Three: Research paper (Individual 50%)
Classroom presentation and paper on site assessment at one of three suggested house museums.
10 pages in length. Sources, bibliography required, beyond 10 written pages. Attachments
beyond 10 written pages.
Due in class Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Class Participation and Discussion (Individual 20%)
Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings and to participate in class
discussion.
Final grades are based on all of the above. Assignments are marked as individual assignments.
Assignment guidelines and requirements will be thoroughly discussed in-class. Due to the nature
of this course, no extensions or incomplete grades will be awarded. Failure to participate fully
and submit assignments will result in a failing grade. It is strongly suggested that you
communicate any issues or concerns to either instructor as they arise—we would like all students
to have a comfortable and beneficial experience.
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Course Outline
(1) Wednesday, May 23, 2012: Intersection of History and Preservation
Barb and Ken
Introductions: Why are you here? What do you want to learn? What do we
bring?
Review of syllabus, course requirements
Other housekeeping
Lecture: William Sumner Appleton and Preservation
(2) Wednesday, May 30, 2012: History and Current Issues
History of Historic House Movement
Barb and Ken
Presentations and discussion of visit to historic house museum. Power Point presentation are
acceptable but not required. Oral presentations are fine.
Readings to be completed for discussion tonight.
West, Patricia, Domesticating History: the Political Origins of America's House Museums
(3)
Monday, June 4, 2012: Mission, Vision, Governance & Community Value
Building Audiences
Barb and Ken
Kate Laurel Burgess MacIntosh: Using Social Media to Build Audiences
Guiding Lights
Building Community
Discussion: Develop mission and vision, board building, evaluation
Discussion: Audience building
Readings to be completed for discussion tonight.
Assignment Two: Interview practitioner
(4) Wednesday, June 6, 2012: Interpretation: Telling the Story at the Tenant Farmer’s
House. Spencer-Pierce-Little House, Newbury MA
Ken and Barb
Peter Gittleman, Board President, Royall House
Team Leader for Visitor Experience, Historic New
England
Discussion: Practitioner Interviews
Readings to be completed for tonight.
(5) Monday, June 11, 2012: Interpretation: Telling the Story: New Threads
Ken and Barb
Servants and Slaves: Jennifer Putsz, Museum Historian, Historic New
England, Board Member, Royall House
GLBT History
Sensory History
Discussion: What else do we miss? Can we tell it all?
Readings to be completed for tonight.
(6) Wednesday, June 13 2012: Collections: Supporting the Story
Professional Standards: Follow the Rules
The Rembrandt Rule
Professional Standards: Sustainability
Steps Program
AAM accreditation
Barb and Ken
Discussion: Practical realities of historic house museum collections
Discussion: Impact and Outcomes of Professional Standards
Reading to be completed for tonight.
(7) Monday, June 18, 2012: Alternative Uses
Ken and Barb
Kykuit Findings
N.B. Class will meet at the Otis House, 141 Cambridge St. Boston at 6:30PM.
Discussion: Professionals address the issues.
Readings to be completed for class tonight.
(8) Wednesday, June 20, 2012: Finance and Entrepreneurship
Sustainability and Accountability
Larry Yerdon, President, Strawbery Banke Museum
Barb
Discussion: What it takes to make it work.
Readings to be completed for class tonight.
(9) Saturday, June 23, 2012: Sizing it Up: Visit to Sargent House
Barbara Silberman, Board President, Sargent House
Barb and Ken
Discussion: Ideals vs. Reality: Behind-the-scenes at one small house museum
Readings to be completed for this class: Review of Sargent House documents
Draft document
(10) Monday, June 25, 2012 Case Studies
Ken and Barb
Wakefield Estate: Lynn Spencer, Principal, Menders, Torrey and Spencer
Fogg-Rollins House
Discussion: Review of Fogg-Rollins documents
Readings: To be completed for class this night.
(11) Wednesday, June 27, 2012: Site Assessments
Barb and Ken
Presentation of Final Reports. Power Point presentations are acceptable but not
required. Oral presentations are fine.
Historic Spittlefield: DVD