Artifacts of American History
Session 1 Summer 2024
History 216—Artifacts of American History uses material objects as primary sources to learn about the past. The term “artifact’ describes an object, often a tool or an ornament, that reflects the skills of the person who produced or modified it as well as the interests and motivations of the individual who purchased it or used it. Artifacts are all around us; they can be small utilitarian objects like pins or nails, large decorative objects such as a multi-story house or as expansive as a physical landscape.
This class will highlight the methods that professionals in the fields of archaeology, historic preservation, conservation, and curation use to protect and maintain artifacts for future generations. Students will also think critically about how museums and historic sites exhibit artifacts and the stories that curators tell with material objects. How does a focus on the stories embedded in a range of historical objects—including written records, archaeological artifacts, buildings, and material objects—help us to tell a larger, more detailed, and more inclusive story about the past?
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Use historical thinking to analyze, evaluate, and interpret primary and secondary sources.
- Use evidence-based reasoning and diverse historical sources (written and material) to interpret the past coherently, develop an argument, and present an argument both in discussions and in written assignments.
- Describe the ways in which artifacts—buildings, archaeological artifacts, and material objects—connect people of the twenty-first century to the past and help us to tell stories of the people who made these items and those who used the items.
- Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different types of artifacts as historical sources.
- Explore ways in which museum professionals protect artifacts and how a curator's selection of artifacts to display shapes our knowledge of the past.
