HIST 2000: Introduction to History Museums and Historic Sites
Instructor: Dr. Karen L. Cox
Office: 119 Garinger Hall
Email Dr. Cox

Course Description
This course will survey history museums and historic sites by examining their purpose, organizational structure, and the different career options available in the profession. Coursework involves reading of common texts, reviewing websites of area museums/historic sites, exams and other writing assignments. There will also be guest lectures from public history professionals. Note: Field trips to museums and historic sites are required.

Books
Lawrence Weschler, Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and other Marvels of Jurassic Technology (1995)
Andrea Stulman Dennett, Weird and Wonderful: The Dime Museum in America (1997)
Anders Greenspan, Creating Colonial Williamsburg (2002)
Chris Epting, Roadside Baseball (2003)

Grades
Grading for the course is based on a 10-point scale (A=90-100; B=80-89, etc.). However, individual assignments and presentations will be assigned a numerical grade based on the plus/minus system (A+=98-100; A=94-97; A-=90-93, etc.). Thus, your course average can be a 90 and you would still receive an "A" for the course.

All written assignments will be graded for clarity of composition and grammar as well as content. All assignments must be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins. PLAGIARISM will not be tolerated. Students caught plagiarizing will be failed for the entire course and the Dean of Students notified.

Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Roadside Baseball 15%
Website Review 10%
Create Your Own Museum 25%
Professionalism 10%

Exams will be in essay format. Guidelines for the Roadside Baseball and Website Review assignments will be provided. The final project, “Create Your Own Museum,” will involve an oral presentation (guidelines provided).

Professionalism: You ATTEND class regularly; you arrive in class ON TIME (lateness is frowned upon); and you PARTICIPATE in class discussion. Turn off cell phones and PDAs. Being late repeatedly will result in a reduction of your grade.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1(August 22-26) Introduction; What is a Museum? Museum types.

Week 2 (August 29-Sept. 2) History of Museums in the Nineteenth Century U.S.
Read: Weird and Wonderful, pp. 1-65

Week 3 (September 5-9): Visit a local museum and write a 2-page synopsis of its mission and content. Email to: kcox@email.uncc.edu; bring in a hard copy on September 12th. NO CLASS.

Week 4 (September 12-16) : History of Museums in the 20th Century U.S.
Read: Finish Weird and Wonderful; Friday discussion
Sept. 12—Turn in hard copy of museum synopsis.

Week 5 (September 19-23) Public history vocabulary; non-teaching history jobs
Read Part I of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder, Friday discussion

Week 6 (September 26-30) Museum collections (guest speaker)
Read part II of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder; Friday discussion

Week 7 (October 3-7) Baseball’s Historic Sites; MIDTERM ON 5TH
NO CLASS ON OCT. 7TH ; Bring Roadside Baseball to class on Monday.

Week 8 (October 12, 14): Fall Break is 10th
Living History Sites
Read: Creating Colonial Williamsburg, Ch. 1-3 Friday Discussion

Week 9 (October 17-21) Museums and the Web, Museums and Archaeology (Guest Speaker). Finish reading Creating Colonial Williamsburg for Friday discussion.

Week 10 (October 24-28) Field trip October 29th, Charlotte Museum of History
Website review due when we gather at field trip site.

Week 11 (October 31-November 4) Museum and Education; Museums and Controversy; Guest Speaker

Week 12 (November 7-11) Field trip November 12th, Latta Plantation
Roadside Baseball assignment due.

Week 13 (November 14-18) Museum Historians; Historic Landmarks; Guest Speakers

Week 14 (November 21)
First day of presentations: Class attendance REQUIRED for everyone!

Week 15 (November 28-Dec 2)
Presentations: Class REQUIRED.

Week 16 (December 5, 7)
Presentations: Class REQUIRED

Reading Day: December 8, 2005
Final Exam: Friday, December 16th, 12:00-3:00 pm