Course Description
An introduction to principles and methods of historic site
interpretation and to current issues in the field, especially
as demonstrated by sites in Georgia. Approaches the
topic from the perspective of historic preservation, and
situates historic site interpretation within the broader
process of managing historic resources.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
In addition to the required assignments of the undergraduate
students, graduate students will each lead one or more seminar
discussions on pre-defined historic sites during field visits
and lead discussions on theory and practice methods of historic
site interpretation throughout the semester. Further, the
graduate students will write a final paper on the field of
historic site interpretation issues of their choice
highlighting the environmental, economic, and social factors
involved, the breadth of possible resolutions, and citing at
least two case studies that support their conclusions.
Athena Title
Historic Site Interpretation
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
HIPR 2000 or HIPR 4000/6000 or HIPR 4030/6030
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will have knowledge of current theory and practice methods of historic site interpretation.
- Students will have knowledge of current issues in the field of historic site interpretation.
- Students will have knowledge of the major organizations supporting historic site interpretation in the United States.
- Students will understand the historical development of the practice of historic site interpretation in the United States.
- Students will identify and articulate the diverse stories associated with an historic site.
- Students will critique established interpretation programs at historic sites.
- Students will develop basic interpretation programs for historic sites.
- Students will understand multiple meanings and varying significance which an historic site may have, for different groups.
- Students will understand the ethical implications of identifying, and interpreting the various stories represented by an historic site, and through the interpretation program giving voice to groups associated with the site.
- Students will understand the role of historic sites in building, defining, and maintaining a sense of community identity.
- Students will understand the implications an interpretation program may have for the integrity of a site’s historic fabric.
Topical Outline
- Week 1-2
Introduction:
•basic premise of historic site interpretation; i.e.,
understand the ‘information’ contained within the historic
resource – understand the audience(s) – develop the appropriate
story, based upon the information – design the most effective
medium/strategy to convey the story – evaluate the results;
interpretation versus presentation
•types of historic sites; e.g., historic houses and/or gardens,
commemorative sites, open air museums/complexes, regions/routes
with specific historic themes
•development of site interpretation in the United States, with
reference to the NPS, and especially the work of Freeman Tilden
•introduction to current principles and practices e.g., ICOMOS
Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural
Heritage Sites, and current literature from allied fields such
as museology, public history, historical archaeology, and
cultural geography; organizations such as AASLH and the
National Association for Interpretation (NAI)
•potential site visit: Atlanta History Center
Week 3-5
Historic House Museums
•background to house museums (e.g., John Soane House - 1837,
Mount Vernon - 1860, Heyward-Washington House/1929)
•what makes house museums a distinct type of museum; concept of
collection and curatorship versus education and interpretation;
the role of ‘biography’ in house museums; the building (and
site) as part of the ‘collection’
•presenting divergent and conflicting stories
•critique of interpretation at selected site/e.g., Robert
Toombs House
Week 6-7
Sites of Commemoration
•background to commemorative sites (e.g., Congressional role in
protecting/presenting Civil War Battlefields as ‘sites of
reconciliation’ from 1896 onwards, and the extensive program of
battlefield preservation in Europe following WWI)
•relationship between commemoration and
interpretation/presentation
•how interpretation both supports and erodes the commemorative
use of the site
•presenting sites with ‘difficult’ (unpleasant or
controversial) stories, themes
•critique of interpretation at selected site/e.g., Chickamauga
National Military Park
Week 8-9
Open-Air Museums/Complexes
•background to open air museums (e.g., Skansen, Sweden – 1891,
Colonial Williamsburg – 1928, Ironbridge Gorge, UK – 1986)
•issue of ‘authenticity’; use of replica and reconstruction in
interpretation
•‘living history’ and animated sites (e.g., costumed
interpreters); historic re-enactments
•integration of historic and contemporary (living) communities,
and resulting issues for interpretation and presentation
•critique of interpretation at selected site/e.g., New Echota
Week 10
Regions/Routes
•cultural tourism
•community engagement; community (e.g., traditional activities
and occupations) as historic resource
•use of contemporary media (e.g., internet) for presentation of
historic resources
•critique of interpretation at selected site/e.g., Bartram
Trail
Week 11-15
Major Project: develop an interpretation program for a historic
site
Students will work with a community organization responsible
for an historic site, to:
- understand the resource and the information it contains
- define the target audience for an interpretive program
- with the owning organization, develop an appropriate ‘story’
or narrative based on this information
- design an effective interpretation program, reflecting the
resources available for implementation
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
