Research Seminar in the History of the Built Environment

Catalog description

How can one conduct research on the history of the built environment for a scholarly article in one semester? This class uses the structure of the semester and the cadence of weekly meetings to demystify research and writing. Alternative sources including photography, digital forms of evidence, and oral and ethnographic data, as well as correspondences, government documents, maps, architectural and planning documents, and related ephemera found in archives are explored. Topics range from: key questions and arguments that have driven built environment research since the 1980s (when vernacular architecture, cultural landscapes, and ordinary built environment history blossomed in the academy), developing questions, framing research, matching sources to arguments, where to publish, where to present, the different modes required for writing versus presenting, and how to reach intended audiences. Potential guests include editors of major scholarly journals and scholarly research blogs; and new and established scholars who will present the “backstage” (the hurdles, challenges, research strategies and insights) of articles we read for class. Substantial time during the last third of the class will be dedicated to writing, editing, and sharing work that will culminate in an original essay of 20 pages. This class is intended for doctoral and master’s students working on a dissertation, thesis, capstone, or personal research project as well as those who will identify a topic after class begins.