Cultural and Historic Preservation
Coordinator: Jeroen van den Hurk, Ph.D.
Cultural and Historic Preservation (CHP) is a poly-disciplinary major encompassing such diverse fields as archaeology, architectural history, cultural resources management, materials conservation, and preservation planning. When possible, classes make extensive use of opportunities for hands-on learning in the living laboratories of the Salve Regina campus and the city of Newport.
CHP courses help students develop skills in the analysis of material culture and the built environment, critical thinking about what historic preservation is, and writing about the relationships between the past, the present, and the future. Several courses require active participation in preservation projects extending beyond the bounds of the classroom. A summer field school in archaeology and extra academic activities offer additional opportunities for students to hone their skills. CHP students are encouraged to participate in international study as part of their education in order to gain a comparative understanding of how preservation works elsewhere in the world. The program works to further the Mission of Salve Regina by imparting to students an understanding that preservationists are stewards of the best of the human-built environment, and that cultural and historic preservation are tools for cultivating justice and the enduring values upheld by the University. Students are furthermore strongly encouraged to do an internship as it provides them with the opportunity to further the work of preservation within the local community. Most CHP courses are open to students from all majors with no prerequisites. CHP-490 Senior Thesis in CHP is only open to senior majors.
Cultural and Historic Preservation Student Learning Outcomes
At the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Have a firm understanding of the historical, theoretical, and methodological foundations of cultural and historic preservation, as it is practiced in the United States.
- Apply interdisciplinary concepts and methods to experiential preservation projects.
CHP-150: Exploring Newport's Architectural Tapestry: a Journey Through Time and Society (3 Credits)
This course will explore Newport's architectural traditions and its social history as it is interwoven in the built environment. It invites students to unravel the layers of Newport's architecture and citizens, from its early foundations in the seventeenth century to the present day. Through a blend of lectures, site visits, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how architecture reflects the social fabric of this historic city and has shaped its citizens through the centuries.
Theme: What is Western Heritage?-Ancient and Modern.
CHP-170: Introduction to Historic Preservation (3 Credits)
This course is an introduction to historic preservation as it is practiced in the United States. Some people think historic preservation is all about keeping things the way they are (or were), but this is a practical impossibility and it is much more accurate to think of historic preservation as "the management of change."
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
CHP-180: Historic Building Documentation (3 Credits)
In this course, students gain initial field experience in historic preservation. The emphasis is on the investigation, preliminary documentation, and interpretation of buildings, sites, and objects. Students become familiar with the terminology used in preservation and develop research and writing skills through a series of projects in and around Newport.
Fulfills Core Requirement for Visual and Performing Arts.
Theme: What is Western Heritage?-Ancient and Modern.
Cross-listed with: ART-180.
CHP-190: Introduction to Archaeology (3 Credits)
Archaeology is a sub-discipline of anthropology that deals explicitly with the past through the study of material remains. While archaeologists engage many of the same issues as other anthropologists (e.g., social inequality, gender relations, colonialism), they must approach these issues from alternative perspectives using different research methods. In this course, students will consider how archaeologists formulate research questions; find, excavate, and date sites; collect, quantify, and analyze artifacts; and interpret data in order to create stories about life in the past.
Fulfills Core Requirement in Social Sciences.
Theme: Building Global Awareness.
Cross-listed with: SOA-190.
CHP-207: Introduction to Architecture (3 Credits)
This course introduces the student to the history of Western Architecture, beginning with the ziggurats and pyramids of the ancient Near East and Egypt and continuing into the 21st century. Students will learn about structural principles common to all buildings, as well as issues of style and the cultural meaning of buildings.
Fulfills Core Requirement in Creative Expression and Fine Arts.
Theme: What is Western Heritage?-Ancient and Modern.
Cross-listed with: ART-207.
CHP-218: Exploring North American Indigenous Cultures (3 Credits)
This course provides an introduction to North American Indian societies. The class takes an anthropological approach that explores diversity in the cultural practices and material culture of Native American groups across the continent. Course topics will include adaptation to the environment, belief systems, gender roles, architecture and European colonialism. Students in the course will also engage with modern issues facing Native American communities such as heritage preservation and environmental, economic and social justice.
Fulfills Core Requirement in Social Sciences.
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
Cross-listed with: SOA-218.
CHP-223: World Archaeology (3 Credits)
In this course, students engage with the archaeology of cultures across the globe. The course surveys the prehistory of Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas beginning with the evolution of humans and then covering major transitions in world prehistory including the origins of agriculture and the rise of city states.
CHP-225: Introduction to Public History (3 Credits)
Public History is the interpretation of the past for popular audiences in the non-academic settings. This course introduces students to the field of public history, including the subfields of museum studies, archival studies, oral history, historic site interpretation and historic preservation. Expert guest speakers, field trips and case studies expose students to a variety of professional career options.
Fulfills Core Requirement in History.
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
Cross-listed with: HIS-225.
Course Fee: $35.00
CHP-255: Internship in Cultural and Historic Preservation (3 Credits)
This internship allows CHP students to work in offices and institutions that deal with cultural and historic preservation under the direction of practitioners.
CHP-256: Internship in Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management (3 Credits)
This internship allows CHP students to work in offices and institutions that deal with the archaeological aspects of cultural resource management under the direction of practitioners.
CHP-260: The City as a Work of Art (3 Credits)
This course begins with the premise that the greatest human artifact is the city. It examines the characteristic elements of urban form as they have developed over time and in different places, explaining their presence and meaning. Not a course in urban history, this is, rather, a study of the history of urbanism, dealing with the physical forms of the urban environment, and how those forms relate to the natural world around cities, primarily in Europe and the New World.
Theme: What is Western Heritage?-Ancient and Modern.
CHP-263: Historic Site and Cultural Resource Management (3 Credits)
Historic sites come in a wide variety of forms from buildings to battlefields to archaeological sites. While diverse, these sites share a powerful basis of importance - they are physical locations that link the past to the present. In this class, students are introduced to the preservation laws that guide the practice of cultural resource management and the fundamental concepts and practices that are employed to protect and manage historic sites in the United States. This class will focus on protective legislation, management challenges, public outreach, and interpretation.
CHP-301: American Architecture Survey (3 Credits)
This course examines the historical development of the American built environment, beginning with Native American settlement patterns and continuing to present-day phenomena of sprawl and New Urbanism. Students explore how landscape and buildings have developed in response to broader changes in American culture.
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
CHP-307: 20th and 21st Century Architecture (3 Credits)
This course examines the rise of Modernism in architectural design beginning from the end of the 19th until its displacement in the 1970's. It also traces Anti-Modern, Postmodern and contemporary practice in the architectural world.
CHP-310: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3 Credits)
In this class, students will be introduced to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - a powerful set of methods for visualizing and analyzing information using computer-generated maps. Through hands-on projects, students will acquire a sound working knowledge of GIS software and its applications. The skills learned in this class will be useful in several fields including historic preservation, environmental studies, civic planning, social sciences, and business.
CHP-311: Landscape History and Interpretation (3 Credits)
In this course, students are introduced to theories of landscape history, with a particular focus on New England. Techniques of researching, documenting, and interpreting landscapes are critical components of the course. The challenges of preserving landscapes in the face of development and sprawl are also important aspects of the class.
CHP-323: History of Newport Architecture (3 Credits)
This course will trace architectural developments in Newport, from the colonial settlement at the beginning of the seventeenth century to the present. Through it, you will become familiar North American architecture, interpretations of continuity and change in architectural form and structure, and the geographic, social, economic, political, and technological forces that together influenced buildings and the practices of creating and inhabiting them. Examples will come from vernacular, professional and monumental contexts so that students become familiar with various design processes and types of architecture. The course will survey the features of buildings constructed in different times and consider their historical and social contexts. The course will also involve time outside of the classroom on field trips.
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
CHP-331: Northeastern Archaeology (3 Credits)
This course examines the archaeology of the Northeastern United States from its initial colonization by Paleoindian people through the early historic period (15,000 BCE-1950 CE). The course will survey important sites, artifact types, and ethnohistoric traditions of contemporary indigenous communities. Students will gain an understanding of historic preservation practices and issues in the region.
CHP-332: Archaeological Field School (3 Credits)
A summer program which offers a field school in archaeology. Students participate in all aspects of the archaeological process beginning with developing a research design, continuing with survey, excavation, documentation and concluding with cataloging and analysis of artifacts.
Fulfills Core Requirement in Social Sciences.
CHP-335: Archaeological Laboratory Methods (3 Credits)
This course introduces students to the processes involved in studying artifacts in the post-excavation phase of archaeological investigation. Topics covered include preliminary curation techniques, stratigraphic sequencing, feature analysis, and the completion of written archaeological reports. The notion of ethics and responsibilities underlying archaeological investigation is emphasized. This is a laboratory course.
CHP-361: Field School in Historic Architecture (3 Credits)
A summer program which offers a five-week field school in architectural documentation. Students participate in all aspects of the architectural process, including archival research and physical documentation of historic buildings.
CHP-395: Senior Seminar (3 Credits)
This course is the first half of the CHP capstone sequence, to be taken ideally in a student's senior year. The seminar will focus on a selected topic with the students reading and discussing background material. Students will research and present, in both oral and written form, a topic associated with the subject of the seminar. Open to CHP majors with junior or senior academic standing.
CHP-399: Special Topics (3 Credits)
Special topics are offered according to student interest and availability of program resources.
CHP-405: Curatorial Practice and the Gallery Experience (3 Credits)
Pre/Co-requisite(s): ART-208, ART-209, or permission of instructor required. Open to all students; sophomore, junior or senior academic standing recommended.
Students work to mount an exhibition in Salve's Dorrance Hamilton Gallery (or online in a virtual exhibition space) in this experiential, hands-on course that introduces aspects of museum and gallery work. This course is co-taught by an art historian and the gallery director.
CHP-490: Senior Thesis in CHP (3 Credits)
The senior seminar is oriented toward both theory and method. Through archival research, fieldwork, and coordination with local preservation organizations, students complete a senior thesis as the final requirement for the CHP major.
CHP-499: Independent Study (3 Credits)
A student may work independently with a faculty member in an area not covered by a regularly scheduled course offering. Senior academic standing only.