Consortium for American Material Culture
11th Annual Meeting
American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
May 15-16, 2017
Host
Will Moore, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Aaron Ahlstrom, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
P.J. Carlino, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Mariah Gruner, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Rachel Kirby, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Ian Stevenson, American and New England Studies Program, Boston University
Attendees
Catherine Whalen, Bard Graduate Center
Ivan Gaskell, Bard Graduate Center
Steven Lubar, American Studies, Brown University
Cindy Falk, Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York at Oneonta
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Department of History, Harvard University
Debby Andrews, Material Culture Caucus, American Studies Association
Anne Verplanck, American Studies, Penn State Harrisburg
Ritchie Garrison, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and History, University of Delaware
Catharine Dann Roeber, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
Schedule of Events
Monday, May 15
9am – Coffee & Pastries, College of Arts & Sciences, Room 132.
9:30 am – Introductions & News of Colleagues – Remembrances of those not with us.
10:00 am - Discussion: Alternative capstone projects for undergraduates and master’s students. What works? What doesn’t work? What are the issues with scholarly forms other than the written thesis?
11:00 am – Object observation and writing exercise (Santa Claus mugs).
11:45 am – Lunch.
12:30 – 2pm Walking tour of civic sculpture on Commonwealth Avenue, the Public Garden, and the Boston Common.
2pm – Meet at the Boston Athenæum. Tour of the sculpture and material culture of the Boston Athenæum with David B. Dearinger, Director of Exhibitions and Susan Morse Hilles Senior Curator of Paintings & Sculpture, and Hannah Weisman, Director of Education.
4pm – Leave Athenaeum. Optional: Visit the Old Granary Burying Ground, see the Gardner murals at the Boston Public Library, go by the African Meeting House, photograph Richardson’s Trinity Church, or visit the Old State House and site of the Boston Massacre on the way back.
6:00 – Gather back at Room 132. Discussion: Material culture education in the era of STEM and business majors. Strategies for building enrollments.
6:30 – Drinks and dinner, Room 132.
Tuesday, May 16
9 am – Coffee & Pastries, Room 132.
9:30am – Discussion of next year and the CAMC.
10:00 am – Depart for Harvard University Murr Center.
10:30 am – Gather at Lee Family Hall of Athletic History with Warren “Renny” Little, Curator (pro bono) of Harvard’s athletic collections.
11:45 – Depart Harvard’s Soldiers Field to return to Room 132.
12:00 – Concluding discussions, announcements, and business.
12:30 – Lunch and goodbyes.
Shared Resources
From Cindy Falk:
• Cooperstown Graduate Program Portfolio Requirements
• Professional Science Master's Guidelines
From Catherine Whalen:
• Bard Graduate Center Student Handbook 2016-2017. See pages 16-17 for regulations regarding conventional qualifying papers, digital qualifying papers, and exhibition qualifying papers.
• Tenure, Promotion, and the Publicly Engaged Academic Historian (2010). Adopted by the OAH, NCPH, and AHA.
From Debby Andrews:
• Material Culture Pedagogy Across the Curriculum. Session sponsored by the Material Culture Caucus of the American Studies Association for the upcoming Annual Meeting in Chicago, November 9-12, 2017. Note: Will Moore runs the ASA Material Culture Caucus Facebook Page.
From Steve Lubar: Here's an article that provides more information on the "Liberal Studies in Engineering" project I mentioned: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19378629.2015.1077253?journalCode=test20
Questions
1) How does CAMC benefit you personally?
2) How does CAMC benefit your institution?
3) How does CAMC benefit the field?