American Studies and Preservation Studies
CAS AM 502 A1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
Preservation and the Vernacular Environment
Fri 11:15am-2:00pm
Prof. Stevenson
American Studies majors and minors complete their program of study by undertaking a one- or two- semester (AM 501 and/or AM 502) senior project based on original research or criticism. Topics vary by semester. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy.
Topic for Spring 2025: Preservation and the Vernacular Environment This seminar explores the unique challenges and solutions for preserving the vernacular environment—broadly construed as “everyday” buildings and landscapes—that many established preservation tools are ill-equipped to serve. From triple-deckers to rural farmsteads to postwar suburbs to fieldstone dams, this course demonstrates the importance of the mundane in the built environment and how to save ensure its survival.
CASAM 502 B1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
Futures in Preservation
Thur 12:30pm – 3:15 pm
Prof. White
American Studies majors and minors complete their program of study by undertaking a one- or two- semester (AM 501 and/or AM 502) senior project based on original research or criticism. Topics vary by semester. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy.
Topic for Spring 2025: Futures in Preservation This course prepares students for the experience as a professional in the field of preservation. Students will build skills of communication to the public, investigate numerous career pathways, and develop C.V.s, resumés, and portfolios to use as they pursue their professional goals. Mts w CASAR 595; Futures in Archaeology
CASAM 502 C1 | Research Seminar in American Studies
The Literature of Revolution: Franklin, Wheatley, Louverture, Wollstonecraft
Tues 12:30pm – 3:15 pm
Prof. Rezek
American Studies majors and minors complete their program of study by undertaking a one- or two- semester (AM 501 and/or AM 502) senior project based on original research or criticism. Topics vary by semester. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Writing-Intensive, Research and Information Literacy.
Topic for Spring 2025: The Literature of Revolution: Franklin, Wheatley, Louverture, Wollstonecraft Inspired by the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this course considers influential writers who defined the age of revolution and its legacy. We will begin with a look at the iconic founding texts of the American Revolution (including the Declaration and Common Sense) and then focus on four major writers from North America, Haiti, and the British Empire: Benjamin Franklin, Phillis Wheatley, Toussaint Louverture, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
CASAM 525 A1 | American Cultural Landscape Studies
Tue/Thu 12:30 – 1:45pm
Prof. Moore
This seminar provides an introduction to analyzing and interpreting American cultural landscapes and acquaints students with the historiography of interdisciplinary study of the built environment. Also offered as CAS AH 525.
CASAM 554 A1 | Preservation Planning
Thu 3:30 – 6:15pm
Prof. Wermiel
Introduces students to local, state, and national government policies and practices intended to protect historically and aesthetically significant structures. In addition, the course covers planning approaches aimed at managing redevelopment in established neighborhoods, to create livable and sustainable communities.
CASAM 567 A1 | Topics in American Material Culture
Placing Public History: Memory, Monumentalization, and the Built Environment.
Tue 3:30 – 6:15pm
Prof. LaForge
An interdisciplinary research seminar exploring a topic in American material culture. Specific content will vary by semester and may be repeated for credit as topics change.
Topic for Spring 2026:Placing Public History: Memory, Monumentalization, and the Built Environment.The semiquincentennial of the American Revolutionary War presents new opportunities to decenter 1776 and recenter longstanding histories of resistance to settler colonialism, slavery, and militarization as revolutionary history. This course turns to the landscape of Boston and beyond to consider how history is produced, memorialized, and remembered through material culture.
Independent Research Project Colloquium CAS AM 775
Restricted to students in their final semester of the Preservation Studies Master’s Program. Provides for the research and writing of an independent, rigorous, and original capstone project in the preservation field, with guidance from faculty
Affiliated Departments
This is only a sampling of courses. Please refer to individual department websites and the University Class Schedule for complete course offerings.
Note: Graduate students must take classes at the 500+ level.