Plymouth State University is pleased to announce that courses leading to the much-anticipated Certificate in Historic Preservation developed by the University's College of Graduate Studies will begin the first week of March, 2008.

The certificate may be pursued on its own or as part of the university's Master of Education in Heritage Studies. In keeping with PSU's commitment to special service for New Hampshire's northern areas, the certificate will focus on rural aspects of historic preservation. Courses will emphasize the cultural environment of rural areas, including architectural forms and landscapes.

The program will seek to instill a fundamental understanding of preservation issues and challenges, to provide basic skills for those who may want to pursue careers or further education in historic preservation, and to offer training in leadership and stewardship for those who work for community preservation organizations or government agencies and commissions.

The Division of Historical Resources (DHR) has worked for the past seven years with several staff, faculty, and trustees of the University System of New Hampshire to encourage the establishment of preservation courses within the system. The DHR has collaborated with the program coordinator, Professor Stacey Yap of Plymouth's Social Science Department, in developing course content and syllabi. Many of the courses will be held in the building across the street from the DHR, at 2 Pillsbury Street in Concord, NH.

HERITAGE STUDIES & HISTORIC PRESERVATION COURSES SPRING 2008

Prepared by Stacey Yap, Coordinator of Heritage Studies and Historic Preservation Certificate
staceyy@plymouth.edu

HPR - Historic Preservation (Certificate Courses)

HPR 5100 Principles of Historic Preservation

Fabienne Lord-Fonseca (fyh2@cisunix.unh.edu)
Presented at 2 Pillsbury Street, Concord
Saturdays March 8, 15; April 5, 12; May 3, 24, 31; June 14 1:00-4:00 pm.
and June 21 1:00-2:30 pm.
Online sessions: Saturdays 3/29, 4/19 or 4/26, 5/17, 6/7
This course provides a foundation to historic preservation. The course will focus on principles and theories pertaining to preservation and restoration practices; recognition of architectural periods, styles, and construction methods in context of the evolution of cultural landscapes; the definition of significance and integrity in buildings and districts; strategies by which buildings and their settings have been preserved and used; and methods of reading and interpreting the cultural environment.

HPR 5200 The Rural Cultural Environment: Architecture and Landscape

Ben Amsden (blamsden@plymouth.edu)
Presented at 2 Pillsbury Street, Concord
Thursdays March 6, 13, 27; April 3, 10, 17; May 1, 8, 15 6:00-9:00 pm.
Saturdays April 5, May 17
This course uses the rural countryside as a laboratory to examine the cultural landscape. It will trace the impact of natural, cultural, economic, and technological forces on the "built" environment. The course studies the evolution of buildings and their settings, with emphasis on settlement and rural industrialization. Subjects to be discussed include the evolution of architectural styles and construction techniques, town planning and land division, the evolution of transportation, and the harnessing of water power. Although the course will use specific locales as examples, it is intended to instill general principles by which any human landscape can be examined and interpreted in relationship to natural resources and human culture. (Two required fieldtrips: April 5, May 17)

HPR 5500 Cultural Heritage Law: Antiquities, Trafficking, War and Stolen Heritage

Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Esq. (rsainth@aol.com)
Presented at the PSU campus, Plymouth
Tuesdays March 4, 11, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 29; May 6 5:30-9:00pm.
Saturday April 5 8:30am.-6:00 pm.
This course will examine the international, national, and state legal frameworks for the protection of cultural property. The course will survey the threats of war and crime to global cultural heritage, with a particular focus on international antiquities trafficking. It will review in detail the international and American response to such threats, including the 1954 Hague Convention, the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the Cultural Property Implementation Act and its resulting bilateral agreements, the National Stolen Property Act, and the enforcement of various criminal laws and customs regulations. Museum responses will also be studied through review of the ICOM Code of Ethics and a discussion of repatriation controversies such as the recent return of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "hot pot." The course will also introduce students to important national heritage regulations such as the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the Abandoned Shipwreck Act. Also reviewed will be state statutes and administrative rules that protect local cultural heritage, with a particular emphasis on New Hampshire law. (One required fieldtrip: April 5.)

More information about the certificate program can be found at: http://www.plymouth.edu/graduate/heritage/historic_preservation.html.

Enrollment and course registration forms are online at http://www.plymouth.edu/graduate/forms.html