Hidden History and New England Material Culture

The course features intensive examination of specialized topics in American Public History and Museum Studies, introducing the theory and methodology of Material Culture: the study of history through the analysis of buildings, human-created landscapes and artifacts made and used in New England. Emphasis will be on readings that reflect fresh trends in research strategies or interpretive direfctions and encompass exploration of c urrent methodologies and "best practices" employed by those involved in the study, interpretation, and display of material culture objects. 

“Crazy.” “Schizo.” “Nuts.” “Screwy.” “Loony.” “Loopy.” “Cracked.” These terms describe mental disorder, a universal and persistent condition in human history. Every society has struggled to make sense of it; every society has struggled to address it. But what is mental disorder? Is it a disease? If so, of what? The body? The brain? The mind? The soul? Is it a chemical imbalance? Genetic destiny? Is it the wage of sin? The mark of the devil? The gift of God? Or is it rather a name slapped on thought, feeling, or behavior that defies a society’s definition of “normal?” This course seeks to answer these questions by exploring the range of beliefs American society developed from the eighteenth century to the present to identify and define mental disorder as well as the methods Americans have employed to treat or contain it. In collaboration with NH Humanities and the NH Historical Society, our specific research focus will be the New Hampshire State Hospital and its place within the larger history of mental health and mental healthcare in the U.S. Using archival documents, state reports, medical textbooks and treatises, family papers, newspapers and other mass media coverage, we will produce a multi-layered history of this important institution. Come join us in creating a usable history of mental health and mental healthcare for New Hampshire while exploring how that history can help us chart a better path forward. 

(Thanks to the students of HIST 500.02 for their help with this poster!)

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to gain an in-depth knowledge of aspects of Late Antiquity from c. 300-c.800 AD across the Mediterranean World and Europe, and to gain practice in writing book reviews, in discussing books, and finally in writing historiographical essays. For the first, and longer part of the course, each student will read a monograph of his or her choice, write a book review, and share this book review with the class. For each class session during the first, and longer, part of the semester students will read the reviews of their fellow students, and class discussion will focus on all of the book reviews completed for that week. Each student will give a five-minute presentation of his or her review during each class period, and the other students will come with prepared questions about the books of each of the other students in the class. During the second, and shorter, part of the semester students will work on writing a historiographical essay, the topic of which they have chosen in consultation with Professor Bachrach. We will not have regular class meetings during the second part of the semester. Instead, Professor Bachrach will meet individually with students to discuss the historiographical essays, and to address any concerns or problems that have arisen.