This course introduces students to the study of maritime heritage resources and their management via the historical and archaeological resources of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the fields of cultural resource management, maritime archaeology, and coastal history. Emphasized in this course is the research potential of maritime heritage sites, the processes affecting their conservation within the environment, and how experts from many fields play critical roles in making decisions regarding their use and preservation. The course includes hands-on experience in local research repositories and at nearby heritage sites which will contribute to a student research paper and presentation.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
• The goal of this course is to develop an understanding of the approaches and tools used by researchers studying maritime cultural resources. During this class students will obtain experience:
o Working and collaborating in groups.
o Conducting library-based research.
o Reading, collating and organizing historical records.
o Describing relationships between groups interacting with heritage resources.
o Discussing the meaning and/or significance of cultural resources and understanding the complexities of their use and appreciation.
COURSE CONTENT
What is Maritime Heritage?
• Stakeholders and definitions.
• Background to the maritime heritage of the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
• Maritime heritage resources (site types) of the Outer Banks.
• Introduction to online primary sources for maritime heritage research.
• A tour of heritage resources: Nags Head to Chicamocomico.
Project proposal – choosing a theme and direction of study.
Maritime Cultural Resources: The forces at work
• Site formation processes of the archaeological record.
• Site formation processes of the maritime archaeological record.
• Archaeology: The low-tech tools for research.
• Archaeology: The high-tech tools for research.
• What does a shipwreck looks like? Examination of a shipwreck (field visit – exposed or shallow water site – weather dependent).
Data collection – Using the Internet and Outer Banks History Center for research
Managing cultural resources
• “Maritime boundaries”: Who manages (and owns) the past?
• “From the deep”: A history of the removal and display of wreck sites.
• “If it ain’t broke, don’t move it”: Examples of insitu conservation projects.
• Museum visit: The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Research paper – planning the narrative.
Contested heritage: Conundrums of heritage management.
• Notable studies in heritage management.
• Education as the “Long Arm of the Law.”
• Maritime heritage trails and other research products.
• How would you manage?: Discussing management conundrums.