In cooperation with the Department of Anthropology, the History Department
offers a master's degree program with an emphasis in historical archaeology.
It is a relatively small, highly selective program, with no more than
eight students enrolled at one time in various stages of degree completion.
This interdisciplinary option focuses on the history and archaeology
of European settlement of America as well as the mutual effects of contact
with indigenous peoples, an area in which the two departments share
a common interest.
The Historical Archaeology Option is normally a two year program,
designed to prepare the student for a variety of careers in historical
archaeology
in areas such as public archaeology, resource management, museology,
and academia. History is the degree-granting department,
although admission to the option requires the consent of both the
history
and anthropology departments.
Degree program details:
Please note! At present, the MA in Historical
Archaeology Option is not accepting applications. The current Historical
Archaeologist is preparing for retirement in the Spring of 2008 and
the Department of Anthropology is considering the creation of its own
graduate program. Please check back periodically to see if a replacement
has been
named
and the program
re-instituted.
Historical archaeology, as we use
it in the Americas, is the study the spread of European culture to the Americas
and its effects on indigenous peoples, particularly during colonial and early
American periods. While the perspective is one of material culture--archaeological
sites and artifacts--it is the documentary record that sets historical archaeology
apart from prehistoric archaeology.
Historic and Prehistoric Archaeology
are administered separately at the University of Maine, even though
all
the archaeologists are in the same department (Anthropology) and share
some of the same facilities. Prehistorians get their training through
the Institute
for Climate Change (formerly the Institute for Quaternary and Climate
Studies), an interdepartmental organization. Historical Archaeologists
are trained in the History Department's Historical Archaeology
Master's Option described here.
Between the History and Anthropology
departments and cooperating institutions, the number of potential faculty
members involved in the Historical Archaeology Option is large. Here we
consider some of the faculty who have been on past historical archaeology
thesis committees, or who are especially likely candidates for future committees:
Anthropology
Dr. Alaric
Faulkner is the sole full-time historical archaeologist on
faculty, and co-chairs virtually every committee. He teaches
all of the required
courses in Historical archaeology, and many these have resulted from
fieldwork he has directed. Students in this program will usually
participate in summer field programs under Dr. Faulkner's supervision,
especially if they seek certification from the Maine Historic
Preservation Commission to conduct fieldwork in the State of Maine.
Dr. Daniel Sandweiss, whose primary obligations
are to the Climate Change Institute, is an archaeologist who shares an interest
with Faulkner in El Niño climatic events which have wreaked havoc
on historic sites in the desert coast of northern Peru, and is shepherding
research in that area.
Dr. Kristin Sobolik also has primary obligations
to the Climate Change Institute, but offers coursework in Faunal Identification,
Ant 476, from which historical archaeologists can benefit equally as
prehistorians.
Dr. David Sanger is a specialist in prehistoric
archaeology, a subject of which no historical archaeologist should be
ignorant. As his geographic area of specialty is the northeast, many
past historical archaeology students have benefited both from coursework
and fieldwork with Dr. Sanger.
History
Dr.
Richard Judd is the
History Graduate Student Coordinator, History's contact for admission
to this program. Dr. Judd is also co-editor of the Maine Historical Society Quarterly,
and has participated in many previous thesis committees.
Dr. Liam
Riordan is a specialist in Colonial America as well as Latin
American studies. Liam has proved especially helpful to many of our
graduate
students, having served on various MA thesis committees.
Dr. Martha
McNamara is a specialist in material culture, particularly
vernacular architecture, a topic with which historical archaeology students deal on a regular basis.
She is also co-editor of the Maine Historical Society Quarterly,
and has participated in previous thesis committees.
Dr. Howard Segal is a specialist in the history of technology, and would
be helpful in advising those students interested in industrial archaeology.
Dr. William
TeBrake is a specialist in medieval history, important here because
the first Europeans setters in North America brought with them and essentially
medieval culture. More to the point, Dr. TeBrake is very well read in
Anthropology, and a true interdisciplinarian.
Dr.
James Moreira is a folklorist and Director of the Maine
Folklife Center. The Center houses the Northeast Archives of Folklore
and Oral History, certainly the most valuable resource of its kind in
the northeast. Many of the collections were gathered under the direction
of pioneer Maine folklorist Prof. Edward ("Sandy") Ives [emeritus],
and include tape recordings and photographs germane to the study of many
19th century sites in Maine. These resources have proven especially valuable
in study of various aspects of the logging industry, but many other topics
are well covered as well.
Dr.
Stephen Hornsby is an historical geographer whose field work has been
largely in Nova Scotia. Equally valuable is his position as director of
the Canadian-American Center
on campus. Cross border topics are common in the historical archaeology
program, and the Center has been supportive both intellectually and financially.
In 1998 Stephen spearheaded an historical archaeological survey of Acadia
National Park for the National Park service, a project that involved graduate
students in history and the Historical Archaeology Option.
The University of Maine has
remarkable number of persons and resources that are pertinent to historical
archaeology. Be sure to consider these resources in selecting coursework,
choosing a thesis topic, or assembling your graduate committee.
Finally, Special
Collections in Fogler Library maintains a number of unique manuscripts
and other original documents and records germane to Maine Historical
Archaeology
and available nowhere else.
The Historical Archaeology Laboratory
on the second floor of Stevens Hall offers workspace and access to major
study collections from the northeast. These collections include some of
the most important English and French sites of the 17th and 18th centuries
in Maine. Faunal collections are accessibly in the laboratory next door.
The Prehistoric Laboratory in the basement, managed by Steven Bicknell,
offers help in photography and other specialized services. A metals conservation
laboratory is also maintained in the basement.
Nearly every year there are
several field opportunities available in Historical Archaeology in Maine.
Although they seldom gel until the last moment, it is wise to apply early,
as crew positions fill up rapidly. Contact Alaric Faulkner directly for
more information.
The Historical Archaeology
Option normally requires original research involving a field archaeology
component and culminating in a thesis, as there is no non-thesis choice
for the Historical Archaeology Option. Potential thesis topics are widely
varied. Faulkner's own work centers on 17th-century Acadian sites; one
example is Saint-Castin's Habitation in Castine, Maine, a French trading
post situated within an Etchemin village dating to the last quarter of
the 1600s. Several graduate students have opted to do related research,
including one who just completed a thesis on the economic ties between
Castine and the Merchants of Massachusetts Bay. But this is by no means
a requirement. One graduate student under my direction completed a thesis
on the Jonathan Lowder trading post in Veazie, Maine, a Revolutionary
War site established by the Americans to serve the Penobscots. Another
studied the use of genre paintings as tools for interpreting 17th-century
artifacts. Still another completed a site survey of the 1817 road to Canada
through Maine's rugged the northwest wilderness.
Students must then pass an oral
examination on the completed thesis. In many cases, thesis topics are
outgrowths of archaeological research conducted in Maine, which currently
focuses on 17th century English and Acadian sites. Other topics, however,
can be considered. Usually the student's graduate committee will be co-chaired
by a member of the History department and by an anthropologist trained
in Historical Archaeology.
A minimum of 30 semester credits
are required for the Master of Arts degree at the University of Maine,
but this program usually requires 31 as can be seen below. This course
work will include at least 12 hours of History and 13 hours of Anthropology
and 6 hours of graduate thesis credit. However, students with insufficient
preparation in either History or Anthropology at the time of admission
may be required to take additional courses without graduate credit.
The minimum course requirements
are listed below.
History Requirements
HTY 647 Seminar in Methodology and Historiography Cr. 3
Nine hours of additional courses of which six must
be on the graduate level. Cr. 9
______
Cr. 12
Anthropology Requirements
ANT 474 Artifacts of Colonial America Cr 4
ANT 573 Advanced Methods in Historic Archaeology Cr. 3
ANT 673 Adv. Archaeol. of American Civilization Cr. 3
Three additional hours of 300 to 500 level courses
in Social/Cultural Anthropology and archaeology
depending on background and undergraduate training. Cr. 3
______
Cr. 13
Additional Graduate School Requirements
Thesis credits: HTY 699 Graduate Thesis in History Cr. 6
______
total credits Cr. 31
It is expected that students may
have already taken some equivalent coursework before entering the program;
however the 30 hour credit minimum still holds. In filling out their programs,
students are encouraged to take advantages of many course offerings which
are pertinent to historical archaeology. Although there are many others,
possible choices include HTY 699 Graduate Thesis in History, HTY 597 Field
Work in Historical Institutions, HTY ANT 425 Oral History and Folklore:
Fieldwork, ANT 473 Fundamentals of Historical Archaeology, GEO 401
Historical Geography of North America, and HTY 499 Material Culture. Students
have also benefited from coursework in our state-of-the-art Surveying
Engineering Department, both for surveying and GIS studies.
Although this covers the requirements
for the Historical Archaeology MA Option MA, you may wish to compare them
to the general requirements
for the History MA.
This program outlined below is provided
merely to suggest the rate of progress which is expected in the option.
Certain seminars are offered only on alternate years, and the sequence
will therefore depend on the year and semester in which a student enters
the program. Also, depending on a student's background, the actual course
of study may vary considerably from this example, emphasizing one or the
other of the two disciplines, or focusing on a particular area of interest.
Fall of Year 1
ANT 474 Artifacts of Colonial America HTY
601 Seminar in American Colonial History
History or Anthropology elective
Spring
ANT
673 Advanced Archaeology of American Civilization ANT 473 Principles of Historical Archaeology HTY
609 Seminar in New England, Quebec and Atlantic Provinces History
or Anthropology elective
Summer
ANT
477 Field Work in Archaeology
or HTY
597
Field Work in Historical Institutions
or HTY
699
Graduate Thesis in History
Year 2
HTY
647 Seminar in Methodology and Historiography ANT
573 Advanced Methods in Historical Archaeology HTY
699
Graduate Thesis in History
additional electives
Prof. Richard
Judd (Graduate Program Coordinator for the History Department)
e-mail:
For further information or to request
an application for admission, contact either Professor Faulkner or Prof.
Judd. They will contact you, and forward
your request to the Graduate School. The Graduate School will furnish
you with a graduate catalogue,
and information regarding tuition cost information, room and board, financial
aid, etc.
Alternatively, you may wish to write
to:
Prof. Alaric Faulkner
Dept. of Anthropology
University of Maine
South Stevens 5773
Orono, ME 04469-5773
For further information contact either:
Prof. Alaric Faulkner (Anthropology) or
Prof. Richard Judd (History)
