GOALS

GRADES

There will be three quizzes based on the walking tours (12% each) and a course essay (14%). There will also be an essay format midterm (20%) and an essay format final (30%), both based primarily on the readings and lectures. You will receive extra credit for doing course essays on both topics.

POLICY ON INCOMPLETES AND MAKE-UPS

In a very large class, it is very hard to juggle make-up times and incompletes can drag on forever. Make-up exams and quizzes will be given Thursday December 7 at 7:30 A.M. at place to be announced. I will not give incomplete grades. If you need one for a legitimate reason, I will give you the grade earned and revise it when I receive the missing work.

REQUIRED READING (Prices from Amazon.com)

Ronald P. Formisano.

Boston Against Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s (University of north Carolina Press 1991)
ISBN: 0807842923 $17.95.

Lawrence W. Kennedy.

Planning the City upon a Hill: Boston Since 1630 (Univ. of Massachusetts Press; 1994)
ISBN: 0870239236; $15.16.

Esther Forbes.

Paul Revere and the World He Lived In (Reissue edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999);
ISBN: 0618001948; $12.80.

John Freely.

Blue Guide: Boston and Cambridge (W.W. Norton, 1994)
ISBN: 0393309886; $15.96.

SCHEDULE

WALKING TOURS

Students will take three walking tours, using the Blue Guide to Boston for supporting information. Let me add a word of caution: since this book is five years old, it may no longer be completely accurate about the hours that sites are open or their prices. You can get updated information at the National Park Service Office across the street from the Old State House or the Boston Visitor’s Information Center (on the Common on Tremont St., opposite West St.). The Big Dig may force some itinerary changes as well. Follow the route indicated, read historical markers, as well as the text. Don’t hesitate to check out the inside of buildings or wander down odd alleys. Its safe to assume that I’ll ask questions about Boston’s three most important architects, Charles Bulfinch, H.H. Richardson, and I.M. Pei, so watch for those names. Allow 3-4 hours for each tour.

1. Take walks 1 through 5 in the Blue Guide, essentially a tracking of the Freedom Trail. You need not do anything after Old North Church. Make sure that you look into the two burial grounds on the route. You should also go inside Old South, the Old State House, the King’s Chapel, Faneuil Hall, the Revere House, and Old North Church. Make sure that you look at the various ornamental statues en route. Quiz October 2.



2. Follow the path on Beacon St. from the front of the Shaw Monument to Brimmer St., to Mt. Vernon St., and to the various African-American history sites near the corner of Joy St. and Smith Court. Cover the entire Common (walks 9-11 in the Blue Guide, covers this in a somewhat different sequence). Pay special attention to sites on the Black Freedom Trail and the Women’s Freedom Trail (brochures at the Visitor’s Center). Visit the Museum of Afro-American History and the New State House. Make sure that you look at the monuments on the Common. Quiz October 11.



3. Take walks 11, 13 and 14 in the Blue Guide, but only do the Public Garden (not the Common), Commonwealth Ave., Boylston St., Copley Sq., and Huntington Ave. to Northeastern University. Be sure to look at the interior of Trinity Church, the top of the Hancock tower, and the interior of the older (on Copley Square) portion of the Boston Public Library (roughly walks 11, 13 and 14 in the Blue Guide). Make sure that you look at the statues in Copley Square, in the Public Garden, and on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Quiz October 23.

COURSE ESSAYS

1 -- MUSEUM REVIEW

Write a three to five page critical review of the museum. Briefly review what it displays, then criticize its presentation (Is the history and context clearly explained? Are objects clearly captioned and dated? Are guides [written and/or persons] helpful?) This essay should run 3-5 double spaced pages (size 12 font please, preferably New York). Deadline December 4---penalties if late.

2 -- GUIDEBOOK COMPARISON

Compare it to the Blue Guide. Which sites seemed more important a century ago? Less? Why? In what other ways was the tourist experience different?