Syllabus and Schedule of Activities | American Antiquarian Society

2015 Summer Seminar in Historic American Visual Culture

2:00	Meet at Antiquarian Hall (AH), 185 Salisbury Street
2:00-2:30	Welcome and Introductions Nan Wolverton, Director, CHAViC, AAS
2:30-3:30	Overview of the seminar and selection of visual culture object project Seminar Leader: Nancy Siegel, Professor of Art History, Towson University Readings: Case Study: Teaching Culinary Culture with Artifacts and Ephemera docx file Artifacts/Objects/Ephemera to consider Powerpoint file
3:30-4:00	Tour of the library
4:00-5:30	The Technology and Techniques of Printmaking in America (AH) Lauren Hewes, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts, AAS
5:00-8:00	Reception followed by Dinner at the Goddard Daniels House (GDH)
8:00	Optional evening event at The Cottage—Historic Cocktails, Hard Cider, and Beer (Montvale Cottage)

Readings:

T.H. Breen, “‘Baubles of Britain:’ The American and Consumer Revolutions of the Eighteenth Century,” Past and Present, 119 (May 1988): 73-104.
Lorena S. Walsh, “Consumer Behavior, Diet, and the Standard of Living in Late Colonial and Early Antebellum American, 1770-1840,” in American Economic Growth and Standards of Living before the Civil War, eds. Robert Gallman and John J Wallis (University of Chicago Press, 1992), 217-264.

9:00-10:30	Introduction to AAS Online Resources and the Reading Room; Meet the Curators (AH—half of group to Orientation Room, half of group to Council Room)
10:30	Coffee Break
11:00-12:00	Morning lecture: Political Appetites (GDH) Nancy Siegel Political Recipes Election Cake Independence Cake Democratic Tea Cakes Recipes for President cake, Washington fritters, Franklin buns, Madison cake, Lafayette gingerbread, and Jackson jumbles Presidential gifts The 1,235 pound mammoth cheddar cheese presented to Thomas Jefferson—its production, delivery, and political meaning traced through historic newspapers William Henry Harrison’s 800 pound inaugural cake Women as culinary activists
12:00-1:00	Lunch
1:15-3:00	Workshop—Political Recipes: working with Cookbooks, Diaries, Menus, Digital Resources (Council Room)
3:00-5:00	Research on your own in the Library or individual consultations with Nancy Siegel or AAS staff
6:00	Optional evening event: Artisanal cheese production (Montvale Cottage)

Readings:

Nancy Siegel, “Cooking Up American Politics,” Gastronomica (Summer 2008): 53-61.
Jeffrey Pasley, “The Cheese and the Words: Popular Political Culture and Participatory Democracy in the Early American Republic,” in Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic, eds. Jeffrey Pasley, Andrew Robertson, and David Waldstreicher (UNC Press, 2004).

9:00	Morning review: topics of the day; reading discussion (GDH)
9:30-10:30	Morning Lecture: Hunger before “food deserts”: Non-importation movements/politically charged ingredients (GDH) Nancy Siegel Boston Tea party Stamp Act Liberty Tea, herbal recipes Bottle of Tea from the Boston Tea Party Political engravings
10:30	Coffee Break [Liberty Tea demonstration]
11:00-12:00	Workshop—Political Prints (Council Room)Political prints at AAS- the visual language of culinary discourse and American politics. Examples include: Van Buren’s “Kitchen” cabinet, for example Civil War political barbecue engravings
12:00-1:00	Lunch
1:00	Leave for Old Sturbridge Village
1:45	Arrive OSV; tour Bixby and Towne Houses and historic gardens
3:30-7:00	Hands-on 19th-century meal at OSV

Readings:

Laura Dean, “A Question of Cuisine: How Food Was Americanized, 1796-1832,” Perspectives (17-28).
Rodris Roth, “Tea Drinking in 18-th Century America: Its Etiquette and Equipage,” US National Museum Bulletin Smithsonian Institution 255 (1961): 61-91.
Erin Michaela Sweeney, “The Patriotic Ladies of Edenton, North Carolina: The Layers of Gray in a Black-and-White Print,” Imprint 23, no. 2 (1998): 20-24.

9:00- 10:30	Eat Your Veggies: Native Horticulture and American Still Painting (GDH) Nancy Siegel
10:30	Coffee Break
11:00-12:00	Lecture/Workshop: Race, Advertising, and Consumerism in the 19th Century (Council Room) Guest faculty: Tanya Sheehan, Associate Professor, Art Department, Colby College Trade cards, postcards, stereographs and advertising Stereotyping foods: watermelon trade cards, food labels
12:00-1:00	Lunch (GDH)
1:00-2:00	Working with Your Hands: American Garden Design (Council Room) Nancy Siegel and Nan Wolverton Horticulture manuals Andrew Jackson Downing and garden design Botany, horticulture, and American Still-life prints Working with still lifes, Lithographs by Currier & Ives and Louis Prang Franklin, Bartram, and Smith National fruits- images and discussion of apples and oranges
2:00-3:00	Discussion and Viewing of the Staffordshire collection: (Council Room) Nancy Siegel and Nan Wolverton The role of the decorative arts and the dissemination of popular imagery
3:00-8:00	Research in Library or visit Worcester Art Museum (Interpreting Prosperity: Paul Revere silver and still life paintings, until 5:00) or individual consultations

Readings:

Lori E. Rotskoff, “Decorating the Dining-Room: Still-Life Chromolithographs and Domestic Ideology in Nineteenth-Century America,” Journal of American Studies 31 (1997).
Tanya Sheehan, “Looking Pleasant, Feeling White: The Social Politics of the Photographic Smile,” in Feeling Photography, Elspeth H. Brown and Thy Phu, editors (Duke University Press, 2014): 127-175.
Kyla Wazana Tompkins, "Introduction: Eating Bodies in the Nineteenth Century," in Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the Nineteenth Century (New York: New York University Press, 2012), 1-13.

9:00	Morning review: topics of the day; reading discussion (Council Room)
9:30-10:30	Morning lecture and workshop: From Rickets to Riches—Teaching healthy eating and American diet reform (Council Room) Nancy Siegel Health reform and food production Nutrition, nationalism, and public health Markets- availability of produce/foodstuffs Sylvester Graham’s bread movement Domestic reform manuals and the home cook Production and use of ingredients such as saleratus, the language of recipe writing Women in and out of the kitchen trade cards, food labels inventions in the kitchen
10:45	Coffee Break
11:15	Group photo (GDH)
11:30	Fellowship opportunities at AAS (GDH) Paul Erickson
12:00-1:00	Lunch
1:15-3:00	Afternoon Workshop: The Morality of Food and Drink (Council Room) Nancy Siegel From Liberty Tea to Rum and Whiskey Sugar, Molasses and the slave trade Alcohol and temperance movements Moral drinks, clean water
3:30-5:00	Cooking demonstration—Hard Tack and Graham Crackers (Montvale Cottage) or individual consultation with AAS staff
5:30	Cookout on the Goddard-Daniels patio [Historic Cocktails: the Sazerac]

Readings:

Barbara Haber, They Dieted for Our Sins: America’s Food Reformers,” in From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals (NY: Free Press, 2002), 61-86.
Andrew F. Smith, “Tomato Pills Will Cure All Your Ills,” Pharmacy in History 33, no. 4 (1991): 169-177.

9:00	Morning review: topics of the day; reading discussion (Council Room)
10:00-10:30	Roundtable: Presenting Object Lessons (GDH) Seminar Participants
10:30	Coffee Break
11:00-12:00	Roundtable: Presenting Object Lessons (GDH) Seminar Participants
12:00-1:00	Lunch
1:00-2:00	Concluding remarks and discussion
2:00-5:00	Departure or research in library