Creating a National Memory, 1790-1840

3 units

In this course, we will analyze differences between history as the best evidence suggests it occurred and culturally constructed version of the past. We will explore the forgotten, sometimes bizzare (in retrospect, often humorous) bodily turn in American memory culture from 1790 through 1840, when patriotic Americans collected historical artifacts, including bodily relics, of their country's dying Revolutionary war heroes. Topics include: African-American Revolutionary War veteran's memories; the popular science of memory in the early republic; influential theologies of memory; the pedagogy of memory; feminist linkage of politics to memory; and traveling freak shows. Instructor will email registered students with instructions. Students will engage recent scholarship along with numerous primary sources.