SS 3230 The Archaeology of Industry Dr. Patrick E. Martin, Room 210 Academic Office Building Office Hours 11-12 daily or by appointment: pemartin@mtu.edu

SS 3230 The Archaeology of Industry

Dr. Patrick E. Martin, Room 210 Academic Office Building

Office Hours 11-12 daily or by appointment: pemartin@mtu.edu

The study of industrial societies has been approached from many points of view. There are scholars who identify themselves as historians of technology, and historians of industry. There are people who do industrial sociology and industrial psychology. Over the past 35 years or so, a group of researchers has developed who insist upon calling themselves Industrial Archaeologists! It is this peculiar group, their approach to scholarship, and the particular piece of subject matter that they have staked out that we will explore. In this class, we will examine some of the literature, discuss the rationales behind the work, review some case studies of IA research, visit some local industrial sites, and conduct some original research on our own. We will explore the evidence industrial archaeologists collect, the methods that they use, and the products that they generate. We’ll consider relationships with other academic disciplines, such as history and anthropology, and the practical consequences and applications of this field of study. While our primary focus will be on North America, we will also examine IA sites and practices in other parts of the world, where interesting and innovative work is being done to understand and preserve the physical remains of industrial heritage.

Reading assignments include a general text about the industrialization of North America (The Texture of Industry, by Robert Gordon and Patrick Malone, hereafter referred to as G&M); a case study of an ironmaking site in Tennessee (Industry and Technology in Antebellum Tennessee, by Council, Honerkamp and Will, hereafter CH&W), and selected material provided by the Professor or placed on the web at http://www.industrialarchaeology.net/iaweb/pmartin/SS3230.html (denoted by boldface type in the reading list below).

Classroom activities will include lectures, discussion sessions, guest speakers, films, and presentation of research reports by both the professor and the students in the class. In addition, we will schedule some field trips to visit sites in the region. These will typically take place on a Saturday, with a class period off to compensate for the time.

Each student will be required to identify an individual research topic through consultation with the professor. These projects will typically focus on some aspect of local industry (mines, mills, railroads, machines, etc.) that is both manageable and accessible, given local research and library materials. Both the topic and the direction of the project will be discussed in individual meetings between student and professor. Each student will make a brief presentation describing the results and/or progress of their research, presentations that will be evaluated by the professor and the student's classmates. A written report must be submitted by the beginning of Finals Week, December 17.

Course grades will be based upon two or three short papers, a midterm exam, the research presentations, and the written research report.

CLASSROOM TOPICS, READINGS

Week 1 (Sept 4 & 6)

Introduction: What is IA; where did it come from? CH&W, Intro and Chapter 1

G&M, Intro and Chapter 1

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Week 2 (Sept 11 & 13)

State of the Art in IA: what is the nature of IA evidence and scholarship?

G&M, Chapter 2

Archives Visit Thursday September 13, during class time. We will meet in the University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, Ground Floor of Van Pelt Library at 9:35. Please sign the guest book and deposit hats, coats, and backpacks just inside the entry doors. Erik Nordberg, University Archivist will be your host for this introduction to the Archives, a major source on regional industrial heritage, and probably the primary source for your research.

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Week 3 (Sept 18 & 20)

State of the Art in IA:Who DOES IA? Where is it published? What gets done?

HABS/HAER, SHOT, SIA, SHA, AIA, etc

“Working Places”

“Recording America”

Gross, Laurence

1981 “The Importance of Research Outside the Library: Watkins Mill, A Case Study”, IA, Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology; , 7(1):15-26.

http://www.sia-web.org/

http://www.cr.nps.gov/habshaer/

http://shot.press.jhu.edu/

www.sha.org/

http://www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk/

IA and T&C Comparison Paper

Make a visit to your local University Library and spend some time looking over the primary professional journals published in North America that deal regularly with Industrial Archaeology. (IA , The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology, and Technology & Culture, also known as T&C) Find one article in each journal (not a book review), preferably two that have some theme, topic or idea in common, and write a short summary of each. Then, compare and contrast their approaches, methods, goals and/or results. How are they similar/different? Are they equally “ archaeological” in outlook? Are they equally convincing? Are they written for the same audiences?

I’m looking for a 2-4 page summary and comparison here, with evidence of thoughtful contemplation. This paper is due Tuesday September 25, at class time.

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Week 4 (Sept 25 & 27)

Bridges and Mills

Films “Brooklyn Bridge” and “Mill Times”

G&M Chapter 3

IA/T&C comparison paper due Thursday.

Bridge Paper

Bridges are a particular focus of IA in North America for several reasons, not the least of which is that there are a wide variety of surviving types. The SIA has published a considerable volume of material on bridges over the years; two full issues of the journal (Volume 15, Number 2, 1989, and Volume 19, Number 2, 1993), a special Occasional Publication, Number 4, in 1983, and numerous articles (Chamberlin, 1983; Darnell, 1979, 1988,1989, 1998; Day 1998; DeLony 1989, 1990, 1993; Fraser 1995;Hadlow 1990; Kemp 1989, 1993; Kemp and Anderson 1987; Lankton 1978; Miller 1976; Passfield 1976, 1997; Quivik 1984; Robb 1993; Simmons 1989, 1993.)

I’d like you to choose one bridge article to read and review. Write me 2-5 pages for Thursday 10/4. Discuss the author’s major points and focus on the themes that make the particular bridge, or type of bridge, or manufacturer remarkable.

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Week 5 (Oct 2 & 4) Mills and Maps DATA/EVIDENCE

Mill Creek Case Study

G&M Chapter 4

Lankton, Larry

1978 “Three Dimensions Reduced to Two: Using Measured Drawings as a Means to Record IA Sites”,Industrial Archeology and the Human Sciences, Dianne Newell (ed), Society for Industrial Archeology

Bridge papers due Thursday

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Week 6 (Oct 9 & 11)

Maps and Documents (continued) METHODS

C, H & W Chapters 2 & 3

Discussion of Research Papers

Vogel, Robert

1980 "Quadrangular Treasure: the Cartographic Route to Industrial Archeology", IA, Journal of the SIA, 6(1):25-54.

Wright, Helena

1983 "Insurance Mapping and Industrial Archeology", IA, Journal of the SIA, 9(1):1-18

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Week 7 (Oct 16 & 19)

IRON: Bloomery and Blast Furnace technology

Carp River Forge Case Study

C, H & W Chapters 4, 5 & 6

Landon, Martin, Sewell, White, Tumberg & Menard

2001 “…A Monument to Misguided Enterprise”: The Carp River Bloomery Iron Forge,

IA, Journal of the SIA, 27(2):5-22.

MIDTERM EXAM, THURSDAY OCT 19 IN CLASS

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Week 8 (Oct 23 & 25)

IRON (continued) COMMUNITY

Fayette Case Study

G&M Chapter 5

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Week 9 (Oct 30 & Nov )

More Iron Case Studies

Bay Furnace Case Study

West Point Foundry Case Study (Video and PP)

G&M Chapter 6

Landon, David and Timothy Tumberg

1996 Archeological Perspectives on the Diffusion of Technology: An Example from the Ohio Trap Rock Mine Site. IA, Journal of the SIA, 22(2):40-57.

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Week 10 (Nov 6 & 8)

Mining Case Studies:

Norwich and Quincy Mines

Kennecott Alaska

OHIO TRAP ROCK ARTICLE REVIEW DUE THURSDAY

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Week 11 (Nov 13 & 15)

International Case Studies:

Historic Mining in Australia and New Zealand

Industriekultur in the Ruhr

G&M Chapter 7