1. SCOTT CASPER NORTHERN NEVADA TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY PROJECT SEPTEMBER 2012 What Is “Cultural History”?

2. One step back: What is “culture”? Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Romney’s Side Course of Culture”  What definition(s) of “culture” do we see here? (What is Romney’s, according to Coates? What is Coates’s?)

3. One step back: What is “culture”? Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Romney’s Side Course of Culture”  What definition(s) of “culture” do we see here? (What is Romney’s, according to Coates? What is Coates’s?)  What belongs to the realm Coates calls “culture”?

4. One step back: What is “culture”? Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Romney’s Side Course of Culture”  What definition(s) of “culture” do we see here? (What is Romney’s, according to Coates? What is Coates’s?)  What belongs to the realm Coates calls “culture”?  What does it mean to describe “culture” vs. “cultures” (singular vs. plural)?

5. One step back: What is “culture”? Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Romney’s Side Course of Culture”  What definition(s) of “culture” do we see here? (What is Romney’s, according to Coates? What is Coates’s?)  What belongs to the realm Coates calls “culture”?  What does it mean to describe “culture” vs. “cultures” (singular vs. plural)?  What shapes “culture(s)”? Or, what is the relationship between “culture” and other realms of human history?

6. One step back: What is “culture”? Rubin/Casper, Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History  p. 1: definition of “culture”—unpack that

7. One step back: What is “culture”? Rubin/Casper, Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History  p. 1: definition of “culture”—unpack that  key terms in the essay: “practices” (p. 4); “representations” (p. 5); “institutions” (p. 11)

8. One step back: What is “culture”? Rubin/Casper, Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History  p. 1: definition of “culture”—unpack that  key terms in the essay: “practices” (p. 4); “representations” (p. 5); “institutions” (p. 11) From “culture” to “cultural history”

9. Now, to “cultural history” What is “cultural history”? What do “cultural historians” study? What questions do “cultural historians” ask?  relation between “culture” and “society,” “politics,” “economics,” etc.  relation between different “cultures” within a particular context (a particular place, time, etc.)  change over time in “culture(s)”

10. Now, to “cultural history” What is “cultural history”? What do “cultural historians” study? What questions do “cultural historians” ask?  relation between “culture” and “society,” “politics,” “economics,” etc.  relation between different “cultures” within a particular context (a particular place, time, etc.)  change over time in “culture(s)” What distinguishes “cultural history” from “social history,” “political history,” or “intellectual history”?

11. Topical Outline from Oxford Encyclopedia Understanding the headings

12. Topical Outline from Oxford Encyclopedia Understanding the headings Imagining what belongs under each—and what COULD go under each

13. Topical Outline from Oxford Encyclopedia Understanding the headings Imagining what belongs under each—and what COULD go under each Exploring the overlaps: what “belongs” where? Why?

14. Now, let’s DO some “cultural history” Analyze the cultural text:  Text: What’s going on here? (Look as closely as possible.)  Context(s): What is the history of the production, dissemination, and reception of this text?  What “cultural work” is it doing? Does this text have a life beyond its original cultural moment?

16. Text: What’s going on here? (Look as closely as possible.)

17. Context(s): What is the history of the production, dissemination, and reception of this text?

18. What “cultural work” is it doing?

19. Does this text have a life beyond its original cultural moment?

20. Why study cultural history? Content: What does cultural history teach—or illuminate—about the past that other “types” of history don’t?

21. Why study cultural history? Content: What does cultural history teach—or illuminate—about the past that other “types” of history don’t? Pedagogy: What can cultural history offer to you and your students? How might it enhance not just WHAT they learn but also HOW they learn?