Special Topics in Environmental Policy and Culture (390-0-22)

Topic

Cultural Res Mgmt and Evn Pol

Instructors

Eli Suzukovich III
1810 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60208-1310

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 224: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Cultural Resource Management and Environmental Policy

Why is it important that we save significant cultural places, landscapes, and structures, and intangible culture? This will be the focal question of this class. Through the next 10 weeks we will explore this question and gain a better understanding of what makes something culturally significant and the laws and policies that govern cultural resources. Cultural Resources Management (CRM) is concerned with traditional and historic culture including archaeology; architecture; language; cultural landscapes; sacred sites; ecosystems; mortuary practices; ethno-biology; oral and intangible culture and history; intellectual property rights; enforcement and monitoring of preservation laws and policies; and can also encompasses contemporary culture. This Course will follow the development of the preservation movement and policy in the United States, with comparisons to other countries including Britain and Peru. We will examine the role of the industrial revolution in the creation of national preservation policies and ideas of national identities, and how the later influenced policies and enforcements. We will examine congressional acts ranging from the 1906 Antiquities Act, 1916 National Parks Act, to the 1978 Archeological Resource Protection Act, 1990 Native American Graves and Protection and Repatriation Act, Traditional Cultural Properties and Landscapes, and National Heritage Corridors. We will discuss the ethics and moral decision making that goes into these laws and the issues that arise with legislation and enforcement of cultural preservation.