Dear Mason colleagues –
I am sharing a flyer for an experiential course my colleague Dr. Susan Slocum and I have designed and are teaching this summer at Mason titled “Heritage and Tourism Post-Charlottesville” through our college’s
Academic Innovation Fund. We have structured this course for both undergraduate as well as graduate (Masters and Doctoral) students with two different syllabi and sections and will teach the course jointly on Wednesdays.
Our topic is investigating history and heritage narratives at tourism sites in Virginia to better understand how visitors and staff at these sites make sense of heritage narratives and practices of memory and
commemoration. Our hope is we can get some Masters/Doctoral students to take the course who can serve as mentors for the undergrad students when we engage in data collection at the different sites we are visiting in Richmond, Charlottesville, Fairfax, and
Manassas (travel arrangements by motor coach have already been secured). Course time will be spent exploring the issues of history and heritage, tourism, fieldwork and interviewing, and survey design and then working collaboratively with the data after our
site visits in the preparation of public-facing (and publishable) findings from this course. We welcome students from history and art history, folklore, cultural studies, conflict analysis and resolution, sociology, anthropology, and other allied fields who
have an interest in public history, applied research, and/or engaging with issues of narrative, history, heritage, memory, and identity. This may be ideal for students seeking a credit-bearing experience in an applied and/or research-based internship or practicum.
We are flexible with working with respective departments on campus to best arrange credit and also welcome students who may wish to audit or help us as research assistants. Thank you in advance for sharing the attached flyer with your students, advisees, and
colleagues.
Yours,
Mark Helmsing
Graduate School of Education
Mark E. Helmsing, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education
George Mason University
Secondary Education Program (SEED)
Advanced Studies in Teaching & Learning Program (ASTL)
Teaching & Teacher Education Program (TATE)
Center for International Education (CIE)
Web: https://cehd.gmu.edu/people/faculty/mhelmsin