Special Collections
Bring Your Classes to Special Collections
Special Collections enthusiastically supports the academic mission of the University by hosting classes. There are a variety of ways faculty can incorporate Special Collections into their syllabi, from a presentation on the resources in the department to active learning experiences where students engage with the collections to learn analytical skills.
In order to help faculty decide how they might use Special Collections, below is a list of past classes and how they utilized the department. The collections support research in many diverse fields and have been used in the past by the following departments: American and New England Studies, Art, Classics, Criminology, Education, English, Entry Year Experience / Freshman Research Seminar, German, History, Humanities (LAC), Nursing and Women and Gender Studies.
For more information about bringing your class in to Special Collections, please contact Susie R. Bock, 207-780-4269, bocks@usm.maine.edu.
Resources
A tool we often use is The Material Analysis Form or The Material Analysis Form for Early Books. These forms give students a framework to analyze items in the collections.
View a selection of documents related to slavery from the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection.
To learn more about using primary sources, see this guide.
| ANE599/HTY399 | David Carey | Hispanic America |
| Fall 2009: Students were introduced to Special Collections and to our resources including Guatemala documents and Colonial Mexican books from the Albert A. Howard Collection. | ||
| ANE610 | Ardis Cameron | Creating New England II |
| Spring 2004: This class offered students an introduction to Special Collections - what is here and how to use it - and the use of primary materials in general, as well as a history of special collections, the collections at USM and beyond. | ||
| ANE650 | Nate Hamilton | African American Historical Archeaology |
| Spring 2012: Students viewed objects from the Talbot Collection, Lee Forest figurines, and a photograph and Flynn seal presses related to the KKK. Gerald Talbot spoke to the class about collecting in the area of African-American history. | ||
| ANE657 | Kent Ryden | Language and Print Culture in America |
| Fall 2012: The class examined chapbooks from the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection to learn about reading habits of early New England. | ||
| ANE658 | Donna Cassidy | Seeing Is Believing: Visual Culture in Twentieth-Century America |
| Fall 2004: In support of a lecture on Sexuality and Modernity students viewed works by George Daniell, an artist who documented the gay community in Maine. | ||
| ANE670 | Ardis Cameron | Museums and Public Culture |
| Spring 2006: The class reviewed materials for a project to create a virtual exhibition on Gay Life and Culture in Southern Maine based on the Sturgis Haskins Papers, Eugene Rochow Papers, Michael Rossetti Papers or South Portland Citizens for Justice Archives in the Sampson Center's LGBT Collection. | ||
| Donna Cassidy | Museums and Public Culture | |
| Fall 2012: A talk was presented on documenting communities. Spring 2011: Following an introduction to Special Collections, students were provided with twenty topics for exhibitions using materials from the collections. Several virtual exhibitions were later created. |
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| ANE675 | Kent Ryden | Workshop in Research and Writing |
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Fall 2011: Along with a presentation on Special Collections, resources available for the students' research were discussed. | |
| ART142 | Lin Lisberger | 3-D Design |
| Fall 2012: The students looked at pop-up books from the Anne D. Williams Family Movable Book Collection to study 3-D design. | ||
| ART241 | Rebecca Goodale | Design |
| Fall 2004: Inspired after spending a week examining children's books from the Rice Collection students created seven of their own books combining ideas from two books from the collection with innovative designs. A selection of their works was displayed in the exhibition "Twice Upon a Time" mounted in the Special Collections exhibition area. | ||
| ART341 | Rebecca Goodale | Visual Book II: Historical Influences on Contemporary Artists’ Books |
| Spring 2012: Students studied the construction of pop-up and moveable books. | ||
| ART399 | Rebecca Goodale | Visual Book: Historic Influences |
| Spring 2010: After examining pop-up books from Anne D. Williams Family Collection of Movable Books, students created their own books which were exhibited at Glickman in “Loosely Bound: Works of USM Student Book Artists.” | ||
| ART412 | Rebecca Goodale | Book Art |
| Fall 2006: Drawing on ideas from the Anne D. Williams Family Collection of Moveable Books students created and exhibited their own moveable books. | ||
| ART471-472 | Rose Marasco | Advanced Photography |
| back to top | Fall 2005: Students viewed a selection of prints from photography collections of Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, Farm Security Administration and Leo Brooks. | |
| CRM220 | Sandra Wachholz | Criminological Inquiry |
| back to top | Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2010: Students viewed an exhibition of items from Special Collections to practice content analysis. Spring 2005: Students conducted a content analysis of artifacts in the "Old Wine in New Wine Skins" exhibition. The exhibition showcased materials from the Sampson Center's African American Collection of Maine. | |
| EDU200 | Julie Canniff | Education in the US |
| Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010, Fall 2004: Students examined readers from the Textbook Collection (as well as the Howard Book History and General collections) ranging from The New England Primer (1844 edition) to Dick and Jane allowing them to follow changes in the history of education. | ||
| EDU336 | Joyce Martin | Children's Literature |
| Students explored the value of children's literature for research through the Edith C. Rice Collection of Children's Literature. | ||
| EDU502 | Susanne Macarthur | Secondary English Methods |
| Fall 2012, Fall 2011: Students became acquainted with resources in Special Collections and using our web site, including resources available on Explore Our Resources. | ||
| EDU504 | Michael Carter | Secondary Social Studies Methods |
| back to top | Fall 2012, Fall 2011: Students became acquainted with resources in Special Collections and using our web site, including resources available on Explore Our Resources. | |
| ENG100C | Kathleen Ashley | College Writing |
| Fall 2009, Fall 2008, Fall 2006: Students writing on the topic of African American history and culture viewed objects in the Sampson Center as part of their research to discuss racial stereotypes in their essays. The African American Collection of Maine contains household items such as salt and pepper shakers, a cookie jar, and ashtrays decorated with such images. | ||
| ENG150 | Erika Waters | Reading Other People's Mail |
| Spring 2006: Students read letters about the college life of Harriet Sweetser, a student at Gorham Normal School in the 1890s. Enthusiastic students went on to seek out more information about her life. | ||
| ENG367 | Lorrayne Carroll | Literature and Culture of the Early Republic |
| Spring 2006: Using the Material Analysis Form (bibliographic, physical and intellectual description) students examined books, pamphlets and other items including a letter, newspaper and broadside from the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection which documents American political history from the 18th-20th centuries. Students later wrote an essay using primary source materials from the Kazon Collection. | ||
| ENG379 | Lorayne Carroll | Early Women Writers |
| back to top | Spring 2013, Fall 2009, Fall 2006: Using the Material Analysis Form, students looked at books by early women writers, including textbooks, books written to do charitable deeds, fiction, travel, biography and history. | |
| ENG383 | Eve Raimon | Studies in African-American Literature and Culture |
| Spring 2013: Discussed The Memoirs of Elleanor Eldrige; used Material Analysis form for books related to early African American Literature and Culture; looked at materials from the Gerald E. Talbot Collection. | ||
| EYE106 | Adam-Max Tuchinsky | Race Matters |
| Fall 2007: Students viewed a display of Jim Crow-era objects from the African American Collection of Maine and chose an image or article from a magazine in Special Collections and one from another source to compare how race was depicted. This allowed students to come to their own conclusions in "problem-based" learning. | ||
| EYE114 | David Carey | Globalization, Sustainability and Society |
| Fall 2008: In order to see how Americans' views of the world changed before and during World War II, students compared books about foreign nations in the Edith C. Rice Collection of Children’s Literature. Titles from the Anne D. Williams Collection of Moveable Books were used to explore issues of sustainability. | ||
| EYE115 | Eve Raimon | What is Sex? |
| Fall 2012: Students examined items from the LGBT Collection which touch on the issue of what is gender / sex, as well as having an introduction to Special Collections and bibliographic instruction. | ||
| GER322 | Leonore Bronson | Composition and Conversation in German II |
| back to top | Spring 2013: Students received a general introduction to Special Collections and completed a Material Analysis form working with the Early Twentieth-Century German Print Collection. | |
| HON101 | William Harrison | Myth, Monsters and Metamorphoses |
| Fall 2012: The class examined children's books with stories of monsters looking for themes of transformations and heroes. | ||
| HON101/EYE119 | Jeannine Diddle Uzzi | Myth, Monsters and Metamorphoses |
| Fall 2011: Students used fairytales and folk tales from the Edith C. Rice Collection of Children’s Literature to reflect on the theme of metamorphoses in different cultures. Students also used the Material Analysis Form to study Ovid's texts in the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection. | ||
| EYE119 | Jeannine Diddle Uzzi | Metamorphoses |
| Fall 2009: Students used fairytales and folk tales from the Edith C. Rice Collection of Children’s Literature to reflect on the theme of metamorphoses in different cultures. Students also used the Material Analysis Form to study Ovid's texts in the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection. | ||
| EYE126 | Eve Raimon | What is Race? |
| back to top | Fall 2011: Students considered objects documenting segregation and prejudice from the African American Collection of Maine, primarily from the Gerald E. Talbot Collection. | |
| FRS197 | Tim Lynch | Information Power Unleashed |
| Spring 2012, Fall 2011: Students received an overview by viewing items in the collections. | ||
| GRE102 | Peter Aicher | Beginning Ancient Greek II |
| back to top | Spring 2012: Students looked at Greek and Latin texts from the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection. | |
| HTY122 | Libby Bischof | United States History 1800 to 1900 |
| Fall 2012, Spring 2012: Students analyzed items in the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection and filled out a primary source evaluation sheet. | ||
| HTY123 | Chris Beam | United States History since 1900 |
| Fall 2011: The class read correspondence from the Judaica Collection's Sumner T. Bernstein Papers and discussed how the letters reflected World War II and U.S. domestic life. | ||
| HTY141 | Leroy Rowe | African American History to 1865 |
| Fall 2012: Using documents from the Kazon Collection, students examined slavery and looked for inspiration for papers. | ||
| HTY142 | Leroy Rowe | African American History from 1865 |
| Spring 2013: Students learned about how to use Special Collections and about its resources, and looked at items of African American history from the post-civil war period. Students selected one item from the African American Collection of Maine to complete a Primary Source Analysis Sheet and use the source in their research papers. | ||
| HTY181 | David Carey | Latin America I |
| Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2007: Working in small groups, students examined books published in Colonial Mexico and South America from the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection, and then discussed who the intended audience was and why. | ||
| HTY200 | Libby Bischof | Reference, Research, and Report Writing |
| Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2009, Fall 2008: The presentation on the resources in Special Collections focused on the variety of items that can be used to learn about a society's past, including political buttons, photographs, posters and t-shirts. | ||
| Christine Holden | Reference, Research, and Report Writing | |
| Fall 2011: The class was presented with an overview of Special Collections, its webpages, and resources as well as other collections with possible resources for their research. Fall 2000: Students learned about the resources in Special Collections and how to access and use the collections. |
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| David Kuchta | Reference, Research, and Report Writing | |
| Spring 2011: The presentation on the resources in Special Collections focused on the variety of items that can be used to learn about a society's past, including political buttons, photographs, posters and t-shirts. | ||
| Diana Long | Reference, Research, and Report Writing | |
| Spring 2005, Spring 2002; Students learned about the resources in Special Collections and how to access and use the collections. | ||
| Katharine Lualdi | Reference, Research, and Report Writing | |
| Spring 2008, Fall 2007: After a presentaion on our resources and how to use Special Collections, students analyzed the corrspondence in the Sumner T. Bernstein Papers. | ||
| HTY374 | Libby Bischof | Photographing American History |
| Fall 2010: Students looked at photographs from the Farm Security Administration taken by photographers Walker Evans and Ben Shahn and discussed what they tell us about the Great Depression. | ||
| HTY394 | Libby Bischof | History of the Civil Rights Movement |
| Spring 2012: Students searched through items from the LGBT Collection and African American Collection of Maine documenting civil rights movements. Students chose an item to be included in an exhibition, "Reflecting on Civil Rights in Maine and Beyond", and wrote their thoughts on their selection to be included in a Reflection Book accompanying the display. | ||
| Leroy Rowe | History of the Civil Rights Movement | |
| Spring 2013: Students leaned about how to use Special Collections and about its resources, and look at items relating to the civil rights movement. Students selected one item from the African American Collection of Maine to complete a Primary Source Analysis Sheet and use the source in their research papers. | ||
| HTY394 |
David Carey |
The Maya: The Challenges of Forging Community and Identity |
| Fall 2011: Students examined documents from the Guatemala Collection and discussed their creation. | ||
| HTY394 | Polly Kaufman | Maine Women's Lives |
| Fall 2007: After a presentation on resources for women's history in Special Collections, students reviewed and discussed the exhibiton on Jean Byers Sampson. | ||
| HTY394 | Leroy Rowe | African Americans and American Justice |
| Fall 2012: Using documents from the Kazon Collection, students examined slavery and looked for inspiration for papers. | ||
| HTY400 | David Carey | Environmentalism in the Americas |
| back to top | Fall 2012: The class looked at documents from the Guatemala Collection to piece together the effects of the draining of a lake to control malaria. | |
| HUM328 (LAC) | Eve Raimon | Early African American Literature |
| Fall 2010: Students discussed a book in Special Collections, The Memoirs of Elleanor Eldridge. | ||
| NUR100 | Marcia Goldenberg | Introduction to Professional Nursing |
| Spring 2013: The class examined memoirs/biographies of pioneers in American nursing, using the Material Analysis Form. The books are the first installment of the John and Bonnie Fossett History of Nursing Collection. | ||
| Helen Peake-Godin | Introduction to Professional Nursing | |
| Fall 2012: The class examined memoirs/biographies of pioneers in American nursing, using the Material Analysis Form. The books are the first installment of the John and Bonnie Fossett History of Nursing Collection. | ||
| Judy Spross | Introduction to Professional Nursing | |
| back to top | Fall 2012: The class examined memoirs/biographies of pioneers in American nursing, using the Material Analysis Form. The books are the first installment of the John and Bonnie Fossett History of Nursing Collection. | |
| WST380 | Wendy Chapkis | Politics of Difference |
| Fall 2011, Fall 2010: After an introduction to Special Collections, students worked in small groups comparing the community and culture represented in periodicals and newspapers in the LGBT Collection with a class reading, Stone Butch Blues. After their discussion they wrote their findings to submit as a class assignment. | ||
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