Primary Places I & II

The Library of Congress, the American Studies Association Conference 2005, and the ASA Material Culture Caucus and Early American Matters Caucus are pleased to offer two workshops designed in conjunction with this year's conference theme, "Groundwork: Space and Place in American Cultures."

Location: Library of Congress
Date: Friday, November 4, 2005

Primary Places I: Material Culture Resources at the Library of Congress
Friday, November 4, 10:00 am - 11:45 am
Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress
(Sponsored by the Material Culture Caucus)

Limited to 20 participants

In this hands-on workshop, participants meet with Library of Congress curators and specialists to examine rare and original primary materials--including artifacts, manuscripts, maps, books, prints, and photographs--pertinent to the study of space, place, and material culture. We welcome and encourage questions and conversation among participants and Library staff.

Our session theme will be "Material Life Inside and Outside the House." A secondary concern will be the presence of "collections" in libraries as well as museums: looking at, for example, how three-dimensional artifacts make their way into Library of Congress collections.

Items to be examined include: nineteenth-century street scenes, trade catalogs and advertising, household manuals, household inventories, original drawings for interior design, wallpaper samples, county atlases, globes and related three-dimensional cartographic items, artists' books, and more.

Facilitator:: Susan Garfinkel
Presenters:: Janice E. Ruth, Manuscript Division; Rosemary Fry Plakas, Rare Book and Special Collections Division; Ed Redmond, Geography and Map Division; Sara W. Duke and C. Ford Peatross, Prints and Photographs Division

Primary Places II: Early American Resources at the Library of Congress

Friday, November 4, 1:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress
(Sponsored by the Early American Matters Caucus)

Limited to 20 participants

In this hands-on workshop, participants meet with Library of Congress curators and specialists to examine rare and original primary materials--including manuscripts, maps, books, prints, and photographs--pertinent to the study of space and place in early America. We welcome and encourage questions and conversation among participants and Library staff.

Our session theme will be "Exploration, Settlement, and Travel in Early America."

Items to be examined include: rare maps and manuscripts from Jamestown through Lewis and Clark, original travel narratives, western Americana, watercolor sketches, street scenes and town views, and more.

Facilitator:: Jurretta Jordan Heckscher
Presenters:: Gerard W. Gawalt, Manuscript Division; Rosemary Fry Plakas, Rare Book and Special Collections Division; Sara W. Duke, Prints and Photographs Division; Ed Redmond, Geography and Map Division

To register, or for further information:

PLEASE NOTE: As of November 1 we are maintaining a short waiting list for each workshop. Please still write in if you're interested and we'll do our best to include you.

Registration is free and easy! Just send an email message to asa05@loc.gov telling us your

name
email address
institution
desired workshop
caucus membership (or would you like to join?)
any special areas of research interest.

Registration is limited to 20 participants per workshop. Pre-registation is required to attend. We will maintain a waiting list.

Further details on location, transportation, security on Capitol Hill, and other information will be provided to registered participants.

A complete bibliography of featured items along with further information on doing research at the Library of Congress will be provided at the workshops.

Participants will be asked to confirm their attendance toward the end of October.