PHI ALPHA THETA
The
PRIMARY SOURCE
The Newsletter for the Department of History at the University of Idaho A Biannual Publication
In This Issue •
Welcome Professor Matthew Fox-Amato
•
A Message from the Chair
•
UI’s Hidden Gems: Special Collections and Ar-chives
•
Uncovering Historical Fort Boise’s Past
•
“All Aboard” The Annual Railway and Locomotive Conference
•
New Publication from Professor Aiken
•
Curating History: Alumni Spotlight– Amanda Haught-Bielman
•
Graduate Spotlight: Brittany Harrington
•
Undergraduate Spotlight: Bailey Cavender
Issue No. 7– Fall 2016
Welcome Professor Fox-Amato!
The Department of History welcomes a new addition to our hall: Professor Matthew Fox-Amato. He comes to the Vandal family from a successful postdoctorate at Washington University. Professor Fox-Amato completed his PhD at the University of Southern California. He has just wrapped up his first semester as a Vandal teaching HIST 290: the Historian’s Craft and HIST 411: Colonial North America. Professor Fox-Amato enjoyed great success in 411 which had a broad cross-section of students from a variety of majors. Using his dynamic classroom style with multi-media resources, he was able to transmit his vision of the Atlantic World and how we, as historians, can more successfully engage with public history. (continued on page 2)
Professor Fox-Amato (continued) We talked to Professor Fox-Amato about his experiences: Could you tell us more about your research specialties?
What types of courses will you teach at Idaho? I’ll teach courses in colonial and nineteenth-century America – including the survey to 1877, colonial North America, nineteenth-century America, and 400-level classes – as well as the Historian’s Craft and the Senior Seminar. I aim to incorporate my own research specialties into various classes. For instance, this spring I’ll offer a senior seminar called “Visual Culture and American History.” Course readings will cover the period from the Revolution to the early twentieth century, and will include cutting-edge scholarship on subjects such as antislavery art, Civil War news images, western photography, and silent film. Alongside these readings, students will write research papers based upon visual sources. In this course and others, I want students to feel the excitement that comes with doing original research.
I identify as an American cultural historian, and am especially interested in the history of visual and material culture. Historians have traditionally used words – written sources – to understand the past. But over the past two decades, we’ve begun to recognize that we can add to and even revise our understanding of historical transformations and moments by examining images and objects (ranging from news pictures to popular films to political cartoons). I count myself as part of this broader intellectual shift in the profession. I’m interested, for instance, in photography as a force that not only reflects but also shapes culture, poli- How has your teaching experience been so far? tics, and society. Studying visual and material culture in this way expands our source base as it alI’ve had a terrific experience in the classroom so lows us to ask new questions about the past. far. I’ve been especially impressed by the range of students’ intellectual interests, and how excited What is your next publication? students have been to engage different historical methodologies. Right now, I’m completing a book that explores the relationship between photography and slavery in the United States from 1839 to 1865. My book in- Let us welcome Professor Fox-Amato to our devestigates how photography, a new visual technol- partment! ogy in the mid-nineteenth century, influenced the experience of slavery and contests over it. More James MacNaughton concretely, I examine how various historical actors – including enslaved people, slaveholders, abolitionists, and Civil War soldiers – drew upon the medium for different political purposes. I assess, for example, how slaveholders in the 1840s began making and sharing studio portraits of enslaved people, and how they used these images to justify bondage. On the flip side, I explore how white and black abolitionists produced and circulated photographs to stress the atrocities of slavery and to build their movement. We tend to think that the use of photography as a vehicle for articulating claims about social conditions and injustice began during the Progressive Era (one thinks of Jacob Riis’s images); my book illuminates the first episode in the continuing use of photography in human rights struggles. Administration Building, 1907. Courtesy of UI Special Collections.
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A Message from the (Interim) Chair
Welcome to the Fall issue of The Primary Source. Professor Quinlan is spending this Semester as a Fulbright Scholar in Italy. I again have the honor of being Interim Chair. The graduate and undergraduate students have used this issue to interview department members, fellow students, and alumni. There are articles on archives right here in Moscow which provide the sources for our investigations and on the conferences that offer an opportunity to share our findings and seek useful criticism. This fall the Department of History added a new member, Professor Matthew Fox-Amato, a specialist in eighteenth and nineteenth century US to our already exceptional US history faculty. His work, particularly on photography, expands the department’s offerings into the realm of material and visual culture. Collections and conferences are a staple of our scholarship. One article explores Special Collections, housed at the University of Idaho Library, a repository not only of photographs but also other unique assortments of written and physical material. Included in this issue are reproductions of some of our own photographs, this time of the University of Idaho in the 1940s. Another article, “Uncovering Historical Fort Boise’s Past,” introduces the Fort Boise Archaeology Project, a joint venture with the History and Anthropology Departments. Finally, in May, the Department hosted the annual conference of the Annual Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. Graduate students Molly Swords and Lindsay Kiel provided valuable logistical support, organizing field trips, helping attendees get from one place to another, and making sure the conference ran smoothly. As always, The Primary Source looks at publications and people. The theme of special collections is carried out in the article on University of Idaho, a joint publication by Professor Aiken of the History Department and Erin Passehl Stoddart, head of Special Collections. There are also profiles of Amanda Haught-Bielmann (alumna), Brittany Harrington (graduate student) and Bailey Cavender (undergraduate). I say this every time: in looking back over the past semester, I feel the deep satisfaction of belonging to this department—the supportive alumni, the collegial colleagues, and the endlessly fascinating graduate and undergraduates who fill our courses. Ellen E. Kittell Professor and Interim Chair Department of History
UI’s Hidden Gems: Special Collections and Archives A prerequisite for students of history is an insatiable curiosity about the past. The vast majority of undergraduate historical research takes place between the pages of a book and, to perhaps a greater extent, articles found on the internet. These sources, though useful, become more or less inadequate as historians begin to pose their own Photo courtesy of University of Idaho Photographic research questions. It is soon apparent that Services these inquiries can only be satisfied by primary sources and original documents. At the University of Idaho, students have the opportunity to explore hundreds of thousands of historical records housed in Special Collections and Archives. Found in the basement of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives is comprised of over 6,000 cubic feet of historical materials. Among these boxes are countless photographs, government publications, private documents, books, interview transcripts, correspondences, and more. The archives’ main focus is the procurement and curation of materials related to the history of Latah County, the University of Idaho, the State of Idaho, and the Pacific Northwest. In addition to these, Special Collections and Archives also contains records and artifacts from around the world. Among the most precious pieces preserved are two Babylonian clay tablets dating back to 2400 BCE. The History Department maintains a close relationship with Special Collections. Many students are introduced to Special Collections in The Historian’s Craft, a class dedicated to teaching future professionals how to conduct research, annotate historical texts, and evaluate sources. Among the assignments often given in this class is an exercise in which students must familiarize themselves with Special Collections and properly cite a documents from a collection. This section of the library also gives students in upper division courses a place to develop their research skills.
1926 Administration Building– Courtesy of UI Special Collections
Special Collections’ unique assortment of materials is made possible by generous donations from alumni, faculty, locals, and other benefactors. Donations most often include personal photographs and materials from former students. As Head of Special Collections Erin Stoddart put it, “Everyone’s experience is different, and people share with us what they think is important.” Ty Unruh
Uncovering Historical Fort Boise’s Past
A .32 caliber revolver –recovered during a survey at the Fort, it is not a military issued
The Fort Boise Archaeology Project was a three week public archaeology and cultural resource management (CRM) project carried out by UI anthropology and history staff including Nathan Allison, PhD student in the History Department. Archaeological excavations, conducted from July 19 to August 6, 2016 on the grounds of the current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Boise Medical Center, were done in advance of the construction of a multistory parking structure. The parking structure footprint is within historic Fort Boise (site 10AA161) and the Fort Boise Historic District. Development on the VA grounds is subject to Section 106 process due to the potential impact to cultural resources listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Fort Boise Archaeology Project provided an opportunity for archaeologists, the community, and the VA to uncover Idaho’s history.
were utilized; Intensive surface and subsurface investigations including ground penetrating radar (GPR), magnetometer survey, metal detecting survey, and surface inventory. The combined USUAS surveys identified 1,820 metal detection points of interest and 13 geophysical anomalies with potential to be archaeological deposits. Over the three week Fort Boise Archaeology Project, UI staff along with local volunteers conducted subsurface archaeological testing of the previously identified magnetometer and GPR anomalies and recovered metal artifacts through metal detector survey. In total, 36 shovel test probes and five test units were excavated at the site. While no intact archaeological deposits were excavated, roughly 688 historic artifacts were collected throughout the project. Public outreach was a major component of the field work at historic Fort Boise. Public archaeology provided an opportunity for the local community to learn about the methodologies archaeologists employ in the field as well as have the chance to work on an archaeological project. The site saw over 100 visitors each week with a total of 350 visitors over all. These visits included several local elementary school classes. Throughout the duration of the project 85 volunteers, representing a wide range of ages and experience levels, participated in the archaeological excavations. Volunteers included a group of 18 veterans from the Boise VA that were excited to get their hands dirty. In total, volunteers logged 642 hours working on site; a significant contribution.
This project is important as it exemplified a collaborative partnership between UI, the VA, UI field work was guided by preliminary aramateur metal detectorists, and the greater chaeological investigations conducted by Boise community in search of Idaho’s history. USU Archaeological Services, Inc. (USUAS) in March 2016. Multiple survey techniques Nathan Allison
“All Aboard” The Annual Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Conference The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society (R&LHS) held their annual meeting the end of May 2016 in Moscow, Idaho. This was the first time in this organization’s history that they had partnered with a university. Alumni Dan Butler was pivotal in promoting and encouraging the University’s connection with the R&LHS. The University of Idaho’s History Department contributed to event logistics by providing graduate students to assist meeting organizers.
Dean Kersten welcoming remarks at UI
The second day of field trips stopped in St. Maries, Idaho, to explore the St. Maries River Railroad Depot and Railyard. While there, conference organizers arranged for the attendees to have lunch on a historic dining railcar. This particular day ended with a tour of the Bennett Lumber Company to see the process of preparing lumber for shipping on trains. Speakers who specialized in regional Attendees came from all over the United and local history filled each evening with taStates; most of them had never set foot in les of the past. Speakers included Idaho Idaho before. The attendee hailing from the State Historian Keith Peterson, Moscow resifurthest city traveled all the way from Perth, dent Jim Davis, and Tom Hildebrant of the Australia. The conference kicked off with Washington, Idaho, and Montana Railway opening remarks by Dean Andrew Kersten in Historical Society. the Administration Building auditorium. Dean Molly Swords, a PhD student in History, Kersten relayed helped organize graduate volunteers, daily his passion for the field trips, and evening programs. This conrailroad and its ference was of interest to Molly, as her dishistory. sertation examines the Pend d’Oreille Hotel The conference along the Northern Pacific Railroad line in was packed with Sandpoint, Idaho. For her, one of highlights several day-long of helping out with and participating in the field trips through- meeting was the time spent at the Potlatch out Northern Ida- Depot, which is being restored by the Washho. From Nez ington, Idaho, and Montana Railway History Graduate Students Molly Perce to Elk River- Preservation Group. The Potlatch Depot is Swords and Lindsay Kiel the tour bus covan excellent example of communities emered extensive miles. Passengers heard bracing and preserving their histories. hours of commentary on the various rail lines Members of the Railway and Locomotive and their impact on the local communities. Historical Society found the University of IdaTouring Northern Idaho’s railway past delved into the complex engineering feat of building ho’s Department of History impressive and the conference reinvigorating . More inforthese transportation lines. The tours made evident the direct connection that the railroad mation on this organization can be found at had to small town economic survival in North- their website: rlhs.org. ern Idaho. Molly Swords
UI Historical Photographs from the 1940s History of Americas Class Professor Cornelius James Brosnan teaching History of Americas class in Science Hall. Courtesy of UI Special Collections.
European History Class Students attending a European History Class in the Science Hall. Courtesy of UI Special Collections.
Recent Publication– University of Idaho by Dr. Katherine Aiken and Erin Passehl Stoddart Dr. Katherine Aiken of the History Department and Erin Passehl Stoddart, Head of Special Collections and Archives, have recently published a book on the history of the University of Idaho. The eponymous volume and is a part of a series on uniDr. Aiken versity campuses printed by Arcadia Publishing. Following in the footsteps of Beacon for Mountain and Plain and This Crested Hill, University of Idaho is an illustrated history of the campus and academic life of Idaho’s first public university.
one. The pair gathered hundreds of photographs, negatives, and slides before setting about on the painstaking process of elimination. “We would line up photos on a table and then check them against Crested Hill and Beacon for Mountain and Plain so that we weren’t publishing photos people had seen before. We might start off with a hundred photos and then try get that down to forty.” The work was still not complete, as Stoddart and Dr. Aiken then had to assign each photograph a place within the chapter. Particular emphasis was placed on “active photos,” imThe book contains five ages in which students or faculty can be seen chapters and a foreword by engaging in some activity without regard for President Chuck Staben. the camera. “We wanted to see people do Each section is dedicated things rather than pose for a portrait.” to a specific aspect of the Erin Passehl Stoddart While skimming This Crested Hill and University of Idaho, includBeacon for Mountain and Plain, the authors ing buildings on campus, academics, athletics, student life, and student realized that these previous accounts had organizations. Each chapter is prefaced with overlooked women’s athletics, both intramua brief historical overview that places it in the ral and collegiate. To rectify this, University of Idaho attaches particular significance to this greater context of the university. The remainder of the chapter is comprised of histor- often-neglected piece of university history. ical photos gathered from archival collections, The book also explores the origins of various accessions, and materials that have yet to be university traditions, events, and student hangouts. Stoddart found the overall expericategorized. Drawing on yearbooks, correspondences, business ledgers, and personal ence very rewarding. “I don’t think we anticipated it would take so long to write this book, accounts, University of Idaho offers a new but I learned a lot more about collections and perspective on over 125 years of academic I’ll be able to help people more in the future.” history. In an interview with The Primary Source, Erin Passehl Stoddart explained that the process of choosing photos was a tedious
Ty Unruh
Curating History: Alumni Spotlight– Amanda Haught-Bielmann
ing or fixing exhibitions, etc.
I love working with donors, the people who have a connection with what they are donating. We do a “Photo ID” day every year and we sit with members of the community and look through photographs, hoping those present will be able to identify the people in the pictures. But really the day Amanda Haught- Bielis filled with stories, all triggered by something mann is the latest alumna to seen in a photograph – this is the essence that be featured in the Primary history strives to capture, the stories of the past. Source Alumni Spotlight. She was born in Coeur I know that you pride yourself on being a UI d’Alene and grew up in the Alumni, how do you keep a connection to UI? mid-west until her family returned to Northern Idaho in While I may be a Vandal working in Boise (with the 1990s. She attended the some Broncos) I am still very connected with UI. University of Idaho from Every year the Basque Museum & Cultural Cen2001-2005, graduating in ter hires two UI student interns to work over the 2005, with a B.S. in Anthrosummer here in Boise at the Museum. The pology and a minor in History. Currently, she is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Cenarrusa Internship is made possible by the Cenarrusa family, with the stipulation that the inBasque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise, terns be UI students (as Pete Cenarrusa was an Idaho. alumni) – and we always have amazing, hardworking Cenarrusa interns. While the intern is always open to UI students, the focus of the inHow did UI helped you prepare for graduate ternship may change from year to year. In past school and your career? years we have hired students from various deAt UI, I was able to focus on historical archaeolo- partments, including history. This internship algy through the classes offered through both the lows UI students to gain practical experience in anthropology and history departments. With my museology, a program that, while not offered minor, I focused on the history of North America specifically, is closely linked to the practical side and then in turn focused on historical archaeolo- of history. gy of the American West. This became the basis of my master’s thesis at UM: historical archaeology of a Swedish homestead in Northern Idaho. Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Basque Museum is quite impressive. What is your day-to-day like? What has been your most memorable part of your job? Day-to-day, the days are never the same…I can work on processing donations, paperwork, cataloging items, working in our historic home, creat-
Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise
Curating History– continued Did you have a “favorite” class at the University of Idaho? I think that the facility make the programs memorable. In the Anthropology department, Mark Warner has been pivotal in my educational and career success. In History, I took as many classes as possible from Dr. Ramsey who left UI soon after I graduated. He really helped me develop a greater understanding of America’s beginnings and was so encouraging in my pursuit of historical archaeology. I took one class from Professor Kittell, it was very easily the most challenging history course I have ever taken, and I learned so much about myself and my abilities while furiously taking notes in her class!
Graduate SpotlightBrittany Harrington The history department at the University of Idaho welcomes students from every part of Idaho and the United States each year to our undergraduate and graduate programs. Their unique experiences add to the diverse fountain of knowledge that the program offers. This year we are pleased to have Brittany Harrington join us in her journey through the graduate program.
Brittany started her university work when she attended this very same university from 2007 to 2011 as an International Studies major with focuses in International Relations and Latin America. She also possesses minors in Spanish and International Comparative Politics. After graduAny advice for current and future history ma- ating, Brittany worked with a hospice agency for jors? three years. Her experience during this time allowed her to hear great stories about the past I think the best advice I can give is to get some from those that had lived it, in particular stories practical experience. Apply for internships or from veterans. volunteer. People will notice it and it will strengthen any resume. Volunteering or being an intern will create connections with people that could further your career later. Conferences are another great venue for making connections. Taking advantage of student rates for societies and association is another way of getting your foot in the door and meeting others in your career field. Favorite Spot on Campus? The area by the art department buildings where there is a grouping of pine trees. Smells like home. Molly Swords
Graduate Student– Brittany Harrington
Brittany Harrington— continued Not only that, she also got to hear the hopes, dreams, and regrets these people had during their youth; some of them never got to pursue their goals. These conversations pushed her to pursue a Master’s in history for Brittany believes in not letting those experiences disappear from our history. Her interest in history started at a younger age, though. Both her father and grandfather loved history and, after obtaining her degree in international politics, Brittany realized how necessary history is to the understanding of the world. She found it rather peculiar that those who make the decisions tend not to have a great understanding of our legacy. Originally, Brittany wanted to pursue religious history in ancient Europe, but after meeting with Dr. Adam Sowards, she saw a more vibrant future for herself and the world she wants to save once she is done with the graduate program. The University of Idaho History department staff and students are pleased to have Brittany as a graduate student and hope to hear of her achievements in the near future. Juan Chiquito
Undergraduate Spotlight: Bailey Cavender In the History department, we are proud of the work and contributions of our undergraduates. Bailey Cavender is not a typical UI undergraduate. Bailey hails from Naples, Idaho, a zip code located between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. She attended Bonners Ferry High School, where she is currently working towards her alternate certification. Bailey’s motivation for attending University of Idaho is to get her certification to teach history and English in a secondary school. While Bailey is technically classified as an undergraduate at UI, this is not her first degree. She graduated from Whitworth University in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in history. Bailey went on to work for several years in the professional
Undergraduate Bailey Cavender
world as a docent and archival assistant in Deadwood, SD and Education Coordinator and Steward on a historic tall ship for Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority. After spending time in the professional sector Bailey returned to Moscow where she received her MA in Historical Archaeology from UI in 2014. Bailey has a passion for history and had a hard time deciding which of her classes at the University of Idaho was her favorite. It actually was one that she served as a Teaching Assistant for, Dr. Richard Spence’s Secret Societies and Conspiracy Theories class. She reports that it was really is a fascinating class, and highly recommends that everyone who can takes it. When asked if she had any advice to give to history students she says, “Find something that you’re excited about! Also, don’t forget that you don’t have to teach in the traditional sense. Most of my jobs, other than my job as a teacher, have been in public history, so there are a ton of different options for a historian. These include traditional and nontraditional jobs. I worked on a tall ship and in Deadwood, so don’t count anything out. Try a little of everything, and take a variety of classes. Even if you think that history isn’t going to necessarily apply, like if you’re teaching English, there are always ways to use a history degree in a fun and exciting way.” Last April Bailey was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honors Society. We are proud that she has returned to the department. Molly Swords
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Special Thanks Professor Quinlan, Deborah Husa, CLASS, Renae Campbell, Emma Scott, and all of the individuals who were interviewed for this edition. Go Vandals!
Primary Source Editorial Board Molly Swords, Chair Nathan Allison, Co-Chair Juan Chiquito James MacNaughton Ty Unruh
Contact History Department University of Idaho 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3175 Moscow, ID 83844-3175 (208) 885-6253 history@uidaho.edu Visit us on the web at https://www.uidaho.edu/ class/history