Elective Courses

It is recommended that Semester-in-Residence students select their elective course from the regularly-scheduled classes at the College of William and Mary. Two considerations are important: (1) Registration for these courses will be on a space-available basis after regular William and Mary students have made their choices; and (2) Semester-in-Residence students must be careful not to register for classes that conflict with the three required courses. The NIAHD sponsors several special courses in History, Anthropology, American Studies, and Music that are especially applicable as electives. These courses include not only early American History per se, but Architectural History, Historical Archaeology, Decorative Arts, and Music History. Some seats in all of these courses will be reserved for Semester-in-Residence students.

Semester-in-Residence students may also choose as their elective course an independent project involving research in primary documents as well as deep reading in secondary literature. Students who opt for this elective course will work closely with an instructor to define a topic, research it, and produce a substantial paper by the end of the semester.

The mix of sponsored courses varies from semester to semester, but the NIAHD currently sponsors these courses:

Fall NIAHD Core Course on Public History

Spring NIAHD Core Course on Research Methods

Field School in Material Culture

Colonial Virginia

Archaeological Material Culture

American Vernacular Architectural History

Architectural History Field School

The World of Thomas Jefferson

Williamsburg, Colonial and Revolutionary

Early American Music

Foodways and the Archaeological Record

Zooarchaeology

Archaeology of Colonial Williamsburg and the Tidewater

The Colonial and Revolutionary Tidewater

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