Start Date
10/25/2025
End Date
10/25/2025
Description
This course explores Auburn, New York’s historic landscapes and cultural narratives through both individual site tours and a guided walking tour of Downtown Auburn. Participants will study nationally significant sites, including the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, the Harriet Tubman Home, and Auburn’s downtown public realm. The session highlights how historic preservation, landscape design, and public art intersect to tell stories of freedom, equality, and resilience. The course also introduces the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and how these guidelines inform restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of heritage sites. Attention will be given to Auburn’s Equal Rights Heritage Center and public art placemaking initiatives that connect the community’s past to its present identity.
Location
Auburn, NY
Distance Learning
No
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Historic Preservation
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
5.0
Learning Outcomes
•Recognize the cultural and historic significance of Auburn’s places, particularly those associated with Harriet Tubman, abolitionism, and equal rights movements.
•Become familiar with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for restoration and rehabilitation of national heritage sites.
•Evaluate strategies for interpreting cultural history through landscape features, public art, and placemaking initiatives.
•Assess how contemporary design interventions (sustainability, accessibility, and public art) can coexist with and enrich historic landscapes.
•Engage with methods of community advocacy and storytelling that ensure the relevance of heritage sites for future generations.
Instructors
Brittany Lane; National Parks Service, Sue Steele; RLA. Michele Palmer; RLA, Rev. Paul Gordon Carter; Site Manager Harriet Tubman Home, Jesse Kline; Downtown Auburn, Gilliean Sears; Equal Rights Heritage
Course Codes
Provider
Victor Stanley, Inc.