Eller House and West Research Campus
Instructor: Dr. Lynn B. Harris
Office: Eller House 201
Office phone: 252-328-1967
Email: harrisly@ecu.edu
Office Hours: 10:00-2:00, other times by appointment
Graduate Assistant: Liam O’Brien, obrienli24@students.ecu.edu
Course Description
This class will explore theories and concepts of maritime material culture and the various approaches used by archaeologists to connect material culture with the human experience aboard boats, ships, and ashore in maritime communities. We will survey archaeological literature relating to a variety of material culture case studies. Students will have ample hands-on opportunities to catalog, identify, analyze, and research collections of maritime artifacts. These collections range from typical maritime artifacts such as cannon, anchors, and shipwreck cargo collections to larger maritime artifacts like watercraft or structures like lighthouses. There will also be a focus on management issues and challenges such as storage, curation, and exhibit options both digitally and within museum settings. The class will be a seminar format with discussions, related readings, and laboratory and fieldwork, in addition to student and instructor presentations on a variety of topics related to the course content. There may be optional fieldtrips on weekends to study maritime landscapes and associated material culture in North Carolina.
Graduate Assistant
Liam O’Brien: Liam is a graduate assistant in the Maritime Studies program at ECU. He is from Pensacola, Florida and comes from a US Navy family who has members that have served or are serving in both sea and air. This is what started his love for Maritime history. Liam earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Florida State University. Areas of specialty and interest for Liam are Colonial History, (i.e.. The New World, its colonies and naval presence and influence, Seven Years War, etc.), and 19th– 20th century US naval history. In 2024, he interned at the Museum of Florida History, working with their collection of maritime artifacts and replicas. His interests outside history are reading, sailing, playing video games, and cooking.