HIST 615: Problems in American History

HIST 615-002: Mason Legacies
(Fall 2026)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W

Krug Hall 209

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Section Information for Fall 2026

This course is both a contribution to the university's Mason Legacies initiative and an introduction to documentary editing. Students will transcribe and annotate sections of a plantation account book that belonged to Stevens Thomson Mason (1760-1803), nephew of George Mason IV (the famous George), and his son Armistead Thomson Mason (1787-1819). The class’s work is being published as a born-digital project accessible to the public. The centerpiece of the project will be biographical sketches of all of the people—men and women, free and enslaved—mentioned in the account book, which will offer users a cumulative portrait of a significant subset of the population of Loudoun County in the post-revolutionary era. 
  
The class will read select secondary sources to understand the account book and its historical context in post-revolutionary Virginia, and students will write biographies based on research in both online databases and local archives. By reading, transcribing, and annotating the account book, students will learn about family relationships and finances, legal practice and fees, medicine, slavery, the plantation economy and local trade, and other related topics. They will also develop certain digital and editing skills. 

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 1-6

Readings and discussion of bibliographies, interpretations, and research trends in topics selected by instructor. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by History & Art History. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Green Leaf Related Course, Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.

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