A UVA Today article, “A Walk in the Park: Central Park becomes a Classroom for 15 UVA Students,” relates the experiences of UVA students enrolled in the landscape architecture seminar “Central Park: Public Space as Conceived, Perceived and Lived.”
Students in the course taught by landscape architecture professor Elizabeth Meyer traveled to New York in October to do fieldwork and are continuing their investigations in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, which has Central Park’s annual reports dating back to the 19th century, as well as stereoscopic photo viewers, tourist guidebooks, and historic maps. Instruction librarian Krystal Appiah is conducting workshops for the students with UVA Landscape Studies Initiative project manager Allison James.
In addition to experience with archival materials, the students are getting help with creating digital exhibitions from library Geographic Information Systems Specialist Chris Gist and Geospatial Consultant Drew MacQueen of the Scholars’ Lab. The exhibition sites will serve as “open-source digital resources for teaching landscape history.” The Mellon Foundation has funded the planning and pilot phase of this digital platform built around Elizabeth Rogers’ textbook, Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History.
The course is one of several pavilion seminars offered each year on the Lawn by the College of Arts & Sciences for third- and fourth-year students.
Read more about the seminar in “A Walk in the Park: Central Park becomes a Classroom for 15 UVA Students” (UVA Today 11/22/2019).