Barry Stiefel

Professor

Barry L. Stiefel is a Professor at the College of Charleston, where he is a member of Department of Art and Architectural History, Historic Preservation & Community Planning Program, and the joint Graduate Program in Historic Preservation with Clemson University. He earned his Ph.D. in Historic Preservation from Tulane University, Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University, and a B.S. in Environmental Policy (with a minor in Anthropology) from Michigan State University.

Education

• Ph.D., Historic Preservation, Tulane Unviersity
• Master of Urban Planning, Univesity of Michigan
• B.S., Environmental Planning, Michigan State University

Research Interest

Stiefel is interested in how local preservation efforts affect regional, national, and multi-national policies within the field of cultural resource management and natural heritage conservation. He has completed numerous publications, including ones that address sustainability in heritage preservation, cultural-ethnic architectural history; historic transportation mobility; human-centered historic preservation; community-building through historic places; diversity, equity, and inclusion in historic preservation; and preservation education. tiefel’s other academic affiliations also include the African American Studies, Jewish Studies, Urban Studies, Public Administration, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, and the Global Scholars programs.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

AAST 300: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Historic Preservation

ARTH 290: Architectural History of the Synagogue

ENVT 352: Sustainability Literacy Seminar

FYSE 105: More than Just Hybrids & Electrics: Rethinking the Greenest Car

FYSU 105: Preserving African American Heritage

GEOG 219: Reading the Lowcountry Landscape

HIST 210: American Automotive History & Documentation

HIST 211: American Urban History

HPCP 199: Introduction to Historic Preservation

HPCP 215: Researching Historic Properties

HPCP 290: National Register for Dummies

HPCP 290: Historic Motor Vehicle Evaluation

HPCP 290: Grass Roots Community Building

HPCP 325: Community Planning for Preservationists

HPCP 415: Senior Seminar

HPCP 418/ENVT 395 Historic Preservation Law & Environmental Law

HPCP 420: Historic Preservation Law & Economics

HPCP 499: Honors Bachelor Essay

SOST 200: Introduction to Southern Studies

URST 101: Introduction to Urban Studies

URST 310: Urban Planning

URST 313: Sustainable Urbanism

URST 320: Town & Country Planning

URST 360: Urban Land Use Law

Graduate

EVSS 691: Environmental and Sustainability Studies Thesis

CPAD 690: Sustainable Urbanism

HPCP 891: Thesis in Historic Preservation

PUBA 519: Community Planning

PUBA 701: Public Administration Capstone Seminar

Honors and Awards

2016: Restoration, Preservation, Mentorship Foundation for Automotive Heritage Award

2014: Harry M. Lightsey Jr. Visiting Scholar at the Belle W. Baruch Foundation

2012: Leo Baeck Essay Prize, Leo Baeck Institute.

2011: Excellence in Collegiate Education and Leadership (ExCEL), Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award, College of Charleston.

2009: Global Scholar, College of Charleston.

2009: Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, Hines Prize.

2008: Eleanor F. Horvitz Award, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association.

2005: Sid and Ruth Lapidus Fellowship, American Jewish Historical Society.

2005: Wolff Memorial Scholarship, Jewish Endowment Foundation of New Orleans.

Publications

Selected Publications

Books: Monographs

Stiefel, B. (under peer review) Monuments of Diverse Heritage in Early America: Placemaking and Preservation by Black, Indigenous, and Jewish Peoples. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press

Stiefel, B. and Leifeste, A. (2018) Sustainable Heritage: Merging Environmental Conservation and Historic Preservation. New York: Routledge. 

Stiefel, B. (2014) Jews and the Renaissance of Synagogue Architecture, 1450-1730. London: Pickering & Chatto Publishers.

Stiefel, B. (2014) Jewish Sanctuary in the Atlantic World: A Social and Architectural History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.

Books: Edited Volumes

Stiefel, B. and J. Clark. (2020) The Routledge Companion to Automobile Heritage, Culture, and Preservation. London: Routledge.

Stiefel, B. and J. Wells. (2019) Human-Centered Built Environment Heritage Preservation: Theory and Evidence-Based Practice. New York: Routledge.

Stiefel, B., K. Melcher, and K. Faurest (2017) Community-Built: Art, Construction, Preservation, and Place. New York: Routledge.

Stiefel, B. and H. Tesler-Mabe. (2016) Neither in Dark Speeches nor in Similitudes: Reflections and Refractions Between Canadian and American Jews. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Stiefel, B. and J. Wells. (2014) Preservation Education: Sharing Best Practices and Finding Common Ground. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.

Guest Edited Journal

Stiefel, B., and Shelley-Ann Peleg, eds. (2023) Yearbook of Transnational History, Vancouver, BC: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.