ANTH448: Special Topics in Archaeology:
Modern World Archaeology of Cities, Fall 2015
Professor Stephen A. Brighton
Office: Room 0132 Woods Hall
Phone: (301) 405-3700
Email:
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30AM – 12 PM, or by appointment.
Course Description:
The course provides an overview of how social scientists, in particular historical archaeologists, approach modern cities as being part of the materiality of the social structure and order. It uses a multidisciplinary approach that includes various aspects of social history, anthropology, sociology, to understand the use of space, living conditions, and the material remains of past communities. The history of cities and accompanying social issues provide the grounding to understand how the creation and use of urban landscapes can segregate ethnic, class, and racial factions. The outcome of the course is to show how such social policies and concepts of space within a city can have an impact on the type of materials recovered during the course of archaeological inquiry.
Course Requirements and Policies
· ALL UNDERGRADUATES ENROLLED IN THIS COURSE MUST HAVE TAKEN ANTH240 OR EQUIVALENT COURSE.
· Office Hours
I will hold office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30AM-12:00PM each week. It is expedient to email in advance to set up a meeting during office hours. You are also welcome to set up an appointment time via email outside of office hours.
· Email Protocol
Email is the primary way in which we will communicate outside of class time or office hours. If you are writing regarding personal matters (i.e. grades, medical issues) and/or questions or issues concerning topics discussed, assignments, and readings, please consider whether email is the best medium. In short, if you’re seeking a response longer than a few sentences it is best to email to schedule a time to address the matter(s) during office hours.
Please use your UMD email account. Any missed email communication is your own responsibility. I usually respond to email in the mornings on workdays (M-F), so if your message arrives in the afternoon, after work hours, or during the weekend then you should expect a response from me the following workday.
· Technology
No laptops, tablets, or phones shall be used during class.
· Academic Integrity (Required Honor Pledge)
The University of Maryland has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards applicable to all undergraduate students, and you are responsible for upholding these standards as you complete assignments in this course. Make yourself aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information see www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu. If any student is believed to be in violation of the Code of Academic Integrity, they will be reported to the Student Honor Council. The usual penalty is an XF for the course.
· Accommodation for Students with Documented Disabilities
UMD guarantees appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities. I will make every effort to accommodate students who are registered with the Disability Support Service (DSS) and who provide me with a University of Maryland DSS Accommodation form which has been updated for the Fall 2014 semester. Only written DSS documentation of the accommodation will be considered. If you need further clarification, the link to DSS is: http://faculty.umd.edu/teach/specialneeds.html
· Attendance Policies
o Medical Excuses
If you will miss class participation or an assignment due to injury or serious illness then you (or a guardian) must email or call me prior to class to inform me. At the next class you must provide me with a note from the Health Center or medical doctor, otherwise you will receive no credit for the class participation or assignment in question. You must still complete the assignment for credit. For a description of the university’s Medically Necessitated Absences Policy, please visit:
http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/27/ss/1584/s/1540
o Student Athletes
Please refer to the Maryland Student-Athlete Code of Conduct regarding expected class absences due to official intercollegiate competitions. Essentially, “Properly inform instructors (provide authorized team travel letter), by the 10th day of fall and/or spring semesters, of expected class absences due to travel to official intercollegiate competitions.”
o Religious Observance
It is the policy of the University of Maryland, College Park that students not be penalized in any way for participation in religious observances. It is your responsibility to inform me of the specific religious observance and day you will not be able to attend class or turn in a particular assignment well in advance of the class missed and due date for assignments. For questions about the university’s religious holidays policy, please visit:http://www.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html#religious
o University Emergency Closing
In the event that the university is closed for an emergency or extended period of time because of inclement weather and campus emergencies, I will communicate with you via CANVAS or email to make schedule adjustments, including rescheduling of assignment due dates. Official closures and delays are announced on the campus website http://www.umd.edu. The snow phone line is 301-405-SNOW, or consult the local media stations.
Class Structure
· Lectures:
Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:45, Woods Hall Room 1130
· Required Texts:
Harvey, David, The Urban Experience
Mayne, Alan and Tim Murray (editors). The Archaeology of Urban Landscapes: Explorations in Slumland.
· Canvas Readings:
There will be readings outside the required texts and will be available on CANVAS. Assigned readings will include various web sites and the addresses will be listed under the reading assignment for the week.
Course Goals, Student Development, Learning Outcomes, and Expectations
The goal of the course is to teach and further develop students’ abilities in the following areas critical to all of the sciences:
1) Critical Thinking and Analytical Reasoning: this is not a lecture-based course. The classroom
experienced is structured through dialogue and in-class group exercises to promote the creation and questioning of theories and ideas. The development of ideas and concepts are evaluated through each students class participation and developing knowledge of the science and disciplines of archaeology and material culture studies of the formation of modern cities is evidenced by 3 student position papers. The semester is divided into thirds, although the ideas and concepts are inter-dependent between sections, and students will receive both a grade for writing as well as their active participation in class discussions for that section of the semester. The overall aim of the position papers and class discussion is to prepare each student to work in a group to apply theory to practice culminating in a group research report and presentation of their theoretical and material results. It is expected that the papers, discussions, and final project will reflect a continually developing knowledge of the class materials, discussions, and its application to researching and creating an archaeological case study.
a. Practical use of critical thinking is essential to the development of identifying, interpreting, and creating research problems and solutions.
b. Critical thinking is a developed skill structuring theoretical and method praxis. It is formed through being able to distinguish between differing theoretical and practical perspectives and coherently employing specific schools of thought to complex issues of the material manifestations, for example of race and class disparities, in the formation of modern cities.
2) Research Methods: An understanding of the scientific method and theoretical praxis as it applies to
gathering relevant anthropological and archaeological data. The student will develop a growing knowledge of material studies, critically evaluating site reports and scholarly works in the discipline, and demonstrate this developing scholarly practice by writing 3 position papers and a final paper and presentation concering the various aspects of social identity and the rise of modern cities.
a. Formulate hypothesis/theoretical or practical problem/or research questions that are testable through social/ethnographic, historical, and material data.
b. Gather and test hypothesis through creating and interpreting social and material context/data.
c. Form coherent conclusion drawing from theoretical position and material data to either demonstrate the validity of original hypothesis or provide statements or questions that provide new perspectives or reasoning for the limitations of original hypothesis.
3) Communication: Communication and expression is critical in material culture studies and archaeology. It
is necessary to be able to articulate theoretical positions and promote clarity in stating problem sets and interpretations. Students will develop this skill through class participation and discussions. Both oratory and writing skills are inter-dependent skills and students will be graded for both on each position paper throughout the semester.
a. Develop oratory skills to express theories or ideas to peers and collaborators.
b. Develop clear and concise writing skills.
4) Content: Class discussions, position papers, and final projects will demonstrate the developing familiarity
with the course content and the disciplines theoretical perspectives and trends, methods and applications of the disciplines data, and how these studies are relevant to contemporary social, political, and economic relations/processes.
Class Structure, Assignments, and Grading
The overall of aim of the class is to develop growing knowledgebase concerning past and current trends in the multi-disciplinary structure of the development of modern cities and its study in archaeology. The class is made of 3 inter-related and inter-dependent sections that teaches each student how to think through and about objects holistically both in a contemporary and historical context. Thus grading and projects throughout the semester will reflect each students development and progress is critical thinking, research, and application of that knowledge in a practical archaeological setting of being part of a group research and writing an analytical and theoretical paper.
· Grading and Assignments
Grades are based are numerous inter-related activities including:
1) Class Attendance and Participation (30%) - Graded by learning outcomes #1,2,3:
Each class should be considered a discussion period and NOT a lecture in the formal sense therefore everyone is expected to do the required readings and be prepared. Class participation, discussing and debating various topics, is vital to the learning process, as well as creating and defending one’s developing perspective of how a student theorizes the importance and relevance of material culture and how to apply that perspective to the practice of doing material research and analysis in an archaeological context. The student will receive a participation grade and suggestions for improvement along with each position paper grade three times during the semester.
2) 2 Position Papers (15% each) - Graded by learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4:
The position papers are scheduled throughout the course of the semester and reflect the topic(s) covered during that third of the course, but more importantly are cumulative in the sense that each paper builds on the perspectives established and written about in previous position papers. Questions will be assigned to each position paper assignment and is meant to guide the student to critically create his/her own theoretical and practical position. The purpose of writing these papers is to allow the student to locate his/her theoretical position concerning material culture studies and develop a knowledgebase to put that thinking through materials into practice when working with their group researching and writing the archaeological material analysis paper and presentation on a specific ward of Baltimore City at semester’s end. The three papers will demonstrate the student’s intellectual development as the semester progresses. The papers will also offer feedback and suggestions for improvement. To succeed each student must do the readings at the time dictated by the syllabus and not only attend each class, but also be active in working out the problems and issues raised. The point of the papers is to create original positions and do so in a clear and concise manner. Most professional communication requires concise reports and positions. Therefore each position paper will structure thinking in a concise and articulate style. The papers should be NO LESS than 3 pages and NO MORE than 5 pages of text. Please do not exceed 5 pages as you should be able to provide a clear and concise, but detailed, answer. Do not use any direct quotes from any source. When you use outside sources and assigned readings as a reference in your paper you need to cite properly in text and have a complete bibliography at the paper’s end.
o Position Paper 1: Theoretical Perspectives on the formation of Modern Cities
Draw from the readings and class discussions to define to formation and rise of modern cities and the diverse social, economic, and political groups. Please take a position structured by the questions below:
1) What are the differing theoretical arguments, issues, and/or perspectives as to how modern cities form and give rise to diverse class, ethnic, racial communities? Which do you find relevant and why?
2) How does Harvey’s argument for the study of the urbanization of capital fit with other authors from class to date? Do you agree with Harvey? If so, why? If not why not?
3) Based on the readings and class discussions, why do you think it is important to study cities in terms of social, economic, and political processes?
Paper 1 Due Tuesday, October 6th
o Position Paper 2: Application of Theory in the Historical Archaeology of Modern Cities
The second paper is based on each student’s evaluation of capitalism, immigration, and spatial theory from Paper 1 to see the usefulness of history and historical archaeology. Please answer the questions below:
· What is material culture?
· How is the landscape considered material culture?
· How can landscape theory used in this class help bridge the gap between the historical archaeology of modern cities and the written record?
· How does it/can it impact historical archaeology?
· How does the work of David Harvey relate to landscape as material culture, landscape theory, and the archaeology of modern cities? Is it relevant? Is archaeology in cities as practiced today relevant?
Paper 2 Due Tuesday, November 17th
3) Final Paper and Presentation (20% each): graded by learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, 4
o The Application of Multi-Disciplinary Theory and Archaeological Practice: Interpreting Material Culture of Identity and Modern Cities
This final project is a cumulative in its structure. You must provide clear and specific examples to support and explain your position. Please blend your theoretical position from Position Paper 1 and your insights and application of theory from Position Paper 2 with the class discussions and readings relating to real archaeological examples from the last thir of the semester to successfully complete this project:
a) Students will work in a group and given a ward in Baltimore City. The group will focus on the time between 1850 and 1920. The task is to provide an in-depth historical overview of the people living in the area over time and how it relates to the formation and transformation of the larger urban industrial, economic, and social landscape. The point of the final paper project and presentation is delve deeper into the social, political, and economic histories of modern urbanization as a process rather than being natural (or an inevitable occurrence).The point of practice is to apply the lessons and theoretical perspectives learned throughout the semester (class discussions and readings) to analyze the degree of issues such as spatial differentiation and marginalization, the impact of racism, class disparities, and immigration (for example) to understand the social context of the localized study. Moreover the groups will work in levels of scale to place their area of study on a local, regional, national, and international scale to speak to the role and relevance of archaeological studies of urbanization. The group paper should be between 40 pages of text. The use of proper reference/citations is expected. Please refer to the American Anthropological Association’s website for proper citation and referencing.