Seminar: Historical Archaeology

DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY: FALL 2011
MONDAYS: 9:10-12:00, SOCIAL SCIENCE 252

Course Syllabus

Instructor: Kelly J. Dixon
Office: Social Sciences Building, Room 235
Office hours: Check office door or make an appointment
Course Website: http://www.cas.umt.edu/departments/anthropology/courses/anth551/
Mansfield Library Guide: http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/anty551

Historical Archaeology is the study of post-prehistoric human cultures using physical remains, historical records, and a range of multidisciplinary techniques.

Course Objectives:This is an advanced course in historical archaeology; the lower-division companion to this course is ANTH 456 (Historic Sites Archaeology). Whereas ANTH 456 provides students with a general introduction to the topic, ANTH 551 will delve deeper into the discipline's scholarship through intensive readings, reading journals, essays, and discussions. Ultimately, we will consider practical ways to apply [or not to apply] the influences of such scholarship to "real world" (e.g., CRM) circumstances. All the while, we will scrutinize historical archaeology at global and regional levels to consider how our own research might contribute to broad understandings of cultural heritage issues associated with the relatively recent past.

Required Textbooks:

Deetz, James A. In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.

Dixon, Kelly J. Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology and History in Virginia City, Nevada. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2005.

Martin Hall (Editor) and Stephen W. Silliman (Editor) Historical Archaeology, Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology) Wiley-Blackwell, 2006

Hardesty, Donald L. The Archaeology of the Donner Party. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1997.

Lightfoot, Kent. Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

Meskell, Lynn. Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Novak, Shannon A House of Mourning: A Biocultural History of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2008.

Recommended Textbooks:

Ferguson, Leland Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America 1650-1800, Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992.

Orser, Charles Jr. . Historical Archaeology, 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Prentice Hall, 2004.

Stanley South Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology. New York: Percheron Press., 2002.

Wegars, Priscilla Hidden Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese. Amityville, NY: Baywood, 1993.

Additional Readings:

See attached course bibliography. Certain readings from [or in addition to] the attached bibliography may be assigned as appropriate throughout the semester.


ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOMES (I.E. GRADING)

Attendance:

Mandatory.

Because we will be addressing a range of topics and case studies in historical archaeology, all assigned readings should be done before class so that you can contribute to class discussions linked with the course goals. In addition, you will be graded on a readings journal, which will be collected and used in class discussions (for grades) throughout the semester. Readings journal directions are listed on the last page of this syllabus. Please follow those directions, as your grade depends upon it. Other deliverables will take the form of essays assigned throughout the semester. Your final project for this course will be announced during the latter portion of the semester.

Grades

You will be assessed on the following:

 

1. Reading Journal (checked each class meeting) 100 points
2. Assignments 100 points
3. Final Paper 100 points
4. Participation 100 points
Total 400 points

 

I will assign +/- grades and final grades will be based upon the following average scores for the journals, exam, research paper and in-class, exercises and participation: A (100-95), A- (94-90), B+ (89-88), B (87-83), B- (82-80), C+ (79-78), C (77-73), C- (72-70), D+ (69-68), D (67-63), D- (62-60), F (59 or less).

Students with Disabilities:

The Department of Anthropology is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University policy states that it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments. The instructor will meet with the student and the staff of the Disability Services for Students (DSS) to formulate a plan for accommodations. Please contact Jim Marks in DSS (243.2373, Lommasson Center 154) for more information.


Course Schedule:

Week 1

Monday, August 29
Course Introduction; HA in the American West and beyond.
PPT for Intro Lecture

Reading
Start reading Deetz 1996 (In Small Things Forgotten) since the whole book is due during Week 2.

Week 2

Monday, September 5
NO CLASS-LABORDAY

Week 3

Monday, September 12
What is Historical Archaeology?

Reading
  • Deetz 1996 (whole book); chapter 1 (Introduction), in Hall and Silliman (editors); if you want, skim Orser 2004 (1-22).
  • ALSO, for next week, start reading Hardesty 1997 (Archaeology of the Donner Party), as the whole book is due next week.
  • Lecture 2 What is HA Deetz ect.

Week 4

Monday, September 19
Archaeologies of Desperation: A Springboard for Colonization and Cultures in Contact

Reading

Week 5

Monday, September 26
Colonialism in Western North America; Cultures in Contact in California; Tobacco and Cultural Contact in Eastern North America

Reading

Week 6

Monday, October 3
"Frontiers" and the Landscapes of Homesteads, the Mining West, etc

Reading

Week 7 

Monday, October 10
FRONTIERS AND LANDSCAPES

Library Visit 9-10 am: Conducting Literature Searches at the UM Mansfield Library - Julie Biando Edwards

An Anthropological Archaeology in Egypt; text-aided versus Age of Exploration/Capitalism

Reading

EGYPTOLOGY WORKSHOP: Saturday-Sunday, October 15-16 (priceless opportunity!)


Week  8

Monday, October 17
Africa's Gold Coast; Trans-Atlantic Diasporas; "Race" & the Archaeology of Identity.

Reading
  • Palus et al 2006 and Pikirayi 2006 (chapters 5 and 12 in Hall and Silliman, editors); Orser 2001 (excerpt from Race and the Archaeology of Identity); if you want, skim Ferguson 1992. Start reading Novak 2008 (House of Mourning), as whole book is due next week.
  • Fennell 2011 JAR
  • Lecture on Arch of Arican Diaspora

Week 9

Monday, October 24
Archival Records, Oral Histories, Skeletal Remains, and a Massacre

Reading

Week 10 

Monday, October 31
Asian American Archaeology

PPT on Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese

PPT on Background for Tera Cotta Army (for text-aided-era context)

Reading

Week 11

Monday, November 7
Socioeconomic Status/Class and Gender

PPT on Class and Labor

PPT on Archaeologies of Gender and Feminism

Sample Bibliographic Essay (Lit Review) on Ethnicity in the West

Reading

      FROM Hall and Silliman (editors) 2006 text: Voss, chapter 6, Silliman chapter 8, Wurst 2006,      chapter 10

 

Week 12

Monday, November 14

Environmental and Biological Approaches, along with a Discussion of Cultural Contact vs. Colonialism

PPT on Environmental Archaeology with Landscape Issues at the End

Allen 2010; Bain and Prevost 2010; Mrozowski 2006 (chapter 2 in Hall and Silliman, editors);

SKIM (just to see how he elaborates on culture contact versus colonialism): Silliman 2005.

NOT REQUIRED--read only if you are interested: Hattori and Thompson 1987 (Dendrochronology); Towner and Creasman 2010 (Dendroarchaeology)

For background in Historical Archaeology's "Adrift" History and its place in Anthropology, here are a few more NON-REQUIRED, but important readings: Cleland 2001, responses; Orser 2001.

 

FINAL PROJECT DISCUSSION: STUDENTS PRESENT STATUS UPDATES.

 

Week 13 

Monday, November 21
Saloon Archaeology and related topics

PPT on Boomtown Saloons

Reading
  • Dixon 2005 whole book; Pauls 2006 (chapter 4 in Hall and Silliman, editors)

Week 14                                                                                      

Monday, November 28

No Class -- please work on your final papers and get your readings journal ready to turn in next week, December 5!

DISCUSS FINAL PROJECT PROGRESS.

Week 15 

Monday, December 5
COMPLETE Readings Journals Due!!

Research Paper Due (No final exam)

Presentations of literature reviews; final papers will be accepted in this date if students are finished.

Week 16

Monday, December 12
Final paper (literature review) due

Final Exam Time Slot: 8:00-10:00 am
NOTE: ADDITIONAL READINGS MAY BE ASSIGNED THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER



 

READINGS JOURNAL EXPECTATIONS

You will be required to keep a readings journal in which you review and respond analytically to each assigned reading. You must maintain the checklist (attached) as a sort of "table of contents" for your journal; please keep it attached to your journal and update journal page numbers accordingly.

You may want to use a loose-leaf binder for your journal, so that even while I have your journal, you can continue to take notes and insert them later. I prefer that you type your journal but will accept legible, handwritten journal entries. And please, before each new entry, provide the author(s) names and the title of the book, article, or chapter. That will help me with grading, but more importantly, you will find it handy as you go back and reference your journal, which I know you will want/need to do throughout the semester.

In order to receive a top grade, your journal MUST do more than merely summarize and must therefore demonstrate the following attributes:

1) Demonstrate that you have done the reading. The easiest way to do this is to take reading notes in your journal, with passages or quotations (and their associated page numbers) written out that intrigue you -- or that you may wish to dispute and/or discuss further). You must include enough written discussion to show that you are familiar with the content.

2) Illustrate your thought processes and how you are interacting with the readings. Please take your thoughts deeper than, "I don't like this," or "this is a load of rubbish." Rather, make sure your notes clearly establish that you have at least tried to understand what the author is writing about. Every author usually has a reason for writing something and they usually have some sort of a point to make; your journal entries therefore should include explanations of what you think the authors are getting at or what they believe is truly important about their work. I want to know what you think about the authors' points and why. You may have to read things over a second or third time or just sit back and really think about a section to assess the point(s) various authors try to make, but this is part of the learning exercise. Welcome to higher education.

3) Draw connections between the various materials you have already read. As the semester progresses, I expect you to make comparisons with earlier readings. In doing so, I want you to draw upon the ideas of one author versus other authors, between the themes of various readings, and between the themes we touch upon in this course. Ideally, you will start to construct a literature review as your journal progresses, and that, fortunately, just so happens to be the final project for this class (see below).

READINGS JOURNAL "DUE DATES"

Your journal entries should be completed before each class meeting (for which there are assigned readings) to assist you in preparing for discussions. I will check your journals to give you points for each class meeting. If you do not have the journal (or if you do not have any journal entries for the day's readings), you will lose journal points (actually, you will receive a "0" in my journal grade book for the week or weeks that you do not turn in your journal). So, PRETTY PLEASE, BRING JOURNALS TO CLASS WITH YOU EACH TIME WE MEET so that you can get full points and be prepared for lively discussion.

ASSIGNMENTS

These will be announced and given throughout the semester and may include leading discussions.

FINAL PAPER/REVIEW ESSAY

You will be required to compile literature reviews on various historical archaeological investigations taking place in the American West. Each student will tackle a particular topic of their choice [e.g., historic forts, the fur trade, missions, mining, homesteading, logging, ranching, trails and overland migration, railroad construction camps, battlefields, brothels, saloons, environmental archaeology, urban archaeology, engendered approaches, "ethnicity" and cultural identity (the latter will branch off into the archaeology of African Americans, Asian Americans, Basque Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and so on), etc.] and summarize the literature dedicated to their chosen topic in an essay that is approximately 20 double-spaced pages long (excluding the bibliography). In addition, each student will give a brief (~10-minute presentation) summarizing their discoveries about the literature on a particular topic. Ideally students will choose a topic that dovetails with their thesis/dissertation research.

STYLE GUIDELINES FOR YOUR WRITING PROJECTS

Everything you write for this course, from your journal to any other writing assignments MUST FOLLOW STYLE GUIDELINES. Since this is a course in historical archaeology, your papers will not get full points of they do not follow the Society for Historical Archaeology's (SHA's) Style Guide: http://www.sha.org/publications/style_guide.htm.

CONTACT

Instructor: Kelly J. Dixon
Office: Social Sciences Building, Room 235
Email:: kellyDOTdixonATmsoDOTumtDOTedu
Office hours: Check office door or make an appointment

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