Anthropology 207-001: General Archaeology

 

Dr. Nora Reber                                                            MTWR 8-10:05 AM

SBS 205                                                                      Summer I 2009

X-7734                                                                        SBS 202

Office Hours: MTR 10:10-11:15 AM                           rebere@uncw.edu

And by appointment                                                     http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere

 

Course Description:  This class is an introduction to general archaeology.  General archaeology covers the history of modern humans on the planet for the past 30,000 years or so.  This class will not, therefore, attempt to cover all of this period.  Instead, we will focus on domestication and the effect of farming around the world, which has the effect of covering archaeological cultures from the New and Old Worlds, with some emphasis on North America and China.  We will also discuss the history of archaeology and archaeological thought (the two are not necessarily the same).  The main goal of this class is to see and understand how knowledge about past people can be learned from their material remains.  To fulfill these goals, this class is structured in lecture format, with some opportunity for class discussion and small-group activities. 

 

Evaluation:  Grading in this class will be based on in-class and take-home written assignments (20%), a series of two short papers (20%), a midterm (20%), a final (30%), and a class participation/attendance grade (10%). 

 

Grading is on a modified bell curve, meaning that my classes will always average between a C+ and a B, unless an exceptionally brilliant class shows up.  Above average grades will, obviously, do better; below average will do worse.  99.9% of all failures are from a failure to show up and learn anything.

 

Attendance: In general, you should give Dr. Reber a valid or creative excuse before an absence.  More than three absences without a good excuse will lead to progressive reductions of the class participation/attendance grade.  See “note on summer school” for good reasons not to miss (aside from the class participation grade).

 

Makeup Work:  In-class assignments not turned in on time due to an excused absence may be turned in for full credit.  In-class assignments not turned in on time due to an unexcused absence may be turned in for half credit.  Ten percent will be deducted per day (figured at midnight) for short papers, unless an extension is negotiated beforehand. Excused long absences due to illness, family problems or other disasters should be negotiated with Dr. Reber—notify her by e-mail as soon as you know you have a serious problem.  Since this session is only a month long, delay in notifying Dr. Reber could be disastrous.

 

Exams:  A midterm and final exam are given in this class, which together make up 50 % of the grade.  The midterm exam will be held on Monday, June 1 with a review session during part of class on Thursday, May 28.  Material covered until Thursday, May 28 will be covered on the midterm.  The final will be held on Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00 AM.  Two-thirds of the final will cover the 2nd half of the class.  The remaining 1/3 will cover essential concepts from the first half of the class.  The review session for the final will be June 15, the last day of class.  Do not attempt to take the final at any time other than that assigned unless you have a very good reason.

 

Written Assignments:  In place of a term paper, two short papers will be assigned.  They should be 2-3 pages long, typed, double-spaced, in 10-12 point font and with 1-inch margins.  Topics will be assigned the week before the paper is due.  Citation for the short papers should be in MLA or American Antiquity format—American Antiquity is a typical archaeological format. 

 

If your computer crashes, or a print-out is not possible, you may turn the paper into me electronically; please do not turn them in electronically without warning me in advance, as my e-mail account tends to explode under pressure. 

 

One-page written assignments will be given as in-class exercises or as homework throughout the semester.

 

Reading Assignments:  the textbook for this class is Crabtree and Campana’s Exploring Prehistory, 2nd edition.  Readings from this book, as well as others, will be given throughout the semester.  Additional readings will be placed on electronic reserve, which can be found on the library website, and also on the class website.   For the status of reserves, check the website or Dr. Reber.  If reserves have been lost, mangled, scrambled, de-linked or disfigured in a particularly interesting way, e-mail Dr. Reber immediately!  Since time is short, doing the readings will be very important to this class!

 

Web Page:  The class web page is linked to Dr. Reber’s personal web page, http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere.  The syllabus, course assignments, related links, and text of assignments will be posted on this site, as well as a brief schedule of readings and class topics coming up.  Occasional web bonus points will be posted on the web page that will not be mentioned in class.  The finer points of the class schedule will ALWAYS be posted, and may be viewed as official; Dr. Reber posts dates and information on the web so that she doesn’t have to remember it—always check the web first! 

 

Note on Summer School:  Taking a summer course is one of the most difficult academic tasks for both teacher and the student.  Classes are longer and closer together, meaning that there is less time to absorb difficult material, complete assignments, and do the reading.  Since we have only one month to cover a lot of material, falling behind in the reading will snowball faster and cause even more problems than it does in the regular semester.  This is an intense experience, and it doesn’t help that we all wish we were at the beach!

 

Odds, Ends, and Pet Peeves:  Please turn off cell phones in class!!

 

Please back your papers up to disk, CD, or flash memory when writing them. 

 

Point totals will be handed back to students twice during the semester—at the midterm and before the final.  Anyone wanting point totals at any other times should ask Dr. Reber.  Grades and point totals may be sent via e-mail if you give permission.  Please keep in mind that basic mathematics applies to the grades—even if you turn in late assignments for 50%, you will need a B in other categories to get a C in the class.  Since 10 bonus points are offered per semester, point grubbing is, well, pointless and will be ignored.

 

Plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s work without citing it, and can be divided into direct copying, mosaic copying, and insufficient attribution.  It hurts three groups of people:  the person plagiarized, as their work has been stolen; classmates, since it unfairly sets the curve and unrealistically raises the performance bar; and the plagiarist, since you can’t get a decent education stealing other people’s work.  It is grounds for a minimum penalty of failure on the assignment and a long discussion with Dr. Reber about exactly why it is a bad idea.  The potential maximum penalties are decided by the Judicial Board or Dean of Students.  Don’t do it!!