Old World Archaeology

ANT 308 001

 

Dr. Nora Reber           

SB 202, x-7734          

MWF 10-10:50

Spring 2010

Office Hours: M 11-12, T 11-12 & 2-3, R 11-12

SB 202           

And by appointment    

rebere@uncw.edu

http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere

 

 

Course Description:  This class is an introduction to Old World archaeology.  The Old World includes Europe, Asia, and Africa.  To prevent overlap with other courses, we will not discuss domestication or Chinese archaeology, but will concentrate primarily on the rise and fall of state-level societies in the Near East.  We will emphasize some of the classic early state-level civilizations of the Old World, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.  The main goal of this class is to understand the interplay of state-level civilizations in the Old World.  To fulfill this goal, the class is structured as both a lecture and discussion class, with small-group activities. 

 

Evaluation:  Grading in this class will be based on take-home and in-class written assignments (25%), a 10-15 page final paper (25%), a midterm (15%), a final (25%), and a class participation/attendance grade (10%). 

 

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.

 

Makeup Work:  Assignments not turned in on time due to an excused absence may be turned in for full credit for up to two weeks after the original absence.  After that, 10% of the points are deducted per week.  Assignments not turned in one time due to an unexcused absence may be turned in for half credit up to two weeks after the original absence, and after that 10% of the points are deducted per week.  An excused late assignment turned in four weeks late is worth 80% of the original point total.  An unexcused late assignment turned in four weeks late is worth 30% of the original point total.  This sounds complicated, but it basically means that you should MAKE UP ALL WORK WITHIN 2 WEEKS!  Excused long absences due to illness, family problems or other disasters should be negotiated with Dr. Reber—she should be notified by e-mail as soon as you know you have a serious problem.

 

The exception to this rule is the term paper.  Papers will lose 10% of the grade for every 2 days they are late, which means that papers a week late will lose 30% of their grade. 

 

Exams:  A midterm and final exam are given in this class, which together make up 40 % of the grade.  The midterm exam will be held on Friday, March 5 with a review session on Wednesday, March 3.  Material covered until Monday, March 1 will be covered on the midterm.  The final will be held on Monday, May 3 at 8-11 AM in our regular classroom.  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 April 26, 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:  A term paper has been assigned for this class on a topic of your choice.  It should be 10-15 pages long, typed, double-spaced, in 10-12 point font and with 1-inch margins.  Citatation style should be MLA, American Antiquity, or Current Anthropology format (these last formats are typical of anthropologists).  Topics should be chosen in consultation with Dr. Reber, and are due on Wednesday, February 10.  The papers are due on Monday, April 12, but turning in the paper early is deeply appreciated, and is worth a bonus to the class participation grades.  I will make helpful comments on drafts turned in to me BEFORE Monday, April 5.  Late papers for good reasons should have separate negotiated extensions—see me before the due date! 

 

Even if you have an excellent reason for an extension, a paper will be considered late until you negotiate it with me.  For example, a week before the paper is due, you suffer an attack of acute appendicitis.  Although you are conscious and rational before the due date, you do not e-mail or phone my office at the numbers given on this syllabus in order to tell me about the problem until 2 weeks after your initial illness.  When you finally do so, a week after the due date, the extension will be approved, but the paper will lose 30% for the 7 late days prior to my notification of the problem.  In cases of extreme emergency, have a friend, family member or the Dean notify me of the problem, and that will take care of it.  If you’re in that bad a situation, you should notify the Dean of Students anyway, as it’s part of their job to help take care of this sort of thing.

 

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 Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica, by C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky and Jeremy Sabloff.  Readings from this book, as well as others, will be given throughout the semester.  Because no one textbook covers all of the archaeological cultures that we will, a fair number of reserve readings will be assigned—it might be easier if you set up a printing/paper budget at the beginning of the semester.

 

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 web page is always the most up-to-date and accurate reference for the class, and is probably more accurate than Dr. Reber on things like dates and class schedules.  Everything is posted here so that she doesn’t have to remember it. 

 

UNCW Honor Code (straight from the Handbook):  The University of North Carolina Wilmington is a community of high academic standards where academic integrity is valued. UNCW students are committed to honesty and truthfulness in academic inquiry and in the pursuit of knowledge.  This commitment begins when new students matriculate at UNCW, continues as they create work of the highest quality while part of the university community, and endures as a core value throughout their lives.

UNCW Honor Pledge:  As a student at The University of North Carolina Wilmington, I am committed to honesty and truthfulness in academic inquiry and in the pursuit of knowledge.  I pledge to uphold and promote the UNCW Student Academic Honor Code.

Help:  Dr. Reber will always be happy to help you during office hours and through e-mail (with a reasonable response time).  If you want or need more assistance, the University Learning Center offers free help, including tutoring for all basic studies courses such as this one.  You can find the Learning Center on the first floor of Westside Hall (WE 1056).  Its phone # is 962-7857 and its website is www.uncw.edu/ulc.  It is open M-R 8am–9pm; F 8am–5pm, and Sunday 3pm–9pm.

 

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

 

Please backup all papers and classwork onto a CD, flash drive, or disk!  This will save you a LOT of trouble, when your computer crashes the day a paper is due!

 

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 a complete rewrite of the paper for 50% of the grade 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!!