Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T03:52:03.869Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Teaching Interdisciplinary Archaeology: Our Students as Our Future Agents of Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2019

Helen Blouet Open the ORCID record for Helen Blouet [Opens in a new window]
Helen Blouet*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Utica College, 1600 Burrstone Road, Utica, NY13502, USA (hblouet@utica.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

I discuss my experiences using archaeology and anthropology to teach college-level students how to be interdisciplinary thinkers and doers. Although the number of students who complete archaeology and anthropology degrees is relatively small in the United States and worldwide, programs and courses in such fields offer any student important opportunities in active, interdisciplinary learning that contribute to effective problem-solving using multiple lines of information. Courses and learning activities can question stereotypes depicting archaeology as a “useless” discipline (Arendt 2013:79), and they can prepare students to engage in and adapt to countless personal and professional situations while also learning about archaeology, its benefits, and its potential for relationships with similar and different fields. Therefore, the active learning of multimethod, interdisciplinary archaeology can prepare college-level students to address change and uncertainty in their homes, communities, and professions.

Discuto mis experiencias en usar la arqueología y la antropología para enseñar a estudiantes de nivel universitario cómo ser personas que piensan y actúan de manera interdisciplinaria. Aunque la cantidad de estudiantes que cumplen títulos en arqueología y antropología sea relativamente pequeña en los EE UU y mundialmente, tales programas y cursos ofrecen a cualquier estudiante oportunidades importantes de aprendizaje activo e interdisciplinario que contribuyen a la resolución eficaz de problemas utilizando múltiples líneas de información. Los cursos y actividades de aprendizaje pueden cuestionar estereotipos que pintan la arqueología como disciplina “inútil” (Arendt 2013:79), y pueden preparar estudiantes para participar en y adaptarse a innumerables situaciones personales y profesionales mientras aprenden de arqueología, sus beneficios, y su potencial para relaciones con ámbitos similares y diferentes. Por lo tanto, el aprendizaje activo de la arqueología interdisciplinaria de métodos múltiples puede preparar estudiantes del nivel universitario para abordar el cambio e incertidumbre en sus hogares, comunidades, y profesiones.

Keywords

archaeology in higher educationinterdisciplinary learning and problem-solvingexcavation simulationcustomized student projectsarqueología en la educación superioraprendizaje interdisciplinario y resolución de problemassimulación de excavaciónproyectos estudiantiles personalizados
Type
Articles
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 15 - 24
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES CITED

Agbe-Davies, Anna 2002 Black Scholars, Black Pasts. SAA Archaeological Record 2(4):24–28.Google Scholar
Agbe-Davies, Anna, Galle, Jillian, Hauser, Mark, and Neiman, Fraser 2014 Teaching with Digital Archaeological Data: A Research Archive in the University Classroom. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 21:837–861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arendt, Beatrix 2013 Making It Work: Using Archaeology to Build Job Skills for Careers Other Than Archaeology. Public Archaeology 12:79–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartoy, Kevin 2012 Teaching Through Rather Than About: Education in the Context of Public Archaeology. In The Oxford Handbook of Public Archaeology, edited by Skeates, Robin, McDavid, Carol, and Carman, John, pp. 552–565. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Baxter, Jane Eva 2005 The Archaeology of Childhood: Children, Gender, and Material Culture. AltaMira, Walnut Creek, California.Google Scholar
Behrens, John 1997 Pioneering Generations: The Utica College Story, 1946–1996, Utica College, Utica, New York.Google Scholar
Bender, Susan 2000 A Proposal to Guide Curricular Reform for the Twenty-First Century. In Teaching Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Bender, Susan and Smith, George, pp. 31–48. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Bowman, Bradley, and Dean, Glenna 2007 The Simulated Excavation: An Alternative to Archaeological Site Destruction. In Archaeology to Delight and Instruct: Active Learning in the University Classroom, edited by Burke, Heather and Smith, Claire, pp. 128–142. Left Coast, Walnut Creek, California.Google Scholar
Carter, Benjamin 2014 Real-World Problem Solving in Archaeology: In and Out of the Classroom. SAA Archaeological Record 14(3):19–22.Google Scholar
Chilcott, John, and Deetz, James 1964 The Construction and Uses of a Laboratory Archaeology Site. American Antiquity 29:328–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Classic Toy Museum 2014 Classic Toy Museum, Burlingame, California. Electronic document, https://burlingamepezmuseum.com/classictoy/potato.html, accessed June 11, 2019.Google Scholar
Coleman, Simon, and Simpson, Bob 1999 Unintended Consequences? Anthropology, Pedagogy, and Personhood. Anthropology Today 15(6):3–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colley, Sarah 2004 University-Based Archaeology Teaching and Learning and Professionalism in Australia. World Archaeology 36:189–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collis, John 2001 Teaching Archaeology in British Universities: A Personal Polemic. In Interrogating Pedagogies: Archaeology in Higher Education, edited by Rainbird, Paul and Hamilakis, Yannis, pp. 15–20. BAR International Series 948. Archaeopress, Oxford.Google Scholar
Conkey, Meg, and Spector, Janet 1984 Archaeology and the Study of Gender. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 7:1–38.Google Scholar
Cosgrove, Richard, Frankel, David, and Thomas, David 2013 From the Moat to the Murray: Teaching Practical Archaeology at La Trobe University, Australia. Australian Archaeology 76:44–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisafulli, Virgil 2000 Reflections: The Early Years of Utica College. Devon Press, Utica, New York.Google Scholar
Fagan, Brian 1992 Anthropology 3: An Experiment in the Multimedia Teaching of Introductory Archaeology. American Antiquity 57:458–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fagan, Brian 2000 Education Is What's Left: Some Thoughts on Introductory Archaeology. Antiquity 74:190–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fletcher, Richard, Meyer, Luanna, Anderson, Helen, Johnston, Patricia, and Rees, Malcolm 2012 Faculty and Student Conceptions of Assessment in Higher Education. Higher Education 64:119–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franklin, Maria 1997 Why Are There So Few Black American Archaeologists? Antiquity 71:799–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilakis, Yannis 2004 Archaeology and the Politics of Pedagogy. World Archaeology 36:287–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernon, Peter, Dugan, Robert, and Schwartz, Candy (editors) 2013 Higher Education Outcomes Assessment for the Twenty-First Century. Libraries Unlimited, Santa Barbara, California.Google Scholar
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) 2017–2018a National Center for Education Statistics, Nazareth College Majors/Programs Completion. Electronic document, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Nazareth+College&s=all&id=193584#programs, accessed August 20, 2019.Google Scholar
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) 2017–2018b National Center for Education Statistics, Niagara University Majors/Programs Completion. Electronic document, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Niagara+University&s=all&id=193973#programs, accessed August 20, 2019.Google Scholar
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) 2017–2018c National Center for Education Statistics, Saint John Fisher College Majors/Programs Completion. Electronic document, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=John+Fisher&s=all&id=195720#programs, accessed August 20, 2019.Google Scholar
IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) 2017–2018d National Center for Education Statistics, Utica College Majors/Programs Completion. Electronic document, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Utica+College&s=all&id=197045#programs, accessed August 20, 2019.Google Scholar
Jenks, Kelly 2014 Teaching Students about Stewardship: Current Concerns and Approaches. SAA Archaeological Record 14(1):33–35.Google Scholar
Jones, Sharyn 2014 Teaching Written and Oral Skills in Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 14(3):23–26.Google Scholar
Kamp, Kathryn 2014 Teaching Archaeology in the First Part of the Twenty-First Century. SAA Archaeological Record 14(1):30–32.Google Scholar
Kiddey, Rachael 2011 Heritage and Homelessness (Bristol, UK). Department of Archaeology, University of York, United Kingdom. Electronic document, https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/research/current-projects/heritage&homelessness/, accessed June 11, 2019.Google Scholar
Mazur-Stommen, Susan 2006 Optimal Foraging Theory and the Racecar Driver: The Impact of Student-Centered Learning on Anthropological Pedagogy. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 37:273–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mulcahy, D. G. 2009 What Should It Mean to Have a Liberal Education in the Twenty-First Century? Curriculum Inquiry 39:465–486.Google Scholar
Nelson, Sarah M. (editors) 2006 Handbook of Gender in Archaeology. AltaMira, Lanham, Maryland.Google Scholar
Newman, Elizabeth Terese, and West, Benjamin 2014 Teaching Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century: Social Relevance. SAA Archaeological Record 14(3):12–14.Google Scholar
New York State Education Department 2018 Policy Statement on Liberal Arts and Sciences. Electronic document, http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/department-expectationscurriculum#c, accessed June 11, 2019.Google Scholar
Pyburn, K. Anne 2000 Altered States: Archaeologists under Siege in Academe. In Teaching Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Bender, Susan and Smith, George, pp. 121–124. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Repko, Allen, Szostak, Rick, and Buchberger, Michelle 2017 Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Rice, Patricia 1985 Using a Simulated Site to Teach Data Analysis in Archaeology. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 16:301–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seebach, John 2014 The Last Chapter: (How) Are We Teaching Archaeological Ethics and Values to Our Undergraduates? SAA Archaeological Record 14(3):15–18.Google Scholar
Smith, Claire, and Burke, Heather 2005 Becoming Binford: Fun Ways of Teaching Archaeological Theory and Method. Public Archaeology 4:35–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, Rachel, Colyer, Corey, and Manning, Jason 2016 Student Accountability in Team-Based Learning Classes. Teaching Sociology 44:22–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, Tammy 2014 Integrating the Concept of Diverse Interest Groups into Undergraduate Curriculum in Archaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 14(1):36–39.Google Scholar
Utica College 2019a About Utica. Electronic document, https://www.utica.edu/about-utica, accessed September 28, 2019.Google Scholar
Utica College 2019b Curriculum Committee. Electronic document, http://www.utica.edu/academic/facultyinfo/curriculum.cfm, accessed August 24, 2019.Google Scholar
Utica College 2019c Promise to Develop Five Key Intellectual Skills among Students. Electronic document, http://www.utica.edu/academic/promise.cfm, accessed August 24, 2019.Google Scholar
Utica College 2019d Sociology and Anthropology Department. Electronic document, http://catalog.utica.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=36&poid=750&returnto=2034, accessed August 24, 2019.Google Scholar
Utica College Factbook 2018 Table 5: Undergraduate Student Enrollment by Program. Electronic Document, https://www.utica.edu/ir/factbookenrollment.cfm, accessed August 24, 2019.Google Scholar
Vega, Quinn, and Tayler, Marilyn 2005 Incorporating Course Content while Fostering a More Learner-Centered Environment. College Teaching 53:83–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walser, Tamara 2015 Evaluability Assessment in Higher Education: Supporting Continuous Improvement, Accountability, and a Culture of Assessment. Journal of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness 5:58–77.Google Scholar
Wholey, Heather, and Nash, Carole 2014 Teaching Basic Archaeological Skills: Current Approaches in Undergraduate Field and Classroom Settings. SAA Archaeological Record 14(3):27–31.Google Scholar
Wilson, Jeane, Goodman, Paul, and Cronin, Matthew 2007 Group Learning. Academy of Management Review 32:1041–1059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamarik, Steven 2007 Does Cooperative Learning Improve Student Learning Outcomes? Journal of Economic Education 38:259–277.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Blouet supplementary material

Blouet supplementary material

Download Blouet supplementary material(File)
File 36.1 KB