Middletown Materials: Archaeological Analysis
ARCP 325
Fall 2013
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Crosslisting:
AFAM 316, AMST 262, ANTH 326 |
| Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory |
| Course Cluster: Service-Learning |
Buried beneath you as you walk the streets of Middletown is the residue of former residents. Mostly consisting of fragments of ceramics, glass, and other objects, these hold the potential to unlock the day-to-day history of their past owners and users. In this class students will take part in excavation and analysis of a nineteenth-century free African American community, tied to the AME Zion Church. Known as the Beman Triangle, this site today sits on the Wesleyan campus. We will explore the history of the site through artifacts and will investigate the ties between the Beman Triangle and Wesleyan University. This project is a community archaeology project; students will work with community members on the project as equal partners, and will explore ways in which archaeological heritage can be shared with local residents. This will include touring visitors around site and weekend excavations. Students will learn the basics of archaeological fieldwork through hands-on training.
This class will be co-taught by an archaeologist and a choreographer. The choreographer is Morgan Thorson (http://mancc.org/artists/morgan-thorson/). We are interested in the effects of fieldwork on the body, and in sensitivity to embodiment of place. Through movement we will also explore the site in relation to location building. The first half of the semester will include movement work in addition to regular seminar discussion. Readings will include material that cross-cuts performance and archaeology. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ARCP |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Battle-Baptiste, BLACK FEMINIST ARCHAEOLOGY
Pearson and Shanks, THEATRE/ARCHAEOLOGY
Gormly and Klein, FRAMEMAKERS: CHOREOGRAPHY AS AN AESTHETICS OF CHANGE
We will also study a selection of articles, project reports and books including those by Agbe-Davies, Delle, Fennel, Franklin, LaRoche, McDavid, Mullins, Paynter, and Warner
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Examinations and Assignments:
Short papers, journal, participation in fieldwork, and final research project |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Participation in this class will include archaeological fieldwork in two weekends in September, joining the class is dependent on committing to the fieldwork weekends. We will excavate during two weekends: September 14, 15, 28 & 29. No previous experience of archaeology is required. For further details of the project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVviYVHS2C8 |
| Instructor(s): Croucher,Sarah Katharine Times: .....F. 01:10PM-04:00PM; Location: ANTH6; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 14 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 2 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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