Arch Engage: Past in Pub Eye · Anthropology
I learned how complicated, interesting, tough, and resilient the feild of Archeology really is. I felt that by the array of course material, I have learned that answers to questions we typically think of as simple may very well actually be the hardest questions to be faced with. I feel like I learned how to think and write more critically, and gained new perspectives every class period.
This course helped me rethink many common biases and perceptions that are present in archaeology, and in other aspects of life. I came away from it with an appreciation for the multiplicity of epistemologies, and I gained an understanding of many popular topics and cases in archaeology.
Perspectives, epistemologies, and challenges within contemporary archeology.
The course varies by approaching different avenues of archeology by case study. Some examples include "Non Western Archeologies" or "Contemporary Migration" and how different concepts of looking at the past fit into these different realms, as well as our own perspectives in navigating the past.
The classes themselves were great and very thought provoking, but the workload is distributed almost entirely between two assignments- leading a class discussion and a final twenty page paper, which made it very challenging to gauge my progress in the course.
I would recommend this course for people who have any interest in archaeology foremost, but also to people who want to challenge the way they think about science and alternative ways of knowing.
I would recommend this course, I think I got a lot of value from a field I never thought about theoretically before. I had the mainstream perception of excavations and digs, but archeology feeds into so much more than material evidence. I definitely had to think hard before enrolling however, because I wanted to be sure if I wanted to join a seminar with a 20 page page worth 50% of my grade as a final. Its not for everyone, but I don't regret the course. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: ANTHUN3823_001_2022_3-ARCHENGAGE:PASTINPUBEYE : ANTHUN3823_001_2022_3 - ARCH ENGAGE: PAST IN PUB EYE Instructor: Terence D'Altroy
I learned a lot more about different issues and controversies in the field through case studies we looked at in class.
-learning about interest groups and stakeholders in archaeological conversations -alternative epistemologies and narratives -archaeology in political debates -individual cases on scientific, cultural, political, religious, legal, romantic, and fraudulent claims about the past
Really great class. I learned about the shift in thinking that has changed and diversified outlooks in archaeology and cultural anthropology. I also learned about an incredibly wide range of phenomena, archaeological remains, modes of interpretation and form of epistemological construction.