ANTH 576L - Historical Archaeology

Credits: Variable

This four credit graduate seminar introduces the student to the growing field of historical archaeology. Historical archaeology uses material culture to study American history. It brings a unique perspective to the day-to-day life of the people who made history in the Americas. Graduate standing is required for the course but no prior course work in archaeology is necessary. I will assume that each student has a basic grounding in American history. The course will prepare graduate students in archaeology to formulate research questions for historic sites in North America. It will give students in the other three subdisciplines an introduction to archaeological research and it will address a variety of concerns that cross cut the subdisciplines. Graduate students in history can take the course to learn about the advantages and limitations of an archaeological approach to the study of American history. The course is organized into three sections. The first section will cover some of the major theoretical approaches to historical archaeology. The second section will address a series of topics that have been important in Historical archaeology. These will include gender, class, race, and world expansion. The last section will apply theory and consider these topics in a series of case studies spanning US history. Occasional.