ARCHY 469 – Theory in Archaeology Lecture: TTh 1:30 – 3:20pm, SMI 307 Instructor: Debora C. Trein Instructor’s office: DEN 133 Office Hours: F 11:30 – 1:30pm, or by appointment Email: [email protected] Source: unknown artist Course Description: How do we go from artifacts to statements about the lives of people in the past? How much of the past can we truly know, when most of the pertinent evidence has long since degraded, and when the people we aim to study are long dead? This course provides a broad survey of the major theoretical trends that have shaped anthropological archaeology over time. We will outline and examine some of the major publications, debates, and shifts in archaeological thought that have influenced the diverse ways in which we claim to know what we know about the past. In this course, we will explore the notion that the various intellectual approaches we employ to make statements about the past are influenced by the different perspectives we have of the relationship between the past and the present, the kinds of meaning we believe can be derived from the archaeological record, the questions we seek to answer, and the methods we use to retrieve (and prioritize) information. This course will start with a broad overview of the major periods of theoretical development in archaeology from the 1800s to the present, followed by discussions of how archaeologists tackle common archaeological questions through diverse theoretical lenses (and why sometimes they don’t tackle these questions at all). While the politics of archaeological practice will be 1 | Page touched upon throughout the course, we will devote the last quarter of the course to the repercussions of archaeological practice to present-day communities and stakeholders. This course is designed to provide students with sufficient background knowledge of archaeological theories to think about their own interests in archaeology, and prepare them for other advanced classes in anthropology and further into graduate studies. Student-led discussions will be an integral part of the learning process in this course. Thus, students will be expected to give careful consideration to the assigned readings in preparation for discussions. Readings: Class textbook: There are no class textbooks for this course, as readings for this course will either be available online through UW’s library system, or as scanned PDFs posted on Canvas. Readings are either designated as ♦REQUIRED♦ or SUGGESTED. ♦REQUIRED♦ readings will be discussed in class, and reading these is essential in order to achieve participation points (more below). SUGGESTED readings are posted for students interested in furthering their learning on a particular topic, or to aid in the completion of the position paper. This course will draw heavily from chapters in: - Johnson, Matthew H. 2010 Archaeological Theory: An Introduction. New York Blackwell. - Praetzellis, Adrian 2011 Death by Theory: A Tale of Mystery and Archaeological Theory. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek. Both books are available to read digitally through UW’s library system. Students interested in continuing their studies in archaeology are also encouraged to seek out: - Trigger, Bruce G. 2006 A History of Archaeological Thought, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. - Hodder, Ian, and Scott Hutson 2003 Reading the Past: Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archaeology, 3rd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Readings not available online will be posted on Canvas for each week approximately one week in advance. Course Requirement: ARCHY 205 is a requirement. This course will count as one of the three core requirement classes for the Archaeology Sciences Option. Students in that program are strongly encouraged to register for the class, which will give you the best overview of the main intellectual frameworks in archaeological thought over the past 50 years. Course Evaluation and Grading: Successful completion of this course will require students to attend lectures, read the assigned readings, participate in class discussion, lead discussion sections, and complete a position paper. Evaluations for this course will be undertaken in three ways: preparing and leading class discussions, submitting questions for class discussion, and a position paper. Grades for all assignments and exams will be posted on Canvas. 2 | Page Class Discussion: Students are required to co-lead three (3) class discussions, which entails preparing and distributing a 1-page handout to the class (which includes a synopsis of the reading, and 2-3 questions/topics for discussion), and presenting on assigned readings. You may use media such as PowerPoint if it aids your presentation. Discussions are graded out of ten (10) points (five (5) points for the presentation/discussion and five (5) points for the handout). THERE ARE NO MAKE UP CLASS DISCUSSIONS. If special circumstances require absence from lab sessions, proper documentation MUST be provided before or immediately after (1-2 days) class. Class Discussion Participation: Up to one week before student-led discussion sessions, students will be asked to submit a question based on the upcoming week’s readings. Those who participate with thoughtful, insightful comments and help move the discussion along will be provided two (2) points. There are a total twenty-four (24) points available to students for participating in class discussion. Four (4) of these points represent extra credit, which can be added to the final grade in case the student falls short on other assignments. THERE IS NO MAKE UP DISCUSSION PARTICIPATION. If special circumstances disable a student from participating in class, proper documentation MUST be provided before or immediately after (1-2 days) the deadline. Position Paper: Students are required to write a position paper, which involves critically thinking about a question, building an appropriate bibliography, and constructing an argument that clearly delineates a position based on research on a topic. The project is to be written as a 10-page, double space, 12-font paper. This is to be done individually. The position paper may be written on a topic of the student’s choosing (with prior instructor authorization), or selected from prepared prompts at the end of the syllabus. The position paper is due at the beginning of the last class. A draft of the position paper is due at the beginning of the Thursday class of the 7th week. The draft will not be graded, but is designed to give students constructive comments to refine the student’s writing. The submission of a draft is not mandatory, but is strongly suggested. Drafts will not be accepted after the beginning of the Thursday class of the 7th week. THERE IS NO MAKE UP POSITION PAPER. If special circumstances disable a student from handing in the project on time, proper documentation MUST be provided before or immediately after (1-2 days) the deadline. Grading: The break-down of grading is as follows: • Three (3) class presentation and discussion assignments, each worth ten (10) points, totaling 30 points (or 30% of the final grade); • Twelve (12) class discussion participation opportunities, each worth two (2) points, totaling twenty-four (24) available points (or up to 24% of the final grade, depending on final grade); • One position paper, worth fifty (50) points (50% of the final grade). 3 | Page Final grades will be scored from a total of 100 points. Conversion of the percentage points to the UW grading scale area as follows: Percentage UW Percentage UW Percentage UW Percentage UW Percentage UW Points Grading Points Grading Points Grading Points Grading Points Grading Scale Scale Scale Scale Scale ≥ 95% 4.0 88% 3.3 81% 2.6 74% 1.9 67% 1.2 94% 3.9 87% 3.2 80% 2.5 73% 1.8 66% 1.1 93% 3.8 86% 3.1 79% 2.4 72% 1.7 65% 1.0 92% 3.7 85% 3.0 78% 2.3 71% 1.6 64% 0.9 91% 3.6 84% 2.9 77% 2.2 70% 1.5 63% 0.8 90% 3.5 83% 2.8 76% 2.1 69% 1.4 62% 0.7 89% 3.4 82% 2.7 75% 2.0 68% 1.3 <.7 0 Course Schedule (Subject to Change): Week 1 (09/28) Thursday – Introduction to class. Introduction to theory. Readings: - Praetzellis, Adrian 2011 Death by Theory: A Tale of Mystery and Archaeological Theory. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek. Chapter 1, 2, and 3 ♦REQUIRED♦ - Trigger, Bruce G. 2006 A History of Archaeological Thought, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Chapter 1. SUGGESTED Week 2 (10/03 and 10/05) Tuesday – Early history of archaeological thinking Readings: - Johnson, Matthew H. 2010 Archaeological Theory: An Introduction. New York Blackwell. Preface and Chapter 1 ♦REQUIRED♦ - Thompson, Edward H. 1887 Archaeological Research in the Yucatán. Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 4(3): 161-170 ♦REQUIRED♦ - Trigger, Bruce G. 2006 A History of Archaeological Thought, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Chapter 3. SUGGESTED Thursday – Culture History Readings: - Gladwin, Harold S. 1937 Independent Invention Versus Diffusion. American Antiquity 3 (2):156-160 ♦REQUIRED♦ - McKern, W. C. 1937 An Hypothesis for the Asiatic Origin of the Woodland Culture Patterns. American Antiquity 3(2): 138-143 ♦REQUIRED♦ - Childe, V. Gordon 1950 The Urban Revolution. Town Planning Review 21(1): 3-17 SUGGESTED - Fewkes, Vladimir J. 1937 Aboriginal Potsherds from Red River, Manitoba. American Antiquity 3(2):143-155 SUGGESTED - Lyman, R. Lee, and Michael J. O’Brien 2004 A History of Normative Theory in Americanist Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 11(4): 369-396 SUGGESTED 4 | Page - Trigger, Bruce G. 2006 A History of Archaeological Thought, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Chapter 6. SUGGESTED - Webster, G. S. 2008 Culture History: A Culture-Historical Approach. In Handbook of Archaeological Theories, edited by R. A. Bentley, H. D.