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ANTHROPOLOGY (L48)  (Dept. Info)Arts & Sciences  (Policies)SP2025
L48 Anthro 4050The Archaeology of Politics and the Politics of Archaeology3.0 Units
Description:How we study, interpret, present, and preserve the past is never isolated from broader concerns in society. In the currently polarized environment, the meaning of history and cultural heritage has taken on an unavoidable salience in political discourse. What is at stake is the ability to set the terms of conversations about national identity, cultural patrimony, illicit antiquities, war, and natural resource extraction, among many others. This course therefore addresses three questions: (1) how do archaeologists study politics in the past, (2) how does archaeological knowledge figure into politics (3) how is the creation of knowledge about the past inflected by present-day politics? To answer these questions, we will engage with a range of exemplary case studies that reveal the breadth and depth of the ways that scholars have examined the political in archaeology. Central themes in this course will concern archaeological methods and theory for studying ancient polities and political action in the past, conflict within and between polities, the use and abuse of archaeological knowledge, archaeology and nationalism, colonialism, the political economy of archaeological fieldwork, labor in and as a subject of archaeological research, archaeology and public policy, as well as archaeology as a form of political action. We will confront numerous challenging topics, with the perspective that archaeology is far from a dusty esoteric pursuit, but rather a terrain of meaningful struggle between experts, funders, stakeholders, descendant communities, state bureaucracies, institutions, and a range of publics. Students will gain an in depth understanding of both how archaeologists have valuable knowledge to contribute to the study of politics as such as well as the political issues facing archaeology in the world today.
Attributes:A&S IQ: LCD, SC, SSCArch: HUMArt: HUMBU: BA, ISEN: S
Instruction Type:Classroom instruction Grade Options:CPA Fees:
Course Type:HomeSame As:L48 5150Frequency:Unpredictable / History
SecDays       TimeBuilding / RoomInstructorFinal ExamSeatsEnrollWaits
01M-W----8:30A-9:50AMcMillan / 150 OlsonNo Final20202
Actions:BooksSyllabus
Syllabi are provided to students to support their course planning; refer to the syllabus for constraints on use.
Label

Home/Ident

A course may be either a “Home” course or an “Ident” course.

A “Home” course is a course that is created, maintained and “owned” by one academic department (aka the “Home” department). The “Home” department is primarily responsible for the decision making and logistical support for the course and instructor.

An “Ident” course is the exact same course as the “Home” (i.e. same instructor, same class time, etc), but is simply being offered to students through another department for purposes of registering under a different department and course number.

Students should, whenever possible, register for their courses under the department number toward which they intend to count the course. For example, an AFAS major should register for the course "Africa: Peoples and Cultures" under its Ident number, L90 306B, whereas an Anthropology major should register for the same course under its Home number, L48 306B.

Grade Options
C=Credit (letter grade)
P=Pass/Fail
A=Audit
U=Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
S=Special Audit
Q=ME Q (Medical School)

Please note: not all grade options assigned to a course are available to all students, based on prime school and/or division. Please contact the student support services area in your school or program with questions.