SLS 2940: Field Methods in Cemetery Archaeology
Course Description
This course introduces students to the process of anthropological research through active participation in a statewide cemetery recording project. This is a service learning course in which a major component will be travelling to historic cemeteries in the local area to systematically record data on individual headstones, including inscriptions, iconography, and information on the state of preservation more generally. These data will then become part of a larger database of Florida cemeteries made available to the public. Students will learn about the process of scientific research by working as a team to establish a research question, collect data to address that question, and disseminate the results to a wider audience. While much of the class will take place in the field, students will also receive a grounding in issues of archaeological ethics, legal mandates, and historical archaeology more generally. Students will gain an appreciation for the importance of preserving our cultural heritage, in turn drawing a connection between the past and present.
Learning Objectives
Through this course, you will:
This course introduces students to the process of anthropological research through active participation in a statewide cemetery recording project. This is a service learning course in which a major component will be travelling to historic cemeteries in the local area to systematically record data on individual headstones, including inscriptions, iconography, and information on the state of preservation more generally. These data will then become part of a larger database of Florida cemeteries made available to the public. Students will learn about the process of scientific research by working as a team to establish a research question, collect data to address that question, and disseminate the results to a wider audience. While much of the class will take place in the field, students will also receive a grounding in issues of archaeological ethics, legal mandates, and historical archaeology more generally. Students will gain an appreciation for the importance of preserving our cultural heritage, in turn drawing a connection between the past and present.
Learning Objectives
Through this course, you will:
- Learn about the scientific method and the process of anthropological research through active participation in a field project
- Enhance your comparative, analytic, and critical thinking skills in the analysis of key values and ideas presented in the areas of archaeology, history, and anthropology
- Develop an understanding of the theories, methods, and techniques used by historical archaeologists to study people of the past
- Demonstrate essential skills in verbal and written communication, both in the field as part of a group recording gravemarkers as well as through the production of a final project
- Learn about the process of scholarly inquiry by doing background research on the different cemeteries visited over the course of the semester