Worth Using Taxpayers Archeology And Human Activ
The paper for this course is supposed to be more of a “thought” piece than a research paper. The idea is to get you to think critically about archaeology and archaeological knowledge in today’s world, and how our particular cultural perspectives are included in archaeological analysis and its presentation. You can approach this topic any way you like. However, I want you to do this by analyzing something specific, such as a TV show, a social media site, a museum exhibit (virtual is fine), a book, a survey, a site, etc., and use that analysis as the center of the paper. The basic questions you are attempting to answer are how does archaeology work, how is archaeological knowledge acquired and conveyed, and what is its impact? Papers that receive As are ones that do an analysis of something specific that stems from an understanding of archaeological issues and avoid superficial discussions of how great archaeology can be or simply summarize movie plots or exhibits. If you are still describing the exhibit or the show or whatever at the end of page two, then you are summarizing, not analyzing! If you want to talk about the difference between analysis and summary, please come and talk to me.
Visit a museum or historical site and look at a specific exhibit. Online (virtual) exhibits are fine. This should be an exhibit with archaeological things in it; archaeological things are objects produced by humans or their immediate (hominin) ancestors, and have been excavated. It does not include dinosaurs, fossils, or other non- human animal ancestors. Note that many things made by Native Americans that are in museums are from the 19th or 18th centuries, and so were probably collected from living people and not excavated! These would not be acceptable for the paper—you can’t use it if it wasn’t dug up. While the exhibit may include documents, you should not focus on these unless you are considering them as objects rather than in terms of their content (historical analysis is related to archaeology but it is a different skill set). You should then analyze the exhibit. What does the exhibit tell you about the past? What choices did they make when they created the exhibit and what is left out? Is the exhibit slanted in a particular way? What is the specific content of the exhibit and does this have an impact on the general ideas being represented? Why is this information useful/interesting/educational etc.? Is it important or valuable? Is it worth using taxpayers’ money to support it? Why, specifically? Does it matter if it is virtual and not physical? Does that affect your experience of it, and if so, how? Be sure that you analyze the exhibit, not just summarize what is in it and then conclude that it was really great. It may have been, but I want to know why. Also, be sure to tell me what museum you visited and what the exhibit was called.
References
While this is not a research paper, you should provide references if you use a website, book, or other media presentation so that I can look it up if necessary. If you cite references, make sure that you use some consistent format. I don’t care if you use footnotes or references in the text, but whatever you choose, stick to it.
A word about Internet resources. There are lots of sources of information on the Internet about lots of subjects, and you can certainly use them for this paper. However, unless you are using a website to represent a particular perspective, PLEASE DO NOT USE A WEB SITE AS PRIMARY REFERENCE MATERIAL UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE IT IS A LEGITIMATE WEBSITE. There is a lot of, well, crap about archaeology on the web, and it’s important that you not use such, well, crap, as sources of basic information. So be aware of what you are using, and if you are unsure, send me the URL and I’ll let you know.
Grading criteria
The paper is due on November 20 by midnight EDT on Blackboard. It should be 5-7 pages long, double- spaced, and will be worth 30 points (15% of your grade). And please remember—I was a student too and I am not stupid. I know all about large type faces and large margins. Please give me some credit for intelligence.
While this is a short paper and I do not expect you to be writing prize-winning prose, I do expect you to take it seriously. I will be paying attention to things like typos, grammar, and suchlike, so read it over before you turn it in! An A paper will not look like something you spat out the day it was due and clearly haven’t read over since. If English is your second language, or if you have in the past had trouble expressing your thoughts in writing, I would strongly encourage you to submit a draft or use the writing center (or have a friend read it over). Making sure that your paper is grammatical and follows logically is your responsibility.
Late papers may be accepted under some circumstances, but I will deduct a grade level for each day it is late (i.e. A to A- to B+). If it is late the reason should be something more serious than “I just ran out of time” or “I had a lot of other things to do that week.” You know about this paper well in advance—schedule your time accordingly!
As noted above, I take plagiarism very seriously. I am a researcher, and like all researchers, I respect the right of people to own their own work. You should do the same. If I suspect that you might have used outside sources inappropriately, I will run your paper through Safe Assign, so be warned and don’t be stupid.