Greetings!  Welcome to ANP491: Archaeology of Ancient Egypt! If you aren’t already registered for the class, you’ve either come to this website via the recent Boing Boing post, via Audrey Watters’ recent Weekly News Roundup post on KQED MindShift, though the social media (the class announcement has been making the RT rounds on Twitter), or simply stumbled across it via a search.

A couple of quick notes that will help you enjoy (and, more importantly, understand) the class.  Archaeology is a regularly offered class in the Department of Anthropology (being taught online this summer) at Michigan State University.  The class is also Open Access.  This means that most of the content (video lectures, etc.) are freely available to the public.  You can’t “register” for the class – like a student at MSU would (in order to get credit towards a degree).  However, you can view all of the learning materials and read all of the stuff students write for the class.  I also let non-registered students comment on blog posts (so you can take part in the class discussion if you want – though I moderate).  There are some of the readings that non-MSU people don’t have access to (specifically journal articles) – this is for copyright purposes.

It is worth pointing out that while Michigan State University is technically part of the Open Courseware Consortium, it does not have a top level approach to Open Courseware or Open Access Courses (such as the MIT Open Courseware Initiative).  This course is Open Access because I personally believe it is my responsibility as a professor at a university that is both a public institution and a Land Grant institution to work for the public good – and offering all of my classes as Open Access (not just this one) is one of the ways I do this.

Its also very important to point out that, unless otherwise stated, the materials in this class are being made available through a Creative Commons BY-NC 3.0 License.  I would ask that respect that license.

This having been said, I hope you get something worthwhile out of the class.

Hello

My name is Melissa and I am an Anthropology. I graduate this December with my B.A., so this is my second to last semester. The end is near! I am interested in furthering my studies researching Paleoindian migrations into North America. In between semesters, when I have time to read for fun, I read books on this topic. I am currently reading David J. Meltzer’s First Peoples in a New World: Colonizing Ice Age America. I hope to move to the Pacific Northwest sometime in the next couple years and possibly attend graduate school in Washington, Oregon, or even British Columbia; that is if I can afford out of state tuition.

When I actually do come across some free time after work or school, I spend time with my boyfriend and his two children. I live in Lansing and have family within an hours drive which I like to visit frequently. Both of my parents live in the country so it is nice to retreat into the “boonies” for a while and relax with a bonfire in the country. Plus I have two labrador/collie mixes so it’s nice to have a place for them to go out and run.

I have been fascinated with ancient civilizations and the first one I ever learned about was Egypt. I grew up watching the History Channel with my dad and it was a good bonding experience.

Hello!  My name is Michele and I am a junior here at Michigan State with a major in Anthropology.  Within anthropology, I specifically want to study archaeology.  I have taken several archaeology classes and just returned from the field school at the Morton Village site in Illinois.  Digging up artifacts, finding evidence of structures, and analyzing everything in context was amazing!  I absolutely love archaeology, which is why I am taking this class.  I want to learn about as much archaeology as I can throughout the world so I can figure out what I want to specialize in.  At Michigan State, I have mainly focused on North American archaeology, so learning about Ancient Egypt will be a very new experience for me since I have never studied it before.

Outside of school, I have several hobbies.  I love to read and do photography.  Some people find this funny, but my specialty in photography is taking pictures of food.  The best food pictures I have ever taken were of my lunch at a little café in Montreal, Quebec.  The strawberry pie looked amazing!  I also love to play softball and tennis.  I played for my travel softball team for seven years as a pitcher and first baseman.  I have never played tennis competitively, but I am pretty good at it.

The most unique hobby I have is raising and showing rabbits.  I have done this since I was a little girl in 4-H.  For anyone that knows rabbit breeds, I raise approximately 200 castor Mini Rex.  Ever since high school, I only show at two national shows per year.  However, all of my hard work paid off because I won Best of Breed in 2007 and 2008 at the national convention.  Being a Michigan State has slowed my showing down, but I still love raising my rabbits.

I am very excited to start this class and learn about the wonders of archaeology in Ancient Egypt!

Hello Professor Watrall and Fellow Students, My name is Dewanda Fortune and I’m in my third year here at Michigan State University. My major is Anthropology but like several college students I’m not quite sure what I want to do in that field yet. I have taken several anthropology courses, mainly socio-cultural anthropology courses, and find myself wanting to explore other areas. Next semester I will be making the decision on what area of anthropology I want to focus on so I decided to dab into the area of Archaeology.  Archaeology of Ancient Egypt is my first Archaeology class and I look forward to exploring this field of anthropology.

I am mostly interested in Physical Anthropology, specifically forensics. This interest probably originates from my love of TruTv (which I’m sure many anthropologist hates). Making time to watch at least an hour of Forensic Files is all the leisure I usually get. However, when I do get a break from college I like to hang by the beach and chill with friends. I just got back from Miami Beach and had a blast laying out soaking up the sun, shopping, eating, and sipping…(lets just leave it at that).

When I am not in class, I’m usually at work. I work in the SRL on campus where I conduct health interviews. I take classes year round and currently enrolled in this class and Geography 206 (which I think ties well with each other). I like how the class is set up so that we can share our input openly and I am looking forward to gaining knowledge on the history of ancient Egypt especially the mortuary practices. So, good luck fellow students and to Professor Watrall I’m looking forward to receiving the knowledge you’re sharing for this course as well as the knowledge the fellow students will contribute to the course.

Greetings! I am Jason, and I am currently in the process of changing directions, academically speaking. For the past two years I was a medical student here at MSU while also pursuing a master’s degree in medical humanities with a focus in anthropology. At the end of the Fall 2010 semester, I decided that medicine was not what I wanted and that anthropology would be a much better fit for my personality and academic strengths. Because I already had a strong background in cultural anthropology (from my undergraduate minor as well as graduate school at MSU) I have been taking courses in physical anthropology and archaeology in order to round out future graduate school applications. Taking such courses has made me realize that physical anthropology, a field I hadn’t really considered during my undergraduate years, is where I see myself professionally.

I, like Cristina, am also interested in the field of forensic anthropology. This interest has been developing since undergrad and has grown since taking courses covering forensic anthropology in human rights investigations (a topic which I also covered in my master’s research paper), hominid fossils, and biocultural anthropology. I’m looking forward to further exploring my interests in the fields of physical and forensic anthropology during the Fall and Spring semesters by taking ANP340 (Physical Anthropology) and ANP440 (Forensic Anthropology) and by helping the physical anthropology graduate students with forensic casework.

Aside from school, I live with my wife (an intern in internal medicine at Ingham Regional Medical Center) and four cats, (Olivia, Sophia, Parker, and Paul) in the West Side neighborhood of Lansing. I like to play piano when I get the chance, and recently I have begun to brew my own beer.

I enrolled in this course partly because I need more coursework in archaeology, and partly because the idea of a course in the archaeology of ancient Egypt just sounded really fun and interesting.

My name is Eric, and I am a COM major. My major interest in college have been history, English, and of course, communication. Outside of college, my main interests are music (my favorite bands/artists are, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Eagles, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Stephen Stills, Led Zeppelin, Boston, and The Beach Boys, among various others)  movies and reading. I am taking this class because I need a few more credits at the 300 or 400 level in order to graduate, and I am interested in the history if Ancient Egypt, so this class seemed like a natural one for me to take. In my free time, I enjoy reading, listening to music, playing music, watching movies, and spending time with friends. After I graduate, I hope to (eventually) make a successful career for myself in the music business, preferably as a singer/songwriter/ guitarist. Until then, I will be happy to have a job that pays the bills, and doesn’t drive me crazy.

Hi, I’m Sam Carpenter and I’m a senior, graduating in December, double majoring in psychology and anthropology. I like to read, watch movies, and spend time with my family and friends, the usual stuff I guess. On weekends I normally would be up north at my family’s cabin to go fishing, just relax and get away or whatever else we find to do, but there’s no internet and not a lot of cell service up there; so, now I mostly just go back home to Bay City whenever I can (parents finally got high speed internet).

I am taking this class as an elective for my anthropology degree (all requirements for psychology are done). I’m fascinated by ancient civilizations, as well as history in general and have already taken a class on Mesoamerican civilizations/archaeology and in the fall I’m taking a European archaeology class. I am interested mostly in physical/forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, but I have a small passion for archaeology as well. In the future I hope to go to grad school for either physical anthropology or public health/epidemiology; if its possible I would incorporate archaeology and/or historic preservation into any anthropology degree I pursue, and my backup plan is counseling or child/developmental psychology. Overall I’m still not exactly sure what I want to when I’m done with school, but I have a few options to try and figure it out.

I’m excited to start this semester and learn about the history, civilization, and the archaeology of ancient Egypt and to work with all of you. Since, I’m the type of person who would rather type or text to people instead of talking to them I usually prefer online classes but I have never had one with this format before, so it will be a learning experience in itself.

Hello all, my name is Selina Kelley and I’m going in to my 5th year at MSU. Super senior is my title, Anthropology is my major, and I can honestly say that I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with my life. Lately, I’ve considered pursuing fishery and wildlife, but I’m probably just getting ahead of myself. I’m currently stationed in Mackinaw City, Mi. I have family up here and have come every summer to work and visit since I was about 8 years old. My family owns the first T-shirt shop in Mackinaw city so I put in quite a few hours there. I also work at a Tavern on Burt Lake called Hoppies. Both of my jobs are amazing and the people are even better, however, the hours are long and my social life in the summer is generally non-existent. Regardless, I love Northern Michigan and despite what I told myself when I was 16, I plan on staying here and attempting to contribute my abilities to this lovely state (hopefully without torching the place in the process). I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I’ve acquired a small passion for archaeology and really, anything old in general. I just finished an online History of Michigan class, which I found quite insightful and strengthened my desire to stay in the state after I graduate. Honestly, however, I’m really not in any hurry to graduate. The real world looks scary and uninviting. It all seems to come down to my inability to make decisions because I really just want to do everything and am finding it hard to choose just one thing to do first. Eventually I’ll figure it out, but in the mean time I’ve switched my major several times and realized the result is that I’ve become quite well-rounded with my studies and have enjoyed everything I’ve given a chance, even if only minimally. I’m excited for this class because it has joined two of my many interests, Archaeology and Egypt. It may just be me, but I can’t imagine too many things being more interesting. I’m simply excited to learn something new and continue to broaden my knowledge about the world I never got to experience.

My name is Allison Dovi and I am an out of state student from Fairfax Station, Virginia! I am graduating from MSU this summer with a BS in Psychology with an additional major in Anthropology. Then, I am off to Texas this summer to attend University of Houston to get my PhD in School Psychology. I am going to miss MSU so much this fall because campus is always beautiful in the fall and Spartan football is awesome! As far as what I like to do for fun, I love spending time with my friends and family (just like everybody else), watching movies and swimming! I also have my own earring company on the side. Making jewelry started out as a hobby but people seemed to really like them so I began selling them and business has been pretty good! Because I am getting an additional major in Anthropology, I chose this class to count as one of my Anthropology elective classes but I am so excited to take this class because I have always found Ancient Egypt really interesting!