ANP264: Great Discoveries in Archaeology looks at the history of archaeological discoveries around the world and how those discoveries have helped us to understand our shared past and cultural heritage. The course will focus on a series of key archaeological discoveries that over time have captured the public’s imagination. By exploring and scrutinizing these exciting discoveries, students address pivotal archaeological questions about our shared cultural heritage and gain a better understanding of the nature of archaeological inquiry (how and what archaeologists do what they do).

OPEN ACCESS & LICENSING

This class adheres to the philosophy of open courseware and open access.  As such, all course materials are open and accessible to the public.  This includes some of the assignments – specifically the blog posts.  As such, students should think of themselves as not just taking a class, but as contributing to the pool of scholarship on archaeology and ancient states.  This also means that students need to think about how you want to license your work (aka. how you would like other people to be able to use your work).

When students post to the course website, they will be able to choose a specific Creative Commons license.  Each license (there are 6 to choose from) gives the author a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work.

Be sure to review the Creative Commons licenses – think about which one works best for you.

It is very important to note any student (at any time during or after the semester) can opt not to have their class materials be open access.  Just talk to Ethan, and he’ll make it happen immediately.  Its equally important to note that any student who chooses to do this will not be penalized in any way at all.  The content you produce for this class belongs to you, and you have total control over how it lives out in the wider world.

D2L

We won’t be using D2L that much during class.  All of the course announcements & discussions that you might normally find on D2L happen on the course blog — which is why you will always need to keep you eye on the blog (you might want to think about subscribing to the course RSS feed).  The only real thing that we’ll be using D2L for is the class gradebook.  You’ll be able to use it to see your grades (if you see something amiss with your grades, be sure to email Ethan ASAP)

TWITTER

This class (casually) takes advantage of Twitter to to extend the class conversation beyond the walls of the classroom and to connect students with each other (as well as the professor).  All you need to do is go to  http://www.twitter.com, sign up for an account (if you don’t already have one), and then follow http://twitter.com/captain_primate/ (Ethan – your professor). The class will be using the #anp264ss15 hashtag.

BLOG

Blogs & blogging is a big part of this class.  Students are going to be using a blog (this site, in fact) to do some of your class assignments (check out the Assignments & Grading section of the site for more info on that).  Also, the course blog is going to be the primary way how your professor a will be communicating with you (outside of class).  All class announcements, info, etc. will be posted on the blog.  This means you’ll always need to keep your eye on the blog. because of this, students might want to think about subscribing to the course RSS feed

GRAVATAR

All students are required (yes, required) to sign up for a Gravatar account (http://en.gravatar.com/). A Gravatar (globally recognized avatar) is a profile image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog.  To get an account, just go to the Gravatar website, and sign up using your MSU email (using your MSU email is key).  If you’ve already got a Gravatar, you are welcome to use it (or create a separate one for the class if you want – its totally up to you).

ASSIGNED TEXTBOOKS & READINGS

You aren’t required to purchase a specific textbook for this class.  Instead, electronic readings will be assigned throughout the semester. Some of the readings will by downloadable PDFs (from the course website), some will be available through the MSU Library Electronic Resources System. Refer to the Schedule for reading assignments.

It is extremely important to remember that all readings are mandatory for the class, and must be completed. Reading assignments will be included on the semester’s exams.

LECTURE SLIDES

All Lecture slides (in PDF format) will be made available in the Class Resources section of the course website.  However, its extremely important to remember that not attending class and relying on the lecture slides to get you through the exams is pretty much a direct way to fail the class.  You’ll quickly find that the class lecture slides are not packed full of line after line of text. They aren’t a direct reproduction of what is actually said during the lecture.  So, you need to be sure to take good notes (and get the notes from one of your classmates if you miss class) if you want to do well in the class.

DUE DATES, SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS, EXAM DATES

Due dates are not negotiable. All assignments are to be submitted on their specific due date (refer to weekly schedule for exact due dates) If you know ahead of time that you are going to be away from a computer with an assignment is due, it is your responsibility to submit it before the due date if you don’t want to be penalized.

Only under extreme (and documentable) circumstances will students be allowed to submit assignments after the due date without being penalized. Students who do not submit any of their assignments will be docked 15% for each 24 hour period for which it is late.

Likewise, exam dates are not negotiable.  If a student misses and exam, they simply won’t receive credit .  Only under extreme (and documentable) circumstances will students be allowed to make up the exam. I cases such as these, the student must discuss the situation ASAP with the professor.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

This class doesn’t have a formal attendance polity. This means that attendance isn’t taken at all.  Students are paying to take this class and they’ve chosen (of their own free will) to take this class.  As such. they should be treated like adults and not schoolchildren who are required by law to attend class.  However, the flipside to this is that it is the student’s responsibility to take ownership of their success and performance in this class. Students who don’t attend class on a regular basis won’t do very well at all. Bottom line here is that students will get only so much out of the class as they put in to it.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

In accordance with Michigan State University’s policies on “Protection of Scholarship and Grades” and “Integrity of Scholarship and Grades,” students are expected to honor principles of truth and honesty in their academic work. Academic integrity means, amongst other things, not plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes submitting someone else’s work (words, ideas, etc.) as their own now will the knowingly permit another student to copy and submit their work. Additional discussion of academic integrity is available on the Ombudsman’s website: http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/dishonestystud.html.

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Article 2.3.5 of the Academic Freedom Report (AFR) for students at Michigan State University states: “The student’s behavior in the classroom shall be conducive to the teaching and learning process for all concerned.” Article 2.3.10 of the AFR states that “The student has a right to scholarly relationships with faculty based on mutual trust and civility.” General Student Regulation 5.02 states: “No student shall . . . interfere with the functions and services of the University (for example, but not limited to, classes . . .) such that the function or service is obstructed or disrupted.

Students whose conduct adversely affects the learning environment in this classroom may be subject to disciplinary action through the Student Faculty Judiciary process.”

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD or on the web at rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation (“VISA”) form. Please present this form to me at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date (test, project, etc). Requests received after this date will be honored whenever possible.