CLST 361: GIS and Mediterranean Archaeology

Faculty

• Prof. Pedar W. Foss (DePauw): Tel. 765-658-4597; pfoss@depauw.edu
  Office Hours (EC 303):  MWF 2:45-4:30
• Prof. Michael Galaty (Millsaps): Tel. 601-974-1387; Galatml@millsaps.edu
  Office Hours (SH 343): MWF 11:00-12:00
• Prof. P. Nick Kardulias (Wooster): Tel. 330-263-2474; pkardulias@wooster.edu
• Prof. Kenny Morrell (Rhodes): Tel. 901-843-3821; (c) 901-830-4094; morrell@rhodes.edu
  Office Hours (RT 515c): M 9:00, T 9:00, F 3:00
• Prof. Rebecca Schindler (DePauw): Tel. 765-658-4760; rschindler@depauw.edu

Class Times

Course Materials

Introduction

This course is the seminar associated with CGMA, a collaboratory for GIS (geographic information systems) and Mediterranean archaeology funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and headquartered at DePauw University. The CGMA project uses an inter-institutional, interdisciplinary program of undergraduate seminars, summer research internships, student-faculty workshops and work-study grants to begin construction of a web-based geographic information system for archaeological field survey projects. being the first Mediterranean-wide GIS registry of this kind, it provides a functional framework for broad studies of the interactions of humans and their environment in antiquity.

Organization

This upper-level undergraduate seminar (limit: 3-4 students at each of the 4 campuses) is held every fall term from 2003-2006. the primary locus of instruction and the supervising professor rotates annually amongst the 4 campuses. This year the course will originate at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

Sessions are held in person at the institution of the supervising professor, and conducted in real time over the Internet for students from the other institutions. A course delivery system developed by the Technology Center of the Associated Colleges of the South serves as the means to webcast class sessions to the other institutions, to post discussion questions and answers, results of the practicum, and as a forum for communication between the students at participating institutions. Its address is: http://CDS.colleges.org/dev/login.php

Course Description

This course introduces advanced undergraduates to methods, theories and practice in:

• Primary (field or lab) and secondary (library) research in archaeological survey;
• Archaeology and information technology, especially GIS.

1. Weekly lectures on history, method and theory, while students engage in readings and discussion;
2. A multi-stage practicum on survey and GIS which students on each participating campus do in small groups;
3. Individual projects which put the teaching and training to work in the construction of the CGMA resource.

The supervising professor and all participating students meet twice a week for instruction, problem-solving and real-time discussion; students also share ideas, questions, problems, research strategies and results over the CDS. Once during the term, participating faculty and students, as well as visiting experts, meet for a workshop at that year's host institution. For their individual project, each student works on a component of CGMA based on their interests, their expertise, and the needs of the project. Computer science students can work on database, GIS or internet delivery programming under the supervision of the project programmer; students in classical studies, anthropology, geography, etc., can work on collecting, organizing and assessing archaeological survey metadata from specific Mediterranean regions. At the end of the term, each student will write a 3-page reflective summary of their learning process and the product to her work product and provide the specific programming or data that she has developed during the term.

Note: students who successfully complete the course are eligible to apply for work-study on the project the following spring term, and for a research internship during the following summer, funded through the CGMA grant and the participating institutions.

Grading

Readings

• Wheatley, D. & Gillings, M., Spatial Technology and Archaeology (London: Taylor & Francis, 2002), ISBN: 0415246407
• Additional readings will be available on-line through the ACS Course Delivery System.
• Each campus will have copies of some recent survey publications from the Mediterranean area, to which students can refer as models. Some campuses may have to order publications for the student projects.

Schedule

Students will meet twice each week for approximately 110 minutes.