UHON 222 The Legacy of Ancient Technology
The University of
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:15pm, Honors Room 8
Dr. Troy Lovata (lovata@unm.edu)
http://www.unm.edu/~lovata/spring10/ancienttech
Office Hours (Honors Room 2B): 1:00-1:45 pm Tuesdays and
Thursdays, 3:30-4:30pm Wednesdays, and by appointment.
SYLLABUS
Course Description
This course is focused on the construction, use, and
hands-on study of ancient technologies. Understanding the past requires more
than knowledge of the dates of momentous events or the names of significant
persons. The material culture and evidence of the everyday and the ubiquitous
are keys to explaining what happened in the past and why people made the choices
they did. Ancient technologies set the stage for modern tools and artifacts
serve as important comparisons to how and why we use technology today. Students in this course will study ancient
technology first-hand. They will test and apply what they will learn about how
the past worked. Students will construct and experiment with a range of tools
used in many different aspects of past people’s lives--from grinding corn to crafting
stone tools, from making cordage to casting adobe block. This course will also
expose students to issues of both historical and modern resource use,
preservation, consumerism and fashion, and our relations to both the larger
natural world and the built environment.
Course Schedule
The weekly schedule of classroom activities and required readings in available here:
http://www.unm.edu/~lovata/spring10/ancienttech/schedule.html
Grading
As with all University Honors courses, only three grades are possible in this class—"A", “Credit”, or “No Credit”. There are no fractional grades (A+, A-, B+, etc…). This departmental policy encourages students to take demanding coursework without detriment to one's grade point average. Grades are based on a 1000 point scale with 10 points equaling 1% of the final grade and grades based on a 10% scale (an "A" is earned at 90% or 900 points). There is no "curve" or grade adjustment--everyone has the opportunity to earn the highest grade. There is no extra-credit in this course.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class of the due date. Any work that may be done online is due at 10PM. Work that is turned in late (without an excuse) will be docked 10% per day. In-class presentations CANNOT be done later or for partial credit unless the absence is excused. If you know you must miss a class in which you are to present a project, please contact me before the absence. Several of the projects in this course are cooperative, group work in which a single, same grade is given to the group as a whole. However, if a student fails to participate in the group, that individual may be given no credit for the project.
Grades are based on the completion of a series of written and creative assignments from each topic (stone tools, cordage, adobe, etc...). These are generally based on a worksheet that requires the student to make notes, document what they've done and contemplate the meaning of their work. There are no tests or final exams. Class participation, and therefore attendance, is also an essential part of this course. Therefore, you are expected to come to class and talk. Attendance may not be taken everyday, but attendance will be noted at a variety of points throughout the semester.
Grading breaks down as follows:
Projects…500 points (5 projects @ 100 points each)
Museum Report...200 points
Attendance and Participation...300 points
Students are required, no matter what format they are in, to have completed and be ready to discuss weekly readings by the first class period of each week. The Whittaker (Flintknapping) text is available for purchase in the UNM and regular bookstores.
Readings/Texts:
Flintknapping:
Making and Understanding Stone Tools
by John C. Whittaker, University of
ISBN: 029279083X
A course reader available from UNM’s E-reserves at:
http://ereserves.unm.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=8001
Use the password “honors” to access the reader. You are expected to print out each relevant article or chapter (listed in the course schedule) and bring it to class during the appropriate seminar.
Absences
Unexcused absences will severely and negatively impact your final grade. If you miss class and have a valid excuse, you must provide evidence (doctor's notes, etc...) as soon as possible. If you know you will miss class before hand, notify the instructor prior to the absence. Students with more than 3 unexcused absences will be docked 50 points for each absence.
Accommodations for
Disabilities
Students who have special needs that may affect their ability to participate in this course are asked to disclose those needs to me as early as possible so appropriate accommodations can be made. For more information consult www.unm.edu/~sss.
Safety
In the design, construction and use of various ancient technologies you will use various tools that require safe and conscientious operation (such as knives, saws and sharp sticks). You are expected to handle these tools appropriately and with caution. If you do not know how to handle any tool in a safe manner, you are expected to consult with your instructor for a demonstration of their proper use. You are required to wear safety gear for many assignments—wear the gear that you are provided! Safety starts and ends with your actions.
Academic Dishonesty
Students are expected to act according to the Student Code of Conduct as outlined by the University. Work done in this class is essentially creative and should be of your own making. Plagiarism will severely impact your grade in a negative way. Remember that if you improperly use material from the web, it is easily discerned as such. Your instructor will gladly provide you help in properly citing and crediting other's work and ideas in your assignments.
Writing
Written material will form a large component of your class work. Even Honors students and experienced writers can benefit from proofreading, editing, rewriting and practice. There are many, free services available on campus to improve your writing skills. Especially useful is the CAPS program located in the Zimmerman library. You are encouraged to take advantage of these services and, even in cases of individually written papers, consult with others in the class for proofreading and review of drafts. I will gladly review rough drafts of written work if they are given to me sufficiently ahead of time.
TRL 01/10