In this class, we honor the Anikituwagi, known to us as the Cherokee. We read this acknowledgement in times where the community comes together to practice loving care to honor those who came before us. We are guests on this land and yet integrally a part of it, and we are responsible for its care. We solemnly and respectfully recognize that the land on which Warren Wilson College currently resides--the land on which we sit in this moment--is the ancestral land of the Cherokee (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Cherokee Nation). The Cherokee called this land Togiyasdi, meaning "Where They Race." The land was a place of trade, ceremony, and culture and the story of the people here neither begins nor ends with the arrival of Europeans. 

We understand and acknowledge that the land was violently wrested from the Cherokee in the late 18th century after years of violent conflict and that the Cherokee ancestors were forcibly removed from the land through the 19th century. We recognize that this act of acknowledgment does not repair the history, but is a first step toward forging a new relationship grounded in mutual respect. As these words are spoken or read, we reaffirm this campus as Cherokee homelands. 

Landscape Archaeology involves the use of archaeological, documentary, and oral history evidence to study and interpret the ways past peoples shaped their landscapes through culture and the way that culture influences the creation of landscapes. People derive meaning from the spatial relationships between sites, structures, plazas, and even the smallest artifacts. In this course, students will actively participate in experiential activities on campus and in the broader region to engage with the creation and experience of cultural landscapes. Students will learn how the concept of space developed in archaeology, and how archaeologists have broadened their understandings of the past as a result of the spatial turn. 

Students will be expected to:

• Understand and apply social science approaches that draw on theories of space, place, and landscape (for example practice theory, phenomenology, and historical ecology)

• Formulate and develop independent research projects based on a topic of your interest and use empirical data in conjunction with theories and methods to demonstrate understanding

• Consider hos space and landscape influence and shape our everyday worlds

Dr. Scotti M. Norman (she/ella)

Email: snorman@warren-wilson.edu

Student Consultation Hours: M 9:00-11:00 am, T 12:30-2:30, F 12:30-2:00 or by appointment

Office: 120 Boon, Jensen Archaeology Lab

This course is four credits. We meet twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, in Jensen 217. On Tuesdays, we meet from 10:10 to 11:10 and on Thursdays we meet from 8:30 to 11:30. On many Thursdays, I will plan place-based learning for us at different settings in the region, so I may ask you to meet early so we can get a head-start on our trips. This course is discussion-based so it is critical that you attend classes and participate, having completed the readings beforehand. Participation is the best way to create a classroom community and makes for a better learning environment.

There will be no required text--all readings and links to media will be posted on Moodle.