ANT 412 Historical Archaeology - Evaluation and Grading

ARH 412H

Historical Archaeology
Assignments & Evaluation

Fall, 2006

Course

Schedule

Evaluation

FAQ

Assignments

ARH Prog

Anthro

Events

Note: In consultation with students at the first class, we may do some "tweaking" of the assignments, but the following is what I propose.

Reports 25% each Your main activity in this course consists of three reports:

Property
Your first assignment is to research a historic property. Due date: 13 October (delivered to my office on or before this day - DO NOT bring to Fort York)

This, I propose, will be a report tracing the history of a property (preferably in djowntown Toronto) through the use of maps and other documentary sources. I would expect you to research the property's history of ownership and use, including any former buildings that stood on it, and perhaps the history of a family or business associated with the property. See the FAQ.
You should be aware that this can be a VERY TIME-CONSUMING PROJECT, so DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE LAST WEEK BEFORE THE DUE-DATE!

Cemetery
Your second assignment is to conduct research based on grave monuments in the Toronto necropolis. Due date: 9 November.

Your second report will be an analysis of gravestones from the Toronto necropolis. Deetz's work gives some ideas about how to go about studying gravestones. There are many options here, including studying diachronic changes in the popularity of different gravestone styles, the historical demography of people named on the gravestones, or the social and economic implications of different gravestone materials and styles. See the FAQ.

Artifact
Your final assignment is to research an historic artifact (one that you or someone you know owns, or that I supply for you). Due date: 23 November.

Your final assignment will allow you to develop some skills with a particular artifact class, which we otherwise won't have much time to pursue in such a short course. You may research an old artifact that you already own or that you find in an antique or junk store or, with my approval, an artifact in a museum collection (such as the ROM's Canadiana collection). This is supposed to be somewhat challenging, so I don't want you to research something that is extremely obvious (or, in the case of museum items, something that the museum has already described in detail). An example of an appropriate subject would be an obscure agricultural or industrial tool that you must first identify, and then go on to research such details as its date of production and use, distribution, perhaps its price and any implications that has for the socio-economic status of its original owner, and perhaps even an ethnic affiliation or ideological implication.

Although these are probably not like the kinds of essays you have probably done in other courses, and I would expect these papers to be quite short, I still expect them to include a real analysis of some kind. to be well organized and well written, with a clear introduction that tells me what your paper is about, a body that tells me what you did and why and what the results were, and a conclusion that tells me what you found out from these results, followed by a bibliography of the references you cited. In other words, you should still follow proper essay-writing conventions.

? Term Test 20% Test, 7 December 2006, 2 PM, held in regular classroom

last day of class

The last test will cover material from readings and lectures and will last up to 1.5 hours. There will be detailed in-class reviews and web-based summaries to help you study for these.

Guidelines for the December Test will appear here

Participation 5%
Your participation score will depend on your active participation in the labs, field trips, and practicals. Among the criteria I will use to evaluate your participation are:

Attendance at lectures
Participation in in-class labs or practicals
Regular, informed, and critical discussion of issues or questions about things covered in the readings (either in class or by email)
Participation in at least most of the historical walks and field trips (however, I will make reasonable allowance for your difficulties in attending outside scheduled class times)

Consequently, you should expect to receive a rather poor participation grade if you simply show up for lectures, repeatedly leave early without good reason, or never offer questions or comments. You could receive only 0 or 1 out of 5 if your attendance is poor.

Other Information Late or Missed Assignments or Deadlines

If you absolutely cannot avoid missing the term test , and can document the legitimate reason for missing it, you should IMMEDIATELY inform me so that we can arrange a make-up test.

I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate legitimate needs for makeup tests, but will insist on testing all students who missed the test on the same day. Consequently, if you fail to inform me in a timely manner, and thus also miss the makeup test, you will receive a mark of zero for the missed test.

If you miss a deadline for submission of one of your reports, you will be penalized at the rate of one mark (out of 25 on the assignment) per day (Monday to Friday, weekends count as one day).

Plagiarism and Other Academic Offences

I take such offences very seriously. Make absolutely sure that what you submit is your own work, and make sure that you familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism or other forms of academic fraud. See the last part of my guidelines on essays and the web sites listed there for more information.

Appeals

I will attempt to make it very clear to you what was the basis for receiving the grade you did. Although some appeals of grades, especially to recalculate incorrect totals, is warranted, I discourage frivolous appeals (ones where you're just angling for a better mark, but without specific grounds).

Last Update 4 June 2006

Reports	25% each	Your main activity in this course consists of three reports:
	Property	Your first assignment is to research a historic property. Due date: 13 October (delivered to my office on or before this day - DO NOT bring to Fort York) This, I propose, will be a report tracing the history of a property (preferably in djowntown Toronto) through the use of maps and other documentary sources. I would expect you to research the property's history of ownership and use, including any former buildings that stood on it, and perhaps the history of a family or business associated with the property. See the FAQ. You should be aware that this can be a VERY TIME-CONSUMING PROJECT, so DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE LAST WEEK BEFORE THE DUE-DATE!
	Cemetery	Your second assignment is to conduct research based on grave monuments in the Toronto necropolis. Due date: 9 November. Your second report will be an analysis of gravestones from the Toronto necropolis. Deetz's work gives some ideas about how to go about studying gravestones. There are many options here, including studying diachronic changes in the popularity of different gravestone styles, the historical demography of people named on the gravestones, or the social and economic implications of different gravestone materials and styles. See the FAQ.
	Artifact	Your final assignment is to research an historic artifact (one that you or someone you know owns, or that I supply for you). Due date: 23 November. Your final assignment will allow you to develop some skills with a particular artifact class, which we otherwise won't have much time to pursue in such a short course. You may research an old artifact that you already own or that you find in an antique or junk store or, with my approval, an artifact in a museum collection (such as the ROM's Canadiana collection). This is supposed to be somewhat challenging, so I don't want you to research something that is extremely obvious (or, in the case of museum items, something that the museum has already described in detail). An example of an appropriate subject would be an obscure agricultural or industrial tool that you must first identify, and then go on to research such details as its date of production and use, distribution, perhaps its price and any implications that has for the socio-economic status of its original owner, and perhaps even an ethnic affiliation or ideological implication. Although these are probably not like the kinds of essays you have probably done in other courses, and I would expect these papers to be quite short, I still expect them to include a real analysis of some kind. to be well organized and well written, with a clear introduction that tells me what your paper is about, a body that tells me what you did and why and what the results were, and a conclusion that tells me what you found out from these results, followed by a bibliography of the references you cited. In other words, you should still follow proper essay-writing conventions.
? Term Test	20%	Test, 7 December 2006, 2 PM, held in regular classroom
		last day of class The last test will cover material from readings and lectures and will last up to 1.5 hours. There will be detailed in-class reviews and web-based summaries to help you study for these. Guidelines for the December Test will appear here
Participation	5%	Your participation score will depend on your active participation in the labs, field trips, and practicals. Among the criteria I will use to evaluate your participation are: Attendance at lectures Participation in in-class labs or practicals Regular, informed, and critical discussion of issues or questions about things covered in the readings (either in class or by email) Participation in at least most of the historical walks and field trips (however, I will make reasonable allowance for your difficulties in attending outside scheduled class times) Consequently, you should expect to receive a rather poor participation grade if you simply show up for lectures, repeatedly leave early without good reason, or never offer questions or comments. You could receive only 0 or 1 out of 5 if your attendance is poor.

Other Information		Late or Missed Assignments or Deadlines
		If you absolutely cannot avoid missing the term test , and can document the legitimate reason for missing it, you should IMMEDIATELY inform me so that we can arrange a make-up test. I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate legitimate needs for makeup tests, but will insist on testing all students who missed the test on the same day. Consequently, if you fail to inform me in a timely manner, and thus also miss the makeup test, you will receive a mark of zero for the missed test. If you miss a deadline for submission of one of your reports, you will be penalized at the rate of one mark (out of 25 on the assignment) per day (Monday to Friday, weekends count as one day). Plagiarism and Other Academic Offences I take such offences very seriously. Make absolutely sure that what you submit is your own work, and make sure that you familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism or other forms of academic fraud. See the last part of my guidelines on essays and the web sites listed there for more information. Appeals I will attempt to make it very clear to you what was the basis for receiving the grade you did. Although some appeals of grades, especially to recalculate incorrect totals, is warranted, I discourage frivolous appeals (ones where you're just angling for a better mark, but without specific grounds).