Academic Programs
Historical Archaeology
Dr. Clarence Geier, Minor Adviser
Phone: (540) 568-6973
E-mail: geiercr@jmu.edu
Dr. Gabrielle Lanier, Minor Adviser
Phone: (540) 568-3615
E-mail: laniergm@jmu.edu
Web site: http://www.jmu.edu/sociology/anth_minor.html
The minor is designed for students interested in the field of historical archaeology, a discipline that integrates the research interests and methods of archaeology and history. The minor is designed to complement existing majors in anthropology and history, and it may also be of interest to students in art history and public administration. While guided by the theoretical underpinnings of history and anthropology, the minor in historical archaeology is highly field and research oriented. Students enrolling in the program should anticipate courses that require significant effort outside of the classroom.
The minor is a minimum of 22 credit hours. Two courses (six credits) may be double counted between the minor and the student's major.
| Required Courses | Credit Hours |
| ANTH/HIST 331. Historical Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 494. Field Techniques in Archaeology | 4 |
| HIST 396. Introduction to Public History | 3 |
| Capstone research course1 | 3 |
| ANTH/HIST 496. Research Thesis | |
| Choose three of the following: | 9 |
| Of these, one course must be chosen from the history/anthropology options and one must be from the geology and geography options.2 |
|
| ANTH 455. Archaeology: Methods of Analysis and Interpretation | |
| HIST 492. American Material Culture | |
| HIST 493. Historic Preservation | |
| HIST 494. Introduction to Museum Work | |
| GEOL 340. Soils and Land Use | |
| GEOG 366. Geographic Information Systems | |
22 |
|
1 The personalized capstone course can take place over one or two semesters and will require the student to work closely with a faculty adviser. The project will require the student to define a research topic, establish a theoretical and methodological base for the project, gather data, interpret the results, and prepare an appropriate statement of findings.
2 Access to the geology and geography courses will be competitive and will require some computer experience.
