THE 2008 FIELD SCHOOL COURSE REQUIREMENTS   Please note: 2008 Course Requirments are being revised but will be very similar to what is listed below. Revisions will be posted this fall, at which time this notice will disappear. 2008 Learning Goals and Your Grade "Education is what survives when what has been leaned is forgotten." -- B.F. Skinner We believe that the Poggio Colla Field School offers one of the best opportunities to learn the process and theory of archaeological excavation. This program also introduces the student to the cultural history of the Etruscans. Every year we modify the field school, often as a result of student feedback, with the hopes of improving the didactic aspects of our program. At the same time, this is a real excavation that must conform to the limits of budget and time. Therefore as a field student, you must first and foremost be a participant of this project, and as mandated by archaeological codes of ethics, the archaeological process is the number one priority. If you are taking this course for undergraduate credit, your grade will be based on the criteria, outlined below, that also provide you with a percentage breakdown of how your final grade will be determined. The underlying principle is that your grade is highly dependent on performance and attendance: your attendance at both the lectures and daily fieldwork/lab-work is required, and it is critical to your learning experience and to the success of the field season. Fieldwork will be made up of excavation, laboratory research, pottery washing and processing and survey experience. Your daily fieldwork schedule can vary by the demands of the excavation change. Course Textbooks Barker, Graeme & Tom Rasmussen, The Etruscans Blackwell, Oxford, 1998. Hester, T. R., H. J. Shafer and K. L. Feder, Field Methods in Archaeology. 7th Edition. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997.   As a participant in the 2007 Poggio Colla Field School you are part of an elite group of students chosen from all over North America to participate in a project that combines learning and research at the highest level. You have been chosen because of your intelligence, passion, and dedication, and we expect you to bring those qualities to the project. We know you will take learning seriously and that you will actively take advantage of all the opportunities that are afforded you. In return for your sense of responsibility and engagement, we will take your education seriously and treat you as a respected member of our team. At Poggio Colla we structure the course as a kind of seminar where engagement and participation are paramount. So, what will you learn? You can expect us to help you improve your knowledge and skills in the following areas, and we will discuss these topics with you at the end of the program: 1. Knowledge of Etruscan history, culture, and material culture. You should leave with a good understanding of the way that primary and secondary sources are used to reconstruct Etruscan culture. You should also emerge with a sense of the history of the discipline and the various methodological approaches that can be taken in reconstructing the Etruscan past. 10% OF GRADE. Graded through class discussion, participation, and quizzes. 2. Excavation skills (physical) will be assessed on site by the field supervisors. Students will be graded on how well they learn and adapt to the physical process of excavation. In consultation with Prof. Thomas, the field supervisors will also assess each student's ability and willingness to respond to instruction, work as a member of a team, and contribute to the project through her/his participation as an excavator. Attendance in the field is mandatory, and can only be officially excused by either Profs. Thomas or Warden. Any student who feels ill or has sustained injury must immediately notify a senior staff member about his/her condition. Any unexcused absence from the field will factor into the final field grade. 10% OF GRADE 3. Excavation skills (conceptual theoretical). These skills will be evaluated through an assignment that will be graded and supervised by Prof. Thomas. You are required to keep an excavation journal and for this assignment you will need a small field book for this. We suggest either a 6 ½"x 8 ½" or 5"x7" with metric grid graph paper. You can order one from either Ben Meadows at www.benmeadows.com (order the Metric Cross Section Book, 6 ½"x 8 ½", Item #101532) or Forestry Suppliers at www.forestry-suppliers.com (order the "Rite in the Rain" metric field book, #360, bound, Item #49322 or #360F, spiral, Item #49494). This journal should summarize your archaeological work and you should discuss this journal once a week with your Field Supervisor. 10% OF GRADE 4. Lab skills (physical/conceptual). On days when you work in the lab, you will have the opportunity to assist with a variety of archival, research and conservation projects under the direction of Profs. Steiner and Meyers, the Head Conservators and Visiting Scholars. 10% OF GRADE. This portion of your grade will be based on participation, diligence and attention to detail, and class discussion in the laboratory, as determined by Profs. Steiner and Meyers. The research aspect of this work will be assessed through your laboratory research project (no. 5, infra). 4. Ability to work in a team, enhancing your team skills. You will all work on the same laboratory research project this year, but you will also be part of a team in the lab and in the trenches, working with faculty who will expect you to work together as a unit. 10% OF GRADE? This grade will be determined by Profs. Warden, Thomas, Steiner, and Meyers, with input from your graduate-student team leader and the trench supervisors. 5. Research methods, theory and practice, will be assessed through your final written project. During the first few weeks of the program you will be assigned a project which will simulate the kind of observation and analysis that is a normal part of the process of archaeological explication and publication. This paper will be prepared as a result of your research in the lab. The point of the project is to present and explicate material remains in their cultural/archaeological context. Franklin and Marshall students will submit their paper to Prof. Steiner; all others will send their project to Prof. Warden by September 3. It should be mailed or delivered to: Greg Warden, Art History, OFAC 1630, SMU, Dallas TX 75275. 50% OF GRADE 6. Cultural engagement- sense of mission. The question of archaeological ethics and our responsibility to the cultural heritage of Italy will be discussed in class and on site. There will be some specific reading assignments in this area.   "Mystery results not from lack of information but from a lack of meaning."     Co-Directors: Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu and Michael Thomas mlthomas@mail.utexas.edu Excavation house phone during the field season: (011-39) 055-844-9834