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DH Theory & History |
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Immersive |
Sound-Based |
Structured Data |
Public Archives |
Course Summary:
The goal of this course is to get hands-on practice doing linguistic analysis based entirely on data collected from a native speaker of a language. [NOTE: “entirely” means that you should not look up already-published grammars and dictionaries or search the web for descriptions of the language we are working on. For the purposes of this course, we will act as if no grammar or dictionary yet exists.] We will work collaboratively on the same language for the whole semester. Data collection will begin with phonetic transcription of individual words, with the goal of learning to hear the phonetic detail of an unfamiliar language, and the first assignment will be an analysis of the phonemes of the language, including rules for allophonic variation where relevant. After working out the phonemic system, we will move to analysis of grammar (word structure and phrase/sentence structure), starting with phrases and sentences and going on to a short text. Fulfills the Language Structure requirement for Linguistics majors and graduate students. Original Instructor: Lise Dobrin, Original Instructor: Ellen Contini-Morava Taught at University of Virginia in Fall 2017 |
Course Summary:
Have you ever wondered how daily life was in ancient times? How did houses look like, smell, taste and even sound like in the past? How did ancient people throw house parties and run businesses from home? Why did they bury people and objects under house floors? These are some of the key questions we will explore in the Household archaeology class. Household Archaeology is a relative new sub-field of archaeology that moves away from the monumental and highly visible public spaces of antiquity and focuses on the architecture, spatial patterning, daily activities, behaviors and experiences of the ancient house. Household archaeology allow us to move from excavated walls to people and discover the fascinating stories of individuals that made and used the object we finds in archaeological contexts. Our main goal in the course is to explore how ancient houses can help us better ancient societies. In doing so, we will investigate key sites in the eastern Mediterranean ranging from the Neolithic to the Early Modern period, that have enabled archaeologists to explore this new field and introduce us to archaeological assemblages found in ancient houses. Acquiring new skills and knowledge about: The field of archaeology • Train in basic archaeological principals that will allow us to understand how archaeological data is formed, collected and analyzed • Critically evaluate how contemporary values and experiences impact our understanding of the past. • Discover how household archaeology has developed through time Ancient houses: • Understand ancient households as non-static entities and explore the factors that contribute to their development and changes • Investigate the diverse economic, social, religious and political roles of ancient households • Develop appropriate methodologies to reconstruct ancient houses’ life histories that allow multiple readings of the data and encompass different perspectives to include all members of society. New technologies in archaeology: • Learn how to create 3D environments for archaeological data • Evaluate how well new technologies can visualize and inform the interpretation of archaeological data Contemporary life and self-awareness: • Compare ancient houses and life conditions to your own experiences and house life • Reflect on the ways this course can contribute to your life goals and professional development. You should take this course because: • We will learn together, gain new skills and create a community where everyone is respected, feels included and valued. The course is both for archaeology and non- archaeology majors who are creative and curious about the past and the use of new technologies in creating ancient 3D environment. • We are all custodians of the past and of World Heritage. Learning about the past help us to protect it at a critical time for the survival of world monuments threatened by war, climate change and political agendas. • Household archaeology is about daily life and ordinary people, like you and me, rather than about elites, kings and grand monuments. We all have a role to play in human history and deserve to be part of the historical narrative. • This course is equally about the present, our lives and our relation to others. In leaning about how people lived in the past, we can better understand aspects of our own lives and behaviors and those of the people around us. If we want a better future, we should start with the past. • Working in groups and being a good team member are key skills for success and well- being regardless of your career choices. Archaeology is a team sport so learn how to play before you go to the field! Warning: After taking this course you will never think of houses in the same way, whether you are looking for a new house, visiting a friend’s house or walking in a new neighborhood. You will become more aware of all the clues that surround us daily and reveal information about people’s self-representation, background, behaviors and aspirations. Houses will never be the same in your eyes! How you will be assessed: (More detailed descriptions of each course assessments can be found on the Assignment Folder) Participation /Leading discussion (10%): You are expected to fully attend and actively participate in all class activities and contribute to class discussions. Students are also expected to have done the assigned readings prior coming to class and have with them all required material (readings, laptops etc.) in class. At some point in the semester you will also lead at least one class discussion for twenty minutes based on the class readings. Weekly Written Activities: 30%: Your weekly written activities are small writing essays no more than 1000 words each. They include two different types of writing, Critical Thinking and Reflections. In the Activity Folder you will find a detailed week by week guide of each of these written assignments, their topics, deadlines etc. Critical thinking (15%): Every other week you will turn in a small writing assignment usually up to 1000word. Written assignments involve writing a critical review of a reading, interpreting archaeological assemblages, investigating different readings for the same find. Reflections (15%): Every other week you will turn in a small writing assignment reflecting on your own learning process by evaluating what you have learned during the week and how that knowledge contributes to the final project (3D reconstruction project), to your professionalization and understanding of the world around you. Mock Excavation (10%): We will spend a day excavating household assemblages! The goal of the assessment is to simulate the environment of a real excavation. You will discover, record, collect, analyze, and interpret all archaeological data found in their trenches. You will also need to fill in an excavation notebooks, photograph, draw and measure artifacts and produce a final report. Participation in the excavation is mandatory so make sure to save the date, we dig on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7. 3D reconstruction project (50%: 30% for the 3D product, 20% for the written part): The project has a digital (group assignment) and a written component (individual assignment). You will conduct research synthesizing and analyzing excavation finds to create a 3D reconstruction of an ancient house of your choice. The goals of the project are: • analyze and interpret archaeological data and reconstruct the architecture, spatial organization and aspects of daily life in an ancient household • .train students in new technologies (SketchUp, Unity, 3D printing) to visualize and disseminate archaeological data for a wider audience.
Original Instructor: Fotini Kondyli Taught at University of Virginia in Fall 2017 |
Course Summary:
This course combines theory and practice: the theories and practices of writing a life (one’s own or someone else’s); and the theories and practices of digital representations of lives. Assignments and discussion will introduce the field of digital humanities (or humanities scholarship that uses intensive computation). Focusing on clusters of texts from the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, we will sample different genres and modes of writing and reading. We will consider the many media in which narratives about human lives can be expressed, and experiment in using some of them. Projects will include contributions to Collective Biographies of Women as a biographical database (prosopography) and as an experiment in narrative analysis. Required Texts
Excerpts available as pdfs or online (specific excerpted readings will be noted):
Original Instructor: Alison Booth Taught at University of Virginia in Fall 2017 |
Course Summary:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00pm - 3:15pm in Bryan Hall 328.
Some undergraduate course offerings can count toward your elective requirement, but that depends on the department and professor. If you'd like to take this course, contact the professor to see if they would allow you to take it and what they would require of your work in the course to ensure it counts at the graduate level. This is a course for English majors (and other students) that introduces the basics of computer programming, text analysis, text encoding, and statistics as experimental methodologies that promote new kinds of reading and interpretation. The aim is to move from "computation into criticism." We'll work, primarily, with a Shakespeare play, poetry by William Blake, and a Jane Austen novel. Students will find these works at the bookstore alongside a manual for Text Analysis with R. No prior familiarity with coding required; indeed, advanced computer science majors are discouraged from applying, as they will likely find the professor's halting and lame way with the algorithmic course content comic, at best. The term hacking, the humanist will note, has two senses at least. Course Texts (Required Editions) William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience (OUP). 0192810898 Optional: Jared P. Lander, R for Everyone (Addison-Wesley). 0321888030 — Also available though the library as an e-text: http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u6346297 Assignments and Grade Breakdown
VI. Comprehensive Final Exam (20%): In three parts: 1. Identifications from the course readings and question-types as seen on the midterm. 2. Open book, open- laptop short answers, 3. An open-book essay question.
Original Instructor: Brad Pasanek Taught at University of Virginia in Spring 2020 |