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from the issue of November 30, 2006
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Class earns hands on experience
BY SARA PIPHER, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
In the early afternoon of Nov. 1, drivers on Holdrege Street were treated to a glance back in time as they rounded the corner at 17th Street.
| | DIGGING IN – Peter Bleed measures a hole as students in his honors anthropology class prepare to raise a totem pole. Photo by Sara Pipher/University Communications.
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Students from Peter Bleed's honors anthropology class had taken over a flat patch of grass on the Landscape Services lot to raise a totem pole. But for the Huskers sweatshirts and Nike sneakers, they could have passed for residents of Chaco Canyon, circa 1200 A.D.
"How many anthropologists does it take to erect a pole?" Bleed asked. "Twenty-five. Twenty-four to do the work and one to document it."
The students responded with a chorus of groans.
The pole raising is one of many activities Bleed has developed to teach students about the innovative leadership skills needed to tackle prehistoric challenges. He believes these challenges relate directly to those his freshmen students will encounter during college.
"I am trying to find a way to make the lessons of archaeology interesting and generally applicable," Bleed said. "I want to train my students to use the kind of insights that archaeologists have to solve the problems of everyday life."
Over the course of the semester, students will dig and move earth using sticks and handmade implements, butcher a deer using hand tools, construct bows and arrows, practice spinning and other fiber arts, and study foraging cultures by rooting around the campus grounds for litter. All of the exercises have roots both in old traditions and the modern world.
"In a chemistry lab, you don't really 'do' chemistry," he said. "You do experiments. Likewise, my students are conducting experiments in anthropology and archaeology. I design them to be successful and doable. I want them to get excited about this stuff."
So far, the students have been willing to try anything Bleed has proposed. Because they represent a broad range of majors, he's aware that this may be the only anthropology class that many of them take. Given that, he aims to make the subject matter as relevant as possible.
"I've talked about leadership, work, and creativity," Bleed said. "We have explored where ideas come from and how to develop ideas. My goal is to talk about how we learn, and how we develop skills that contribute to the solution of problems."
GO TO: ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 30
NEWS HEADLINES FOR NOVEMBER 30
Husker Chess
Campus closures go digital
First Gen-Ed proposals sent to colleges
Osborne returns to classroom
Class earns hands on experience
Foxes enlisted to protect evergreens
Hollestelle retrospective opens Dec. 1 at Morrill Hall
Scientists urged to 'dream big,' collaborate
UNLPD seek information on City Campus vandalism
732645S36478X
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