Archaeological Field Methods: Monuments, Memory, and the Chicago Landscape

Undergraduate / Graduate

In this hands-on course students learn the techniques of archaeological research design, archival research, surface survey, excavation, mapping, photography, and/or analysis as appropriate to the selected site(s) for the academic year. Sites will include monuments and historic markers found across Chicago, with a focus on the Southside. Students will complete directed field exercises in cemeteries, city parks, and on campus to investigate the role of monuments and historic markers in urban life. The aims of the course are: (1) to learn archaeological methods of documentation; (2) to learn about how past, present, and future interact in the Chicago landscape; and (3) to explore theoretical approaches to the changing politics of commemoration, from iconoclasm in antiquity to Black Lives Matter.