[kousharee]

I took this course this past winter (2011) with Dr. Carter. To sum up, I LOVED it. Dr. Carter developed this course himself and it literally does center around popular culture and its relationship with archaeology. So yes, we talked about Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, conspiracy theories, Fringe archaeology and Agatha Christie among other things. This course was very interesting and very laid back. Because of it's nature as a sort of hybrid between history, archaeology and popular culture, it doesn't follow a typical, structured format.

Evaluations are very fair. There is no midterm. Tutorials were great, very interesting and discussion oriented, and even if you don't enjoy participating, I'm sure you'd enjoy listening. Also, you have the option of emailing your TA discussion points or posting them on the discussion board to make up your participation grades if you are shy. In place of a midterm there is a short paper whose topic is up to you (though obviously somehow related to the course). There is also a long paper, which again is completely up to you, and you also have the option of doing some other type of presentation such as a powerpoint, magazine or film instead of a written paper if you so choose. All together, participation and these two papers make up I believe 70% of your mark.

The exam was amazing. We were given three essay topics ahead of time, told to choose one and create a simple, typically structured essay of 3-5 pages. The best part was that the week before the exam we were told we would be able to bring in a cheat sheet (normal sized piece of paper), that we could literally write or type the entire essay on. I did this and copied my whole thing during the exam slot. It felt like cheating but how awesome is that? So essentially, had you come to class and paid attention simply out of interest (because it was very very relatable, interesting material), and never taken a note, it wouldn't have mattered.

I finished with a 12 in this course and really felt like I gained some insight and perspective from it. I absolutely love Dr. Carter, this was the third course of his that I took and I highly recommend him and this course.

Cheers,

Sarah

awesome, thankS! I can;t wait to take this course

I took this course in the 2015-2016 year with Dr. MacDonald. It was originally meant to be instructed by Dr. Carter, but there was a last minute change. Extremely interesting course that is easy to follow along with. An extremely easy bird course. There was a tutorial component.