For two quarters we will study sky, land, and the place where the two
meet. The study is anthropological,
historical, and creative. Together we will read texts that describe
the wayss in which people of many
cultures have used the horizon line to create place, time, season,
and a romance between the celestial
and the terrestrial in art, poetry, and the imagination. Workshops
and the program module "Stars, Sky,
and Culture" will aid us in understanding how the horizon line creates
points along which constellations,
planets, the sun and the moon appear to rise and set, and how image
makers have marked and
celebrated these points. During Winter quarter we will also build
skills in drawing, research methodology,
and journal writing. We will examine primal myths created by
ourselves and others and complete a
project which interprets, analyzes, or creates an origin myth.
Spring quarter will focus on site-specific studies, field trips, and
the final project. Visiting lecturers,
workshops, and seminars will develop program themes. We hope
to study on site in Northern New
Mexico where we will give attention to Pueblo ancestral cultures as
a part of our group research.
(Students who are unable to participate in the three-week field trip
will be encouraged to design an
alternative study for faculty approval.)
Credit awarded in Cultural Anthropology, Anthropologyof Pre-historic
Southwest United States, Drawing,
Literature, and Research Methods.
Total: 16 credits Winter, 16 credits Spring (Winter credits include
required module "Stars, Sky,
and Culture." No other courses allowed.)