Teaching

Courses TAUGHT Nazarbayev University 

Materiality and Eurasian Society (ANT 520 & 420)

Archaeology Field School (ANT 345)

Method and Theory in Archaeology (ANT 340)

Archaeology of Power and Inequality (ANT 331)

Nomads: Nomads around the World and Through Time (ANT 286) 

Laboratory Methods in Archaeology (ANT 240)

Life, Death & Economy: Archaeology of Central Asia (ANT 232)

Being Human: Introduction to 4-Field Anthropology (ANT 180)

World Prehistory (ANT 140)

materiality and eurasian society (ANT 520/420)

Objects have substantially more power than we give them credit for. This idea forms the backbone of a distinct field of material culture studies centered on ‘materiality’ – the two-way relationship between people and things. Anthropological and archaeological interests in materiality originate in the perspective that we must critically interrogate Western and Cartesian perspectives that divide humans and nature to uncover the thorny and messy relationship we hold with the material world. Materiality is therefore much more than just a study of objects, it’s an exploration of the true human experience as created by the stuff around us. During semester we will critically evaluate opposing arguments within anthropology and archaeology on why ‘things’ matter at the individual, community, and global level and how they have shaped history. These texts will be used to build several ‘cultural biographies of things’ important to Eurasian society from prehistory to the present day. We will follow both the prosperous and sinister past of innovation and contemporary uses of paper, clay, glass, textiles, plastic, steel, and concrete to invert the longstanding primacy given to people over ‘inert’ objects. This course will encourage you to see the world in a whole new way and to recognize the connections between people and communities and the materials that make those connections possible.

Archaeology field school (ant 345)

This is an intensive summer course designed to provide students with firsthand experience in the methods used to collect and analyze archaeological data in an engaged field setting. A small fraction of the course will also take place in the anthropology Laboratory at NU campus. Excavations will take place at prehistoric archaeological sites in Kazakhstan, where students will have first-hand exposure to the monuments of ancient Andronovo, Saka, and Turkic societies who shaped the famed Silk Roads and Eurasian Interaction Sphere. The course consists of three components. Phase 1 includes a reading and preparatory phase to gain familiarity with background literature on the investigated sites and archaeological field methods. Phase 2 consists of students living in a tent camp and receiving daily, and comprehensive, training in fieldwork by professionals on a real archaeological site. Students will learn methods of excavation, site survey, data recording, post-processing skills, inventory, and analysis. Phase 3 will consist of laboratory hour contributions and a final paper investigating a research question related to the seasons’ discoveries and/or activity.

method and theory in archaeology (ant 340)

This course will examine the origins of archaeology, the evolution of archaeological thought, and the current theoretical paradigms that shape archaeological investigations and interpretations. Theory is the foundation upon which questions, methodologies, and analyses are planned and formed, and we cannot conduct archaeology without it. During the semester, students will be introduced to the varied and dynamic theoretical approaches that underlie archaeological inquiry and be encouraged to think about why the questions we ask imply a theoretical perspective and ultimately dictate what information we use to reconstruct the human story. During the course of the semester, we will review the historic background of the emergence of processual and post-processual archaeology, and the numerous contributions and critiques of archaeology stemming from post-modernist thought, including feminism, symbolism, postcolonialism, and studies of the contemporary past. The intent is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge base to envision a holistic and multivocal future for archaeology. Students will engage with the different approaches in theory and read widely among archaeology’s greatest works where interpretations rely on diverse theoretical underpinnings and intellectual positions regarding what about Homo sapiens is important to explore, explain, and understand.

Archaeology of Power and INequality (ANT 331)

Blatant social divisions appear across human civilizations of the past and the present. We could say that the uneven power dynamics we see in today’s world are the result of slow accumulations of biological and cultural changes that began as far back as the Paleolithic. However, opinions on the origins, causes, and internal-relationships of human social inequalities are hotly debated. In this course, we will work together to accomplish a robust stance on these matters that you can carry with you into your future studies and careers. We will achieve our goal by critically surveying how discrimination and exclusion strategies were introduced, enforced, gained prominence, and became systemic through time. We will look at different world examples of interactions across and within the ‘powerful’ and ‘powerless,’ and examine tactics of intimidation and subversion that go together with complex society, states, and empires. We will focus on several themes, such as death, colonialism, material wealth, slavery, gender, sex, age, architecture, economy, religion and politics.

Nomads: Around the World and Through Time (ANT 286)

The global survey course explores the essential role nomads have played in the formation and transfer of culture, language, and power from prehistoric times to the current era – often in the most inhospitable of regions. We examine past and present nomadic pastoral societies in light of their artistic traditions, their ecological, political, and cultural environments, and adaptations to change. Moving through six regions of the world we cross-culturally examine nomadism through reading archaeology, ethnography, and viewing documentary films. Students learn where Kazakhstan fits globally in nomadic studies and also learn why nomads, who are imagined as unchanging and in conflict with the sedentary world, are in fact incredibly adaptive and integral to world empires.

Laboratory methods in archaeology (ant 240)

Archaeology is the study of humans through their material culture, which is often the only evidence that remains that can help us understand cultures of the recent and distant past. This course introduces students to scientific methodology central to the reconstruction of human lifeways through material remains left by past peoples and societies. Throughout the semester, students will be exposed to aspects of the entire investigative process, including methods for finding sites, basic survey techniques, dating methods, and data collection on artifacts and bones. Students will learn basic analysis methods relevant to the study of different material types, such as pottery, stone tools, and bones. Through these analyses, we will explore questions about past human identity and behavior: who they were, what they were eating, in which environments they were living, and how the answers to each of these questions can change over time. By the end of the semester, students will have a well-rounded understanding of the methods of archaeology and the value of their application.  

Life, Death & Economy: Archaeology of Central Asia (ANT 232)

This course examines the history of nomadic warriors, chariots, shamans, the transmigration of gold and treasure, and the Ancient Empires of the Steppe. In this study of the prehistory of Central Asia we look at hunter/gatherer, farming, and pastoral societies; see the impact of technological innovations on social revolutions, how groups cope with death and their ideas and beliefs of the afterlife. We then survey why and how people fight to protect the region’s dynamic past. Students learn of key archaeological discoveries from prehistoric phases through lectures, readings, discussions, and learn to analyze and categorize 4,000 year old artifacts while working in NU’s state of the art archaeological lab.

world prehistory (ANT 140)

For the 4+ million years we have been on earth, humans have witnessed triumphs and tragedies among individuals, communities, and empires. Most of these events can only be discovered through the material record because they happened before writing was invented – during PRE-history, or where just not written down by anyone. Therefore, our understanding of the human past greatly depends on the tools of archaeology. Archaeology is also our only way to unlock the secret lives of people often ignored or misrepresented in written history (e.g., nomads, slaves, peasants, and women). During this semester you will learn the ways archaeologists use material culture to reconstruct the rich variety of human behavior across the globe through time.

Being Human: Intro' to 4-Field Anthropology (ANT 180)

In this course, students are introduced to the complexities of what it means to be human and given tools to help them foster ideas on how to approach contemporary social issues as critical and intellectual thinkers. We spend the semester examining the period of the dawn of our primate ancestors through to modern day societies. We look at the interrelated components of Anthropology - cultural, linguistic, archaeological, and physical - to examine the distinctive and common aspects of humanity. We begin our exploration of humankind deep in Africa at the dawn of human evolution, and then trace the first human footsteps that led us to eventually colonize the globe. We will look at the rise of culture, art, warfare, religion, states, and world empires through the material and biological record, and end the course by studying the diversity of human language and culture traditions across the world.