Presenting Anthropology - Weeks 1 & 2 (Reading)

As I'm requiring students in my graduate seminar on Presenting Anthropology to become (at least slightly) public anthropologists this semester, it's only fair I should blog about how the course is shaping up and what we've been discussing.  I've already posted the syllabus (and you can get a PDF through the AAA's teaching materials exchange), but the reading list is more of an evolving pile of links to various media.  So I thought I'd post the list for each topic (two weeks of course time covers the reading and the class presentations on that topic) as we move through the semester.  I'll post the "required media consumption list" before class, then either revisit this post or make a new one with additions from students and links to their public projects after class.

Feel free to read along with us and use the comment section below!

Weeks 1 & 2 (Jan 7-14) - Anthropology, Digital Humanities, and Web 2.0

Discussion Topic: With the growth of the internet over the past two decades, academic research, academic teaching, and presentation of information are increasingly moving online. This has recently led to a trend in digital humanities around the world. While anthropology is technically a social science rather than humanistic discipline, many segments of the field are leading the way in innovative digital presentation, most notably archaeology. And yet, in spite of these efforts, the public at large is mostly clueless about anything other than Indiana Jones-style anthropology. Over the next two weeks, we will read several articles on digital humanities and Web 2.0, discuss the possibilities and problems with moving anthropology into the field of MOOCs, and explore why it is imperative to embrace online culture rather than shunning it.

Required Media Consumption List:

• Print
• Boast, R. and P.F. Biehl. 2011. Archaeological knowledge production and dissemination in the digital age. In: Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication and Collaboration, Kansa et al. eds., pp. 119-155. Cotsen Digital Archaeology Series.
• Coleman, E.G. 2010. Ethnographic approaches to digital media. Annual Review of Anthropology 39:487-505.
• Dunn, S. 2011. Poor relatives or favorite uncles? Cyberinfrastructure and Web 2.0: a critical comparison for archaeological research. In: Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication and Collaboration, Kansa et al. eds., pp. 95-118. Cotsen Digital Archaeology Series.
• Kansa, E. et al. 2011. Section II: The technical and theoretical context of archaeology on the web. In: Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication and Collaboration, Kansa et al. eds., pp. 93-94.  Cotsen Digital Archaeology Series.
• Morgan, C. and S. Eve. 2012. DIY and digital archaeology: What are you doing to participate? World Archaeology 44(4):521-537.
• Shanks, M. 2007. Digital media, agile design, and the politics of archaeological authorship. In: Archaeology and the Media, T. Clack and M. Brittain, eds., Ch. 14, pp. 273-289. Left Coast Press.

• Links
• Cambridge Digital Humanities Network
• Digital Anthropology Group at the Open Anthropology Cooperative
• THATCamp
• DANG, the newly-formed Digital Anthropology Group
• Digital Ethnography
• Digital humanities interdisciplinary project in archaeology and cultural heritage: SEARCH
• Project Runway (in case you've never seen it)