ARCHY 369 A: Special Problems in Archaeology

This syllabus and the pages it links to are living documents. Make sure come back here throughout the quarter to see if there have been any changes. 

“Bertha Parker Pallan (Cody) (1907-1978) (6891503755)” by Smithsonian Institution flickr.com/people and uploaded by Magnus Manske from Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bertha_Parker_Pallan_(Cody)_(1907-1978)_(6891503755).jpg) and was originally a digital photo posted by the Smithsonian on flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/6891503755/) / Public domain (or no known copyright restrictions)

Class location: DEM 126
Class times: M/W 1:30 – 3:20 PM
Instructor: Paulina Przystupa
Office Hours: Wednesdays 4:00 - 5:00 pm or by appointment
Office: M230 Denny Hall (Floor 2M)
Contact: ciszka@uw.edu

Course description and introduction

In the Spring 2026 version of ARCHY 369 A (cross listed with ARCHY 573), we'll be creating a collaborative understanding of Indigenous archaeology.  While for undergraduates this class is under the ARCHY 369 heading as a "delineation and analysis of a specific problem or related problems in archaeology focusing on developing research and scholarly communication skills", for graduates the course is summarized as "examin[ing] theory, method, and ethical issues raised by Indigenous approaches to archaeological practice."

Rather than approach Indigenous archaeologies as a problem, we'll explore a wide variety of topics important to understanding the history and foundations of Indigenous archaeologies, methodologies, and sciences within a global context. By considering different understandings of Indigeneity around the world and exploring both specific case studies, such as the care of human remains, and broad topics, such the development and application of the CARE principles, this course will introduce participants to a the ways that Indigenous archaeologies are becoming a necessary element of archaeological practice in the American context.  

The course will center reading, watching, listening to, or more broadly consuming different works to understand approaches to Indigenous archaeology-related topics. Underlying each of these, and as part of the framework for the course, is the idea of archaeology as storytelling and it's importance in education. In support of this, undergraduates in pairs, and graduates students on their own will, will develop and facilitate one class session of the quarter focused on an Indigenous archaeology-related topic of their choosing and explore using storytelling within their pedagogy. Students should have some familiarity with archaeology and it's vocabulary as we won't necessarily have a lot of time to provide introductions to foundational archaeological concepts. Student without this are welcome to join but be prepared to do some work on their own to get themselves caught up. 

By completing the work and engaging with the material from this course you will:

• Understand the relationship between archaeology and Indigenous communities around the world
• Reflect on Indigenous communities’ survivance from time immemorial to the present as demonstrated through oral histories and archaeological evidence
• Evaluate how to build relationships between Indigenous knowledge and archaeological practice
• Improve your ability to frame archaeological research within an Indigenous archaeological lens for different audiences
• Practice developing and executing a story-centered lesson plan about an Indigenous archaeology-related topic

Course Organization

There is a lot of important work to cover in this class and to practice Indigenous archaeology in it we will work, as much as possible, to create and reenforce our knowledge together. We will do this by participating in class activities, preparing for class ahead of time by completing readings and assignments, learning how to and then facilitating your own class period, and through regular self-reflection. These are all ways to situate ourselves and our learning in relation to each other and in relation to existing Indigenous scholarship as well as Indigenous archaeology more specifically. My hope is that we are able to do this in a fun and informative way so we can continue cultivating our knowledge and practice of Indigenous archaeology beyond the course.

While this class is oriented towards archaeology, with some assumption that you are considering working in the field, your career may end up outside of it. With that in mind, my goal is that you consider this class as a way to be an informed citizen within a settler state by learning more about the Indigenous peoples on whose land you live, developing critical information and data literacy based in Indigenous perspectives and archaeological methods, and practicing communication skills through writing, creating videos, discussion, and facilitating a class session. These skill should serve you well in almost any career and particularly in archaeology.

Course Requirements, assignments and grading

Workload

Following from the guidelines shared on https://www.washington.edu/students/reg/credit.html “1 credit represents a total student time commitment of 3 hours each week in a 10-week quarter”. This means that for a five-credit class (such as this) you should be spending, at minimum, fifteen (15) hours working on this course. This includes the four hours we spend in class together, leaving eleven (11) hours of work for you to do outside of class. That work includes office hours, reading the assigned materials, general studying, out-of-class participation, and any other graded activities assigned through this course. Keep this in mind as you plan your quarter.

Out-of-class participation (25%)

25% of your grade will come from participation in assignments and/or activities that you will complete outside of class. This will include a variety of assignments such as but not limited to the syllabus quiz, handouts during class I'd like you to complete and return, or submissions related to the readings. 

In-class participation (30%)

This class is about developing content knowledge about and learning ways to practice Indigenous archaeology. One way I'm exploring that in this class is by viewing in-class participation as a way to build relationships with your peers in the course and the scholarship we'll engage with. You will do this by participating in each class session we have. This may include things like engaging in, in-class activities led either by me or your fellow students, and preparing for class ahead of time by completing your readings or any pre-class activities or assignments (such as watching videos or bringing something to class) and demonstrating that preparation through discussion. While much of this work will be completed as a group, you can also practice this by asking questions, volunteering to explain topics, actively taking notes, or supporting your fellow students in other ways. Each class session is a chance to earn participation points, so if you miss a class or two this should not impact your grade as long as you participate when you are in class. If you end up, or anticipate, missing a significant number of classes due to non-Disability-Related absences and would like to discuss alternatives for earning in-class participation please email me with your ideas for doing so by Week 5.

Class reflections (15%)

To reflect on what you're learning and how you're doing throughout this quarter you will submit a series of reflections about the class and specific class sessions. These are separate from your out-of-class participation assignments. These will be divided as follows: a midterm reflection worth 2.5% of your grade, an end-of-quarter reflection worth an additional 2.5%, and then a set of between 5-10 reflections spaced according to your schedule making up the last 10%. These 5-10 reflections should come after specific class sessions and reflect on the content covered in that class specifically. You may submit 5 longer reflections or 10 shorter ones or a combination of the two. I'll have more details about what I expect from these on the Reflections page, including slightly different requirements for undergraduate versus graduate students. 

Guiding a class period (30%)

As part of my goal to de-center myself as an expert in this course, about half of our class sessions will be facilitated by primarily by students. Undergraduates in pairs (or potentially groups of three) and graduate students on their own, will select or suggest a topic related to Indigenous archaeology and be the primary facilitator of a class session on that topic. This acts in lieu of a traditional midterm or final exam, project, and/or paper. Each of these sessions will be developed with guidance from me and have additional requirements detailed on the Guiding a class session page. 

Grading

I prefer to use a variety of alternate assessment models to encourage mastery and learning. That means while this course is graded and there will be points, in general I want to see you do the work more than anything else. That means focus on skills building, engaging with the material, and learning from mistakes and sometimes failure because accuracy, precision, and getting things right come from doing the work and putting the hours in. Key to this is following the outlined instructions (such as sticking to the word count and including all elements requested) and submitting materials on time. Furthermore, I want to see you grow from feedback. So if I mention something that you need to work on, I'd like to see that be addressed the next time.

Submissions

You will be submitting a combination of work in person and online. For online submissions, make sure to check that your online-accessible device and the website have the same time zone settings, so you’re submission isn’t late. If you are having problems with the online submission platform, please e-mail me before the start of class with your problem and bring a printed version of the assignment to class that day. I will work to have assignments available early, so that you can plan ahead and submit materials by their 11:59pm deadline

Missed or late submissions

Late work will have a maximum score of 90% and completely missed submissions will be given a zero. Assignments missed during the quarter must be submitted by 11:59pm on the last regular day of this class or they will be considered missed assignments. Assignments due after that class period (such as the end-of-quarter reflection) will have a three-day grace period where they will be graded out of 90% rather than receive an immediate zero.

Grade Discussion

Sometimes we make mistakes in grading, however, you must wait at least 24 hours from the end of class to discuss grading on assignments, activities, and reflections. You must read all comments on the work before discussing the grade, e-mail grade questions and comments giving specific examples for any problems with the grade, then set up an appointment to discuss the grade in-person with either myself to go over the issues.

Office Hours
If you have questions about the course, want extra help with a homework assignment, or have other questions not covered in class please stop office hours or make an appointment. Office hours are a great chance to get one-on-one help with the class.

Grading break down 

As a reminder, the Canvas gradebook for this class is a courtesy that accurately reflects the graded outcome of specific assignments but is (without additional manipulation) inaccurate as far as your overall course grade.

University Policies as they apply to this course

To align with the integrity we expect from you, I want to acknowledge that I adapted or used wholesale some of the following sections from suggested wording provided by the University in 2025 or by other faculty at UW. It's technically copyright the University according to the pages it's from, or those faculty, and I provide this statement instead of giant quotations, except when entire paragraphs are adapted. 

Academic Integrity

I expect that the academic work you do and submit for credit in this class is the result of your own personal thoughts, research, and self-expression unless something is assigned to be a collaborative product. When using the ideas of someone else you must cite those people. The University takes academic integrity very seriously and wants it's students to take it seriously too. Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. If you’re uncertain about if something is academic misconduct, ask because if you're unsure, odds are someone else is too and I'd rather discuss it with you and the class rather than give you a zero. 

If you're not sure what academic misconduct is, here are some examples. Academic misconduct may include but is not limited to:

• Cheating (such as but not limited to working collaboratively on materials that should be individual submissions, sharing answers, and previewing quizzes)
• Plagiarism (such as but not limited to representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s)). We'll talk a lot about citation and attribution so you can avoid accidental plagiarism but one way to think about it is, if you didn't create it, quote it, cite it, and link to it where possible and state when you adapted something from something else and give credit for the original. Learn even more about plagiarism at: https://soc.washington.edu/information-academic-honestyplagiarism 
• Unauthorized collaboration (working with each other on assignments that are not meant to be collaborative)

There is even more defining student misconduct from the Washington State Legislature here (if anyone is pre-law check it out!) Concerns about these or other behaviors prohibited by the Student Conduct Code will be referred for investigation and adjudication. Students found to have engaged in academic misconduct may receive a zero on the assignment (or other possible outcome) and repeat offenses will result in an E grade (0) for the course.

Technology and academic misconduct 

There are a lot of cool technologies out there that you can use to get an well-formed answers that look nice. Previously, those were paragraphs or answers you had to copy and paste into assignments from blogs or Wikipedia and could easily be reverse-searched to identify plagiarized work. AI (via tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini/Bard, Copilot, Grok, etc.) now replace this in many ways. However, the underlying misconduct is the same, wanting credit for something not worked for.

Following from the Student Code of Conduct set by the Washington State Legislature, the use of AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Grammerly, Claude, etc.) in this course, such as to create responses, edit your writing to improve or alter spelling and grammar, or generate images, video, or audio, and then submitting them as your own work in assignments and activities, responses, or annotations for credit falls under the 'use of unauthorized assistance' and is an act of academic misconduct. See more details, examples, and explanation in the Expanded AI Statement page. 

Conduct

In addition to the work you submit, I expect you to treat each other, visiting speakers, any people we visit outside the classroom, and this instructing team with respect. We're here to learn and doing so requires openness, a willingness to approach hard topics in an authentic way, and to engage with conflict through considerate and respectful engagement. All academic pursuits have some degree of subjectivity, bias, or room for discussion. However,  we should approach those pursuits with the knowledge that we all have different experiences that influence our understanding but that we're gathered here because we share a curiosity and interest in the material.

Therefore, actions that disrupt the class's ability to learn or any educator's ability to teach are unacceptable. Furthermore, "the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/cssc/"

Disability Access and Accommodations:

I care about your experience in this class and adhere to the accommodation policies of the University, such as by making my slides available online when I use them, avoiding the use of timed tests in this course, and providing agreed upon alternatives for disability related absences when discussed by the end of week 2. In addition, Disability Resources for Students provides this statement that I follow in my classroom:

"It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu."

Religious Accommodation

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staff-faculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”

Discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct

"University of Washington policy, in concert with federal and state laws, provides the right to participate in University programs and activities free from sexual misconduct or discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics, including but not limited to disability, race, sex and others. Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to, sexual assault, relationship violence, sexual harassment, and stalking.

Students who believe they have experienced civil rights discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct are encouraged to contact a Civil Rights Compliance Office Case Manager by making a Civil Rights & Title IX Report. Case managers can provide guidance on available Supportive Measures and Resolution Options.

You can also access these resources directly:

• Know Your Rights & Resources guide provides information for any member of the UW community who has experienced sexual misconduct.
• Confidential Advocates offer confidential support and advocacy for UW students and employees impacted by sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking.
• Pregnancy & Related Conditions provides information on support and reasonable modifications related to attending class or participating in educational activities if you are pregnant, have experienced a miscarriage or an abortion, are recovering from giving birth, are lactating, or have a related medical condition.

It’s also important to be aware that most employees who become aware of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct involving students are required to share information with the Civil Rights Compliance Office. They may withhold the impacted student’s name if requested.

uw.edu/civilrights

Version: July 2025"

Safety

Related to the above but also for other issues you can, "call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus’s team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested." Learn more about safe Campus at http://www.washington.edu/safecampus/