Teaching Statement
Susan M. Thurston Myster
Institutional Context of the Course
Course Particulars:
Department Designation and Course Number: Anthropology
3500
Course Title: Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology
Cross-listed Departments:
Criminal Justice, Forensic Sciences Certificate Program
Credits: 4
Hamline Plan Designation: Natural Science (“N”); 3
hours of “lecture” and 3 hours of lab each week
Hamline University is a small university set in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1854 and is Minnesota’s oldest university. Throughout its 150 year history, it has sought new ways to fulfill its founding mission, “To provide knowledge, values, and skills to those who wish to prepare for a life of leadership and service to their society and the world,” by adding the Law School and the Graduate School to the College of Liberal Arts and new and innovative academic programs within each of the colleges. The College of Liberal Arts is committed to “using the liberal arts and sciences to solve problems, advance knowledge, and forge connections among disciplines, to the world of work, and to the community.”
Anthropology 3500, Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology, is a course listed and taught in the College of Liberal Arts and fulfills elective requirements in a number of different programs and for required Hamline Plan credits. The philosophy of The Hamline Plan is to integrate the core values and areas of knowledge of the liberal arts with the skills needed for successfully pursuing various careers and/or graduate and professional credentials. The Hamline Plan defines the requirements necessary for graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree, including completion of at least one major and two “N” courses. “N” courses are identified as courses that fulfill the Natural Science disciplinary breadth requirement. Anthropology 3500, Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology, is designated as an elective for the Anthropology major and as an “N” course in the general college; it can fulfill four of the eight credits required to fulfill the Natural Science disciplinary breadth requirement. In order to earn the “N” designation, a class must have a classroom (“lecture”) and laboratory component. The course content of all “N” courses “provides grounding in fundamental principles of science and in methods of observation, and accentuates the understanding of experimental analytic and laboratory methods of gathering and evaluating data.”
Anthropology 3500, Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology, is cross-listed as an elective course for one other major, Criminal Justice, and for the Forensic Sciences Certificate program. In addition, students pursuing a concentration in Criminal Law in the Hamline Law School may also take the course. It also functions to fulfill the College of Liberal Arts’ commitment to develop relationships with work places outside of the campus. To this end, the course is open to non-degree seeking students from various forensic science, law enforcement, and Medicolegal (medical examiner’s/coroner’s offices) agencies.