Department of Anthropology and Geography Self-Study Report to the Academic Planning Committee

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln
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2004
Department of Anthropology and Geography Self-
Study Report to the Academic Planning
Committee
Department of Anthropology and Geography
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Department of Anthropology and Geography
Self-Study Report
to the
Academic Planning Committee
February 2004
Preface
Because Anthropology and Geography were not joined into a single department
until 2001 and because we continue to offer distinctive degree programs, this
report is given in separate Anthropology and Geography narratives. We also
separate the appendices, including faculty vitae. We feel that this will give the
review team the easiest access to the program information. However, we want to
stress that it in no way expresses an operational divide in the Department. We
have spent a great deal of time developing a joint administration, including a single
budget and shared membership on committees. Furthermore, we consider that the
merger is proceeding smoothly, with intellectual exchange among all the faculty,
rather than separated out by disciplinary boundaries, and we are benefiting from a
general environment that is conducive to advancing our research agendas, our
teaching, our service, and our successful functioning as a single Department.
Anthropology

Self-Study Report to the
Academic Planning
Committee
Anthropology Program
February 2004
Preface to the Anthropology Program Section of the
Academic Program Review of the
Department of Anthropology and Geography
In January of 2001 the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Geography became
the Department of Anthropology and Geography. This merger was not requested by members
of either unit: it was imposed administratively. Under ideal circumstance, such mergers evolve
organically through a history of collaborations from the bottom up. Nevertheless, faculty of each
unit had collaborated in a variety of contexts so there was some basis for integration.
As one may imagine, one of the first things we set out to accomplish as a newly formed unit was
the establishment of a common set of by-laws. After about six months of joint meetings we
created our by-laws which represented a first crucial step in integrating the department. The
administrative and committee structures are fully integrated even though the department
functions as two separate curricular programs.
The next significant step in our history came in the summer of 2002 when the Geography
Program faculty moved out of Avery Hall and physically merged into Bessey Hall and Morrill
Hall space occupied by faculty of the Anthropology Program. Prior to our physical merger, we
had the option of the Geography Program occupying space in Nebraska Hall. Faculty in both
programs strongly felt that such a move would hinder our ability to grow together as a cohesive
department even though a physical merger would place great hardships on us all by sharing such
a small space. The archaeologists were especially inconvenienced by the loss of teaching and
research laboratory space. Nevertheless, we believe we made the correct choice.
In August of 2002 Dave Wishart became chair of the department. Patricia Draper had been chair
at the inception of the merger and there was reasonable concern that the numerically dominant
anthropologists would hold administrative sway in the department. Wishart's election put that
fear to rest. Since the move and election of Wishart as chair we have met on numerous occasions
to discuss department integration programmatically. Out of these discussions came the
Indigenous Peoples specialization in the Geography doctoral program which was approved by
the Graduate College in November of 2003. This new doctoral program will permit graduate
students to pursue a doctoral degree in the Geography Program in an area, indigenous peoples, in
which faculty in both programs have interest and expertise. There is discussion of another track
in the Geography doctoral program that would emphasize archaeology, GIS, and cartography. It
should be noted that these programmatic mergers, to some extent, were driven by a long history
of anthropology faculty serving on geography doctoral committees of students who had research
topics that bridged our two disciplines. Finally, we are searching for ways to develop a shared
undergraduate minor in regional or area studies.
Our merger as a cohesive unit has been accomplished successfully. We are proceeding
deliberately to simultaneously maintain the integrity of our disciplines while taking advantage of
interdisciplinary opportunities that benefit us and our students.
Anthropology Preface
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION, PROGRAM GOALS, AND RATIONALE
A. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1-3
B. Program Goals .......................................................................................................... 3-4
C. Program Rationale .................................................................................................... 5-6
II. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
A. Academic Programs
1. Degree Structure ........................................................................................... 7
2. Basic Program Data ...................................................................................... 7-9
3. Curricular Change ......................................................................................... 9
4. Evidence of Need ...................... ;. .................................................................. 9
B. Faculty Responsibility
1. Policies Related to Faculty ............................................................................ 10
2. Teaching ........................................................................................................ 10-13
3. Research and Creative Activities .................................................................. 13-42
4. Externally Funded Grants ............................................................................. 42-45
5. OutreachlExtensioniService .......................................................................... 45-57
C. Administration of the Program ................................................................................. 57-58
D. Continuing Education Component of the Program ................................................... 58
III. PROGRAM RESOURCES
A. Description of Faculty ............................................................................................... 59-62
B. Students
1. Undergraduate Students ................................................................................ 62
2. Graduate Students ......................................................................................... 63-65
C. Program Resources
1. Budgetary Data for Program ......................................................................... 65
2. Adequacy of Support Services ...................................................................... 65-66
3-4. Adequacy of Physical Plant and other Resources ......................................... 66-67
IV. PROGRAM EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT
A. Curriculum Program ................................................................................................ .
a. Undergraduate Program ................................................................................ 67-70
b. Graduate Program ......................................................................................... 71-72
V. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
A. Areas in Which the Program Excels ............................... 72-75
B. Areas in Which the Program Needs Improvemnt ..................... 75-78
VI. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
ANTHROPOLOGY PROGRAM SELF-STUDY REPORT
I. INTRODUCTION, PROGRAM GOALS, AND RATIONALE
Ii; Introduction
The Anthropology Program is one of 17 departments of the College of Arts and Sciences at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The Program offers courses of study leading to
the Bachelor of Arts and the Master of Arts. It is one of 256 Anthropology Programs
nationwide and one of 39 which offer only the BA and MA degrees. It is unique in the state
of Nebraska because it is the only institution that has a degree granting graduate
anthropology program.
This self study represents an effort by the Program to consider its strengths and weaknesses,
its goals and achievements, and its needs and contributions. In preparing the self study we
have sought to present an accurate and comprehensive picture of the recent past together
with a realistic assessment of our likely future. Overall, preparing this report has been a
positive activity since it has shown that we can take justifiable pride in much that our
students and faculty have achieved. We see much to be pleased about in our recent past and
feel certain that we can and will continue to meet challenges of the future so that
Anthropology will remain a viable force in the University.
Anthropology studies humankind in all of its cultural, biological, and historical diversity.
Anthropologists consider all facets of the human experience to be important. In the
anthropological perspective no single group of people is more central to an understanding of
humanity than any other. No single set of human behaviors or institutions can be studied in
isolation. Instead, anthropologists seek to understand the interrelationship of cultural
patterns, social institutions and biological variables. Breadth of view is a necessary part of
the anthropological perspective.
Historically, the Program has had a special interest in the peoples and cultures of the Great
Plains. This is an appropriate interest given our land-grant status, but we have balanced this
emph~sis with a strong concern for general anthropology and the full breadth of the human
expenence.
The practice of anthropology at the University of Nebraska significantly predated the formal
establishment of the Anthropology Department. By the early years of the 20th century,
courses in "Ethnology" and "Anthropology" were being taught by faculty members in
History, Sociology, Economics, and other fields. The major step in establishing the
discipline at the University came in 1929 when William Duncan Strong, an archaeologist,
joined the University of Nebraska Sociology faculty. Strong established an active
anthropology program in the time that he was at the University; he also kindled a deep
interest in archaeology and anthropology in John L. Champe, a Lincoln businessman. In
1938 Champe followed Strong to Columbia University, where he enrolled as a doctoral
student. He returned to Nebraska and began teaching in the Sociology Department,
completing his doctoral degree in 1946. John Champe was dynamic both as a teacher and a
scholar. He drew around him a number of enthusiastic students, and he worked closely with
the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. In 1945 he established the
"Laboratory of Anthropology" at the University of Nebraska, and in 1953 he became the
first chair of the Anthropology Department. Champe worked hard to build a well-rounded
program and in the 1950s a number of young anthropologists began their careers at NU.
Two of these anthropologists were Jim and Dee Gunnerson, who later went on to obtain
doctoral degrees and who returned to work in Nebraska. Jim Gunnerson served as the
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