The NEH Summer Institute: "Archaeology of Jordan and Its Western Neighbors", is a four-week program, June 27 - July 22, 2005. Applications are still being accepted. With great enthusiasm we offer details of the Institute and invite you to join us. Our program is designed for 25 teachers of grades 6 - 12, but all full time school teachers are encouraged to apply. The Institute location, at the Semitic Museum of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA., benefits from the abundant and varied resources of Cambridge, MA, including exceptional libraries and museums. We are affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) located at Boston University. ASOR is the preeminent professional organization of North American archaeologists excavating throughout the Middle East.
Teachers will spend mornings, afternoons and some evenings in lectures with prominant scholars who will present the most current research about recent findings in Near Eastern archaeology. With help from our resident scholars and lecturers, each teacher will identify a topic for research with the ultimate goal of creating a lesson plan based on the research. To help bridge the gap between the research and lesson plans, participants will work with an education specialist. Week 1: Orientation to the Middle East as the Cradle of Civilization. Topics to be covered by the resident scholar, Larry Herr, include: how we excavate, the formation of 'tells' ('talls'), geography, climate, Bronze Age, Iron II Period, and seals. Guest lecturers will discuss prehistory, chipped stone tools, and Phoenicians. We shall visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Week 2: Daily Life in Antiquity. Resident scholar Douglas Clark will describe some of the daily activities, architecture and lifestyles of people who lived on both sides of the Jordan River about 3000 years ago. He will explore the different approaches to studying the past, i.e. historical or anthropological. An Iron Age house reconstructed at the Semitic Museum provides an impressive visual impact as we try to visualize life in antiquity. The house was in part reconstructed based on a similar house excavated at `Umayri. Hands-on labs with members of the Semitic Museum staff will bring participants into close contact with pottery, metal tools etc. Week 3: How Historical Records and Mundane Artifacts Illuminate the Past. Larry Geraty, resident scholar and ASOR President, will assess the reliability of texts as historical records and discuss the evolution of language in the region. One of the oldest maps in the world, the Madaba Map, will be examined for use in teaching. We'll tour the Fogg Museum. A panel of guest lecturers will inform about the myriad of information seeds provide. Week 4: Painting a Picture of Ancient Life in the Madaba Plains of Jordan. By pulling together the information learned in lectures and through each participants' own research, Douglas Clark will help us to imagine what life was like 3000 years ago. A video of an ethnoarchaeological study of traditional potters will demonstrate the function and manufacture of pottery. Tall al-`Umayri serves as our focal point to investigate how people lived in antiquity. The Madaba Plains Project (MPP) has been excavating in Jordan from 1967 with field work at Tall al-`Umayri beginning in 1984. Some buildings at the site stand tall, complete with pottery, stone artifacts, and seals dating to the Bronze, Iron and Hellenistic periods (3000 to 100 B.C.E.). The spring at Tall al-`Umayri supported permanent settlements in a region known for sparse water resources. Artifacts from the site demonstrate links with ancient communities in Israel and Assyria. In addition, the unique collections and exhibits in the Semitic Museum will make the past tangible as we explore the early civilizations of the ancient Near East and discuss the development of the alphabets, rise of complex societies, diet, etc. By its very nature, archaeology is multidisciplinary. The examination of history, culture, and daily lives of ancient people integrates all areas of the humanities. It is a natural setting for teachers to learn to synthesize the humanities, social and physical sciences. In contrast, traditional middle and high school programs present subjects separately allowing for little, if any, integration with other fields of study. As a result, students see little connection between history, social studies, and their lives. Institute participants will sharpen their tools for helping students to improve critical historical thinking skills.
Lawrence T. Geraty, Professor of Archaeology and President of La Sierra University, is a widely published, outstanding lecturer, internationally regarded as a beacon of scholarship among his peers. Larry G. Herr (Canadian University College and ASOR Dir. of Pubs.) and Douglas Clark (Executive Director, ASOR) are co-directors of the MPP Tall al-`Umayri excavation. Specialists will present lectures, labs, and panels on various artifacts, such as ceramics, seeds, stone tools, seals, metallurgy, etc. Lecturers include: Joseph Greene (Assistant Director, Semitic Museum), Kimberley Connors (Educational Planning Coordinator, Semitic Museum), Miriam Chernoff (Harvard U. Center for Biostatistics and AIDS), Lawrence Kaplan (retired, U. of Mass.), Britt Hartenberger (ASOR), and others. The simultaneous examination of different types of artifacts by dedicated scholars will promote the integration of different perspectives and approaches to assess cause and effect relationships, competing historical narratives, and the tentative nature of historical interpretation. Readings - Each participant will receive a variety of books about archaeology for background reading to be done before the Institute begins. Before or during the Institute, teachers will select a topic to research in the Harvard area specialized libraries. There will be individual meetings between the Institute co-directors and teacher participants to suggest further readings and to help direct the research.
Stipend and fees - Each participant receives a $3000.00 stipend to cover costs of travel, room and board, books and other expenses. It might be possible to receive a part of the stipend when the program begins in June. We provide some books and reading materials. The cost for housing will be deducted from the stipend by La Sierra University, our institutional base and Institute administrator. In rare circumstances we would entertain the possibility of alternative housing you might find, but please discuss this with us first. Should you have plans to live elsewhere, please be aware that although we shall try our best to help you feel part of the group, the separation would limit some of your activities. Accommodations - Our tentative plan is to be housed in the graduate dormitories of Boston University and commute almost daily to Harvard University in Cambridge. The graduate suites comprise dormitory-style living conditions with four individual bedrooms around a shared kitchenette and one bathroom in each suite. Academic credit - Professional development credit (no fee) and up to 8 graduate credits (fee involved) were available from La Sierra University for under $100 per quarter credit last year, and the cost (to be determined) should be comparable in 2005. Those interested are responsible for the costs and all formalities. Application procedure - Application information is included with this letter if requested and is on this web site. Please consider submitting your resume and essay electronically to G. London and D. Sharpes (see "How to Apply"). All material is available at http://home.earthlink.net/~galondon. Notification - Successful applicants will be notified by April 1 and will have until April 15 to decline or accept the offer. Applicants who will not be home those weeks should provide an address where they can be reached. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Check out the Madaba Plains Project web site www.wwc.edu /mpp. You will see the results of on-going field work, including the most recent field season when one volunteer, a teacher, uncovered the only Late Bronze Age (1500 B.C.E) temple of its type. Thank you for your interest in Archaeology of Jordan and Its Western Neighbors. Sincerely,
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