2500 words. Due Fri 21 April by 2 pm. Worth 30% of final grade.

Hand in to me in Vari 2029, or to the Anthropology Department at Vari Hall 2054.

Questions may be addressed to me by email at arch@yorku.ca

Submission: The exam is due Friday April 21 before 2 pm. Either hand it to me directly at Vari 2029 (I’ll be there from 12 until 2 pm), or to the Anthro Dept., Vari Hall 2054. • Email attachments will not be accepted. • Do not slide your assignment under a door or leave it outside my office. The office’s counter hours are usually 9:30 am - 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm. If the office is closed, use my secure drop box to the right of the Anthro Dept door at Vari 2054. • Late exams will be penalized 15% per day or part thereof, including weekends, unless a medical or counsellor’s note is provided. There can be no lenience with the late penalty.

General marking criteria include the clarity, thoughtfulness, and accuracy of your writing, the quality of your consultation of this course’s material, and your demonstrated comprehension of that material. You are expected to show understanding of the themes of the course, reasonable mastery of the content, and critical thinking.

Matters of form – such as correct answer format, spelling, clear and technically correct writing, proper referencing, and adherence to the length limit – will also be evaluated. Therefore, proofread your work carefully to ensure that there are no errors in spelling or grammar, and that your discussion unfolds logically and clearly. Check that you represented your sources accurately, and that you referenced fully. Give yourself adequate time to check and revise your work before submission… and to get it printed out in time. 

Consult the course readings and your notes. You are not being marked for general opinions, but for your understanding of the material covered in this course, and your ability to use it in answering these questions. You must refer to material covered in this course, and do so specifically and meaningfully.  Be specific in your allusions to course content (texts, lectures), and fully reference your answer. You may examine some additional sources if you wish, but it is not necessary, and you are advised to keep further research minimal.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated, whether intentional or unintentional. You may of course speak to each other about the questions, but actual collaboration on your written answers will be noted as plagiarism and will not be tolerated. Obviously, the work submitted must be your own. It is also your responsibility to cite correctly.

Citation and Bibliography. You must cite the sources of your information, and enclose words in quotation marks if they are taken from another author. For all information cited or quoted, you must include a full reference in the bibliography. Review the course handout “Using Sources Correctly in Your Paper” and follow the instructions there. (You may also consult this site for information: www.yorku.ca/kdenning/+AllCourses/anthroref.htm )  For website citation, follow this format:  • Author's name if available – look for it!   •   Date of publication or update • Title or description of document  • Title of complete work in italics  •   Other relevant information (volume number, page numbers, etc.) •  ‘Retrieved on Apr xx, 2006’ •  Complete and correct URL for the web PAGE used, not just for the entire website.   To cite 3520 lecture notes, give the author (Denning), URL and the date.

Required Formatting.  Double space between lines. Use 11 pt or 12 pt font. Leave margins of at least 1 inch. Number your pages. (Handwritten numbers are fine.)  Staple your paper through one corner.

Your Exam Must Include

è Title page, with your name, student number, prof's name, course number, word count (should be close to but not exceeding 2500 words, not including bibliography), the date, and the number of pages.

è Question 1. Formal essay. Target length 1250 words. Worth 50% of exam.

è Question 2. Informal Essay. Target length 1250 words. Worth 50% of exam.

QUESTION 1: What’s the point, anyway?   

Required form: Formal essay – clear academic writing. Cite literature we have covered in the course. Target length: 1250 words. Structure your essay clearly, with a thesis and conclusion.  Worth 50% of final exam mark.

What can the analysis of things and places reveal about our society? In other words, what’s the point of analyzing material culture, or attempting to do archaeology of the contemporary past? Give a comprehensive answer with specific examples. Use the course texts.

QUESTION 2:  Three things or three places   

Required form: Informal essay – very clear prose for a general audience. You may write it as a dialogue if you wish. Cite literature we have covered in the course (that is, include references for me, but do not assume that your audience will have read them). Target length: 1250 words. Worth 50% of final exam mark.

Imagine that you have the task of explaining your society to someone who has never experienced it. You may imagine this individual to be from the distant past, the distant future, or, if you are feeling adventurous, another planet. Because you have taken a course on material culture and the archaeology of the contemporary past, you have a deep appreciation for the social lives of places and things… that is, the ways that things and places structure and reveal our thinking and behaviour, and our relationships with one another.  So, instead of explaining our society to this person through a simple summary, you decide to explain it through three things, or three places.

Your task, then: First, consider the quintessential characteristics of our society. Second, choose three things, or three places, which reflect those characteristics, or which you consider to be profoundly influential in our society, or somehow representative of it. Then, in your paper, describe those three things or places thoroughly for your audience, and carefully explain how they function in our society.

Example: If you chose a pencil, you would likely explain, for example, its function, what mass production and distribution explains about our society’s organization, and the pencil’s roles in human relationships.

Special Notes:

- For the sake of the exercise, we will stipulate that your audience understands English, and drawings on paper.

- Do not simply choose three encyclopedia volumes, or other objects which are meaningful primarily because of the information they transmit. Rather, choose something which is itself meaningful.

- Illustrations are welcome, but not required, and will be given comparatively few marks in relation to your words, so it is not worth your while to spend a great deal of time on them.

- You are welcome to do a little research, but it is not necessary, and you are advised to keep it minimal.

BONUS (OPTIONAL: Worth up to 5%)

Write an original poem or short story, or create an original work of art on a theme concerning the social lives of places or things.  

NOTE: If you submit a work of art, please clearly label it with your name, and indicate whether you would like it returned, discarded, or whether you would be willing for it to be displayed in the future by the Anthro Department. (Your choice will not affect your grade!) If you choose “display”, please also indicate whether you would like it to be displayed anonymously or with your name. If you choose “return”, please include your email address and summer telephone number.