University Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999

1. 
   Course Prefix and Number:
   

2. 
   Date:
   

3. 
   Requested Action (Check only one type):
   

4. 
   Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected future delivery methods within the next three years):
   

5. 
   Justification for new course, revision, unbanking, or renumbering:
   

6. 
   Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
   

   1001. Aliens, Atlantis and Archaeology: Pseudoscience and Interpretations of the Past (3) (FC:SO) Critical examination of some of the extraordinary claims concerning archaeological sites and artifacts.

7. 
   If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
   

8. 
   Identify if the new/revised course will be a required and/or elective course in one of the degrees/minors/certificates offered by your unit.
   

9. 
   If writing intensive (WI) credit is requested, the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Committee must approve WI credit prior to consideration by the UCC.
   

10. 
    If service-learning (SL) credit is requested, the University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) must approve SL credit prior to consideration by the UCC.
    

11. 
    If foundations curriculum (FC) credit is requested, the Foundations Curriculum and Instructional Effectiveness (FCIE) Committee must approve FC credit prior to consideration by the UCC.
    

12. 
    Course Credit:
    

13. 
    Anticipated yearly student enrollment: 100
    

14. 
    Affected Degrees or Academic Programs:
    

15. 
    Overlapping or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs:
    

16. 
    Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting teacher education programs):
    

17. 
    Instructional Format(s):
    

    x	Lecture		Technology-mediated
    	Lab		Seminar
    	Studio		Clinical
    	Practicum		Colloquium
    	Internship		Other (describe below):
    	Student Teaching

18. 
    Statements of Support:
    

19. 
    Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. Do not submit course syllabus as a separate file. You must include (a) the catalog description of the course as identified in #6 above (required) followed by an extended course description (optional), (b) the citation of the textbook chosen for the course including ISBN, (c) the course objectives, (d) the course content outline, and (e) the course assignments and grading plan. Do not include instructor- or semester-specific information in the syllabus.
    

Where is Atlantis? What evidence is there for ancient astronauts? What does the Mayan calendar really have to say about 2012? In the course of investigating these and other fantastic claims the students will learn to apply critical thinking skills to what they read in the tabloids and see on television. What constitutes credible evidence and what is just wishful thinking? In short, you will learn to distinguish between the scientific, the misinformed, and the truly wacky interpretations of the past. By the end of this class you will learn that the Weekly World News is not the only media that is willfully ignorant.

Required:

• 
  Feder, Kenneth: Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries. Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. 7^th edition. McGraw-Hill 2011. ISBN 978-0-07-811697-1
  
• 
  Kida, Thomas: Don’t Believe Everything You Think. The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking. Prometheus Books 2006. ISBN 978-1-59102-408-8
  
• 
  Additional readings will be posted online
  

Critical thinking is a skill needed by all students entering the university. The lack of critical thinking is problematic for our undergraduate students when assessing evidence of past human behavior.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

assess extraordinary interpretations of the past

discern the difference between science and pseudoscience

acquire a practical understanding of the field of archaeology

understand how scholars in the field pursue those issues


By the end of the course students will learn the Foundation Curriculum Goals for the Basic Social Sciences

Goal 1. Students will learn the subject matter of at least one discipline in the Basic Social Sciences.

Students will learn the archaeological interpretations of many sites around the world.

They will understand the adaptations made by humans to changing natural and cultural environments.

Goal 2. Students will learn the research methodology, principles and concepts required to understand and conduct undergraduate-level research in a Basic Social Science.

Students will learn the basic methodological and theoretical archaeological approaches to understanding the past. Basic critical thinking skills will be taught so the student can assess the evidence for claims made concerning past archaeological phenomena

Goal 3. Students will learn about the discipline’s contribution to general knowledge.

By applying critical thinking skills to assessing archaeological sites, students will learn to apply the same reasoning skills to problems in other areas.

• 
  The Mysterious Origins of Man :Introduction to the course: Science vs. Pseudoscience
  

• Assessing the Fantastic: How does one tell what is crazy and what is incredible

Kida Chapter 3 & 4

• 
  I Want to Believe : Why smart people believe crazy things
  

Kida Chapter 5 & 6

• 
  What is a hoax?
  

Kida chapter 7 & 8

Web: http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/hoaxes/

UNIT FIVE—Goals 1, 2 & 3

• Dawson vs. Darwin: How intelligent was the designer?

Reading: Feder chapter 4

Kida Chapters 9 & 10

Web: http://www.badarchaeology.net/fraudulent/dawson.php

UNIT SIX—Goals 1, 2 & 3

• On the Origin of Hobbits and Cavemen

Readings: Cremo & Thompson chapter 10

Kida chapter 11

Web: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-floresiensis

UNIT SEVEN—Goals 1, 2 & 3

• 
  Exam 1
  
• 
  America B.C.
  

Readings: Williams chapter 5 & 6

Kida chapter 12

Web: http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_migr.htm
UNIT EIGHT—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  America B.C. continued
  

Readings: Feder chapter 5

Kida chapter 12

Web: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/explore-pre-clovis-sites.html

UNIT NINE—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  The Myth of the Moundbuilders
  

Readings: Feder chapter 7

Web: http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2011/06/moundbuilder-myth.html

UNIT TEN—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  Who Discovered America? Not Columbus!
  

Readings: Feder chapter 6

Web: http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/zheng_he_in_the_americas_and_other_unlikely_tales_of_exploration_and_discov

UNIT ELEVEN—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  Atlantis: How do you lose a continent?
  
• 
  Exam 2
  

Readings: Feder chapter 8

Williams chapter 7

Web: http://archaeology.about.com/od/controversies/a/atlantis05.htm

UNIT TWELVE—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  Can we handle the “Truth”?: Egypt and the Bible
  

Readings: Feder chapter 10

Williams chapter 8

Web: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/searching_to_noah_vale/

UNIT THIRTEEN—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  Psychic Archaeology
  

Readings: Feder chapter 11

Williams chapter 12

Web: http://bshistorian.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/archaeological-dowsing/

UNIT FOURTEEN—Goals 1 & 3

• 
  We Come in Peace: The case for ancient astronauts
  

Readings: Feder chapter 9

Von Daniken chapter 1 & 2

Web: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/is-it-real/2701/Overview#tab-facts

UNIT FIFTEEN—Goals 1, 2 & 3

• 
  Don’t confuse me with the facts!: What Stonehenge is really all about
  

Readings: Feder chapter 12

Web: http://www.mendhak.com/85-stonehenge-theories-myths-construction-and-images.aspx

UNIT SIXTEEN—Goals 1, 2 & 3

• 
  2012: It’s the end of the world as we know it
  

Readings: Feder chapter 13

Kida epilogue

Web: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/2012-countdown-to-armageddon-4438#tab-Overview

FINAL EXAM

(e) Course Requirements:

PARTICIPATION (10% of final grade)

Based on class attendance and participation in discussions

WEEKLY QUIZZES (30% of final grade)

There will be short weekly quizzes over the material covered in your readings and in lecture.

EXAMINATIONS (@ 60% of final grade)

There will be three examinations over the material covered in class lectures, current events, videos, and your texts. Each exam will count for 20% of your final grade.

Your final grade will be calculated as follows: A: 90-100; B: 80-89; C: 70-79; D: 60-69; F: 0-59.

Faculty Senate Resolution #09-44, November 2009; editorially revised April 2011

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