In the Classroom
In History, Anthropology, & Classics, students don’t just “learn” the material, they experience it.
“I have had the opportunity to visit the Indiana Historical Society and their archive, and tour campus to analyze architecture and urban planning. I’ve had the opportunity to connect my majors in final projects, including a project where I created a unit plan on Orientalism and pop culture for high schoolers based on historiographical theory.”
Carleigh Olive ’25 (Middle/Secondary education, History major, and Diverse Learners Minor)
With scholars covering the globe and different periods, you will be free to study what excites you, with professors who take the time to know your academic interests. Here are just a few examples:
Japanese Pop Culture (AN 329) examines Japanese comics, fashion magazines, feature films, anime, music, sports, and even children’s games, to understand the social pervasiveness and cultural force of the mediums. While one of many courses highlighting the field and expertise of our faculty, this class introduces students to critical theoretical perspectives about popular culture that can be applied more broadly.
In Greek Art and Myth (PCA 262 – CLA), students explore the intersection of Greek myth and art while considering the many ways these two media have been used to convey meaning over time, particularly through various art forms. Through deep analysis, students discuss how the construction of myth and meaning relates to contemporary social justice issues. The course culminates with Gallery Days, where students create artwork in a medium of their choosing and present it to their peers and faculty members.
In Architectural History and Architecture (HST 359), students will learn to identify and describe prominent architectural styles that have shaped America’s everyday built environment from colonial times to the present. This course frames American architecture within cultural, geographical, and socioeconomic contexts while emphasizing the exterior design of the American home. Toward the end of the semester, students take on an interpretive and field-based project focusing on the various historic districts of Indianapolis.
Archeology of the Dead (CLA 330) is a course that analyzes the end of life practices of ancient societies through an archeological lens. This involves analysis of cross-cultural case studies, where students will consider the forms of mortuary evidence (tombs and graves, grave goods, and human remains), how social organization may be communicated through burial practices, the construction of identity through death, and conceptions of life after death. Most importantly, students will discuss and partake in conversations surrounding the ethical concerns relating to archeological encounters with human remains.
Some of our most prestigious classes are the capstone and seminar for Anthropology (AN 460 – Culture and History) and History (HST 401 – Senior Seminar). These courses are structured to give students the skills to create independent research projects from the ground up. AN 460 involves students going through the ethnographic research process whilst engaging with cultural analysis and traversing the relationship between anthropological and historical methods. Similarly, HST 401 students refine their research to create original long-form papers that can serve as a foundation for an Honors Thesis.
Experiential Learning
History, Anthropology, & Classics 101 students tour the historical Crown Hill Cemetery.
