Teaching Activities: Cutting Edge Technologies, Archaeological Science, and Evolutionary Theory

In all of my advisement to the archaeology undergraduate students, I recommend to them a set of courses that are hierarchically arranged to insure that the student follows a structured program while at CSULB. This objective meets the requirements that have recently been debated on campus for a renewed emphasis on the quality of undergraduate education. I emphasize critical thinking, quantitative applications, rigorous scientific methods, the philosophy of science, use of technologies in anthropological research, and quality writing skills. My goal is to insure that our students can successfully compete in graduate school environments and in the work place. A measure of this success is reflected in the number of students that go on to graduate schools from our program.

I have also attempted to bring into focus our need to be sensitive to multicultural and gender issues. Indeed, I have worked to stress the value and uniqueness of anthropology to contribute to an improved understanding of these most important concerns. In fact, over the years several students in my classes have focused their papers on such issues, for which I am very pleased. I also make a very strong effort to discuss the need to respect the values of Native American and Irish peoples and their concerns for cultural heritage values including archaeological materials and significant sites at which I work.