Dr. Kvapil’s Women & Antiquity and Other Courses

Posted by Elly Fieffer

The Classics faculty at Butler help students see the unseen. While the world recognizes the impacts of these ancient civilizations, there are stories hidden in the well-known narratives. The Classics Lab and Independent Studies courses are working with ancient artifacts the department received from the local art museum to add important details into the modern stories about the ancient classics. Some civilizations have had their stories dominated and replaced by larger, known civilizations. The Greeks and the Romans, while fascinating on their own, oftentimes are guilty of this narrative “collecting,” directing the modern world to  the stories we now know. Classics teaches us that there is more than just a single narrative.

Dr. Lynne Kvapil, one of our Classics faculty, offers a course called Women in Antiquity which  pulls out some of those unseen stories: women’s stories. We know women existed, but oftentimes their work and their narratives have been erased, unless it served a purpose for the men telling their tales. The class analyzes real and mythological stories to understand the expectations for women in these ancient cultures. Dr. K shows how even  Cleopatrata’s story has been changed to serve the purpose of others. as an illustration that even prodeomient women in history have their narratives told and changed for them.

Women in Antiquity was last offered Spring 2021, Independent Studies are typically available every semester

Dr. Mould’s FYS: The Power of Everyday Storytelling

Posted by Elly Fieffer

FYS is a class designed to transition students into college successfully. Students are placed into a class with a topic that fits their interests. These classes become the  first “community” here on campus, beginning with orientation the week before classes, and spending the entire first year together to ease the  transition into collegiate academics and social spheres. The various FYS topics will expose students  to different people and concepts, while also finding places of interest. Dr. Tom Mould, Professor of Anthropology, teaches an FYS course called, The Power of Everyday Storytelling.

“I have had students who were not Anthropology majors and did not intend to become ones, nonetheless see the utility of anthropological and folkloric approaches to tackling issues and problems related to their personal passions, majors, and careers. I enjoy teaching first year students because of the potential to sow seeds that will cross-pollinate far beyond our major, something I believe is central to the mission of the liberal arts.”

Dr. Mould kindly shares this story as an example for recognizing the importance of interdisciplinary courses and the power of individuals.

“It was the fall of my first year at Butler. The class was new, and so were all of us in the room. One afternoon, one of my students came to my office hours and talked about his interest in working to improve interracial dialogue at Butler. “We’ve been learning how stories are so powerful. Can they help us create a more inclusive campus climate?” My answer was quick: “Of course.” His response was equally quick: “OK, how?” We have spent the past two years figuring that out. When he mentioned this research to the next year’s batch of students, one of the women in the class asked if she could join the project. The answer again was quick: “Of course.” She happens to be an Anthropology major, but the original student? Business major then, Business major now.”

This FYS is offered frequently.

Dr. Edward’s Museum Studies

Posted by Elly Fieffer

How Culture is Erased

The exhibits and galleries that you see in a museum display a message. The collections are carefully chosen to serve a specific purpose. Part of the work that goes into museum curation is removing or reapplying cultural significance behind individual pieces to fit them into this broader message that the museum is trying to convey to you, the onlooker. In Dr. Edwards’ Museum Studies course, students have the opportunity to analyze the impacts of displays upon their original cultures and how it then shifts society’s connection to said cultures. You hear from various individuals in these institutions to understand how the practice differs while also diving deeper into exposing institutional purposes for the displays that they chose to present. 

Student Reflection

Now that I’m a senior, I look back fondly upon my sophomore experience (fall 2020) in this course. I had considered museum studies as my path after graduation, but this course exposed me to a range of fields  that I had never considered. I learned that there was a difference between being a curator, an archivist, or a public historian, but these are all careers where my history degree could take me. 

Museum Studies was last offered Spring of 2022, it is offered approximately every 2 years.

 

Hostile Terrain 94

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Dr. Ageeth Sluis, our Latin American Historian, is sponsoring an interactive exhibit at the Irwin Library to raise awareness of the immigrant lives lost while crossing the US-Mexico border through the Sonoran Desert in Arizona between the mid-1990s and 2019. This exhibit comes from the work of the Undocumented Migration Project, which began as anthropological research into migration patterns and turned into a recovery project of human remains. This exhibit is a memorial to those lives lost and is now on display in the common area to the right of the Irwin Library entrance.

With a focus on this specific geographic location, approximately 3,200 written toe tags to represent the immigrants. This illustrates the danger that exists at the US/Mexico border and the persistence of the immigrants despite knowing their lives are at stake. The project will expand  their search to the Texas wilderness.

This exhibit was Fall 2021