Author Archives: Elly Fieffer

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and Classics Lab

Posted by Elly Fieffer

The Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and Classics (AMCA) lab is a collaborative space for students to interact with each other and artifacts. The lab strives to put the materials of the ancient world into the modern classroom. The lab offers a formal on campus experience for students with artifacts to develop practical skills that relate to archaeological, archival, and curatorial opportunities. There are a variety of ways to be involved in the lab based on individual interests. 

These opportunities include:

  • Social media and Blog management
  • Organization and artifact management  
  • Metadata cataloging and database building
  • Artifact research
  • Educational outreach within the local community

I have truly loved my experience as an AMCA Lab intern. Dr. K is one of my advisors and she has made me fall in love with archeology and artifacts all over again. I have always been interested in museums, but this internship has made me more interested in archival and collections work. My primary jobs as an intern have been artifact research as well as working with the librarians to update on our metadata catalog to digitize our collection. This internship has taught me skills that I wouldn’t learn in the classroom that will apply to my post graduate experience!

Here is what some of the other current interns have to say about their experience:

Sophie Graham, Sophomore History, Anthro, and Classics Majors, shared, “I wanted to be an intern mostly because my schedule gave me so much free time I didn’t know what to do with it and I absolutely love Dr. K and wanted to help out in the Classics Department in any way that I could. I think that I’ve enjoyed just getting to see all of the artifacts that we have stored. On my first day working, I got to see real ancient Egyptian artifacts that had been donated to us and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

Gansey Petroff, Junior Classics and Psychology Majors, shared, “I wanted to be an intern because I wanted to become more involved in the department as well as explore my general interest in artifacts! My main job this semester has been accessioning and archiving information, specifically about coins and books. Because of this experience, I have learned to be comfortable with things not always going as planned the first time, but it’s okay to step back and re-evaluate and try again. This internship has given me more interest in museum work and archival work.”

The Enrollment Hassle: Tips on Getting Through Registration

Posted by Elly Fieffer

It’s that time of the year again, Bulldogs, advising is just around the corner. As a senior, I am very grateful for not having to endure this dreadful process again. Every semester, no matter the amount of credit hours I had accumulated, my enrollment appointment was always the last day, and last time for my grade. Each year, more anxiety built as I raced to enroll in the classes I wanted to ensure my ability to graduate on time. As much as I hated the enrollment process, I have learned a few things that I think will help. Here are my tips and tricks to conquering the four horsemen of the Butler Enrollment Apocalypse:

My.Butler

Navigating my.butler is difficult, but the self service student homepage will be your best friend. Here you will find the Student Center, task notifications, and the college schedule planner. The first thing to do is go to the Student Center and find your enrollment appointment date.

Next, look underneath your current schedule at the enrollment shopping cart. From there, click on next semester to view all of the classes being offered. I like to use the “search by my requirements” just to see what exactly I still need before I start searching for classes. Once you have a general idea, you can start browsing and adding classes to your cart. Don’t just plan the end-all-be-all single schedule. I would try to have enough classes in my cart that didn’t clash too much that I could substitute if I needed to rearrange after my advising appointment or if the classes closed. 

From there, I would work on clearing any holds on the account. The last hold you will have is from your advisor(s). 

Advising

Hopefully your advisors will be reaching out to you with a schedule for you to sign up for advising. Some like to use canvas, others will send out google docs or forms. You can always reach out to them yourself to ask about when they plan to start appointments.

Once at your meeting, your advisor will help you plan out your next semester and/or year based on your interests, requirements, study abroad, and other opportunities that apply to you. This is your designated time with a faculty member who is here to help you, answer questions, discuss how things are currently going and changes you would like to make in your routine! Over the past four years, I have built an incredible relationship with my advisors and they have helped me with far more than just building my class schedule. 

Many faculty are willing to offer time to non-advisees during this time to help answer any questions or guide you in fields of interests. One of my now advisors, Dr. K, offered me advising before I was even a major. I had a class with her first semester freshman year and she helped me get a Classics minor, and then turn that minor into a major, while remaining on schedule to graduate! 

If all else fails, or you are unsure about anything, Amy Arnold is always willing to help and offer guidance!

Enrollment Period

Sometimes your enrollment period is far from the ideal time. I’ve had mine become available during classes, at 7 am, and on the last day at the last time slot. If your period becomes open during a class, reach out to your professor ahead of time so they know. I always try to look at my cart at least an hour to half hour before my enrollment period so I can see what is available. Looking a little early helps so you are not completely surprised when you go to register. It can prevent you from scrambling at the last minute to find a class that fits. 

My first registration was at the last time, on the last day, during a class. I didn’t know that classes would fill up, I didn’t understand waitlisting, and I didn’t know how to prepare a second schedule. When I opened my enrollment cart, panic settled in and I immediately left my classroom with my computer in hand to find a secluded corner of Jordan to quickly throw classes together and cry. I didn’t get half the classes I wanted and I wasn’t sure if the schedule I made checked any boxes I needed to graduate. I quickly emailed my advisors and went back to class, completely disappointed. My advisors told me my schedule looked great, I was still getting the credits I needed, and they helped me figure out how to waitlist for some of the classes I wanted. 

It will work out.

Waitlist

Do not be afraid of the waitlist! And don’t be afraid to stay on that waitlist all the way through the first week of classes. I have gotten into almost every single class since that first enrollment that I waitlisted for. Different departments have different waitlist policies, but many work with their majors to make sure they are getting into the classes they need. Each professor and department is different, so make sure you reach out to your advisors about your options and check in with the department’s administrative specialist, Amy Arnold! 

 

Writing Intern for the History, Anthropology, and Classics Department

Posted by Elly Fieffer

The History, Anthropology, and Classics Department seeks a student writing intern to assist with projects throughout the academic year. Past projects include writing blog articles and newsletters, conducting focus groups, planning and creating promotional materials for events.

Writing interns will be asked to:

  • Conduct research, including personal interviews, archives and online resources
  • Communicate with professors, alumni, and fellow students to discover or research relevant articles
  • Write and edit with precision and clarity
  • Use WordPress to publish blog posts
  • Use Google Drive to collaborate with staff and other interns
  • Use Canva to create graphics and flyers
  • Work independently and within deadlines
  • Collaborate on other special projects

Applications for next year’s writing internship are now open until Friday May 6th!

Here’s what Chloe Meredith and I have to say about own experience as interns:

“This internship has been an influential experience for me! As a student, I have developed a number of new skills while expanding upon previous ones outside of the classroom. From my first article, reaching out to recent Alumna Claudia Vinci, to my most recent, The Enrollment Apocalypse, I have expanded my writing skills to consider the needs of the audience, you! I have enjoyed brainstorming ideas with Amy and following our inspirations to create these projects and articles. It has been daunting when trying to pinpoint what is interesting or useful, but I have been supported in exploring and executing my ideas. It has been incredible to network with a number of students, alumni, and professors who have continued to expand my ideas and make these projects come to life. As a senior, I wasn’t sure how much more I could grow, but each day teaches me something new while also allowing me to build new relationships that have a lasting impact. The work feels purposeful and brings me closer to our little community! 

The work I do varies day to day, and that’s what I honestly love the most about it. I have learned how to be flexible and open minded. Some days, I’m mastering wordpress and canva, other days I’m brainstorming with Amy and reaching out to professors about upcoming events. Much of the work I do, I learn by experience. I have become comfortable with trial and error as a learning method, especially when it comes to problem solving and making creative choices. There’s no wordpress or canva handbook (although I wish there was). I have to work with the site’s structure to determine the best way of representing each article. In addition to posting the articles, I have learned to edit them. The process of learning to edit continues to present many choices that I have weigh individually, but also collectively as each change impacts the overall direction of the piece. 

As someone who longs to be in museums and archives, this internship has helped me gain confidence in my abilities as a researcher and as a liaison between past and future. When I received responses and basic data points, I expanded upon them to make the narrative more accessible for the audience, much like those history researchers I hope to join. People consider research as an independent study of a topic, but this internship has taught me that it is truly a team effort as our individual work comes together to create these stories.”

– Elly Fieffer, Senior History, Political Science, and Classical Studies

 

“Working as an intern for the History, Anthropology, and Classics department has been one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had at Butler University. When I first started, I had been disconnected from the department due to the pandemic shifting us to online learning, and I was incredibly nervous about getting involved again. I wanted to reconnect with my peers and department faculty, but struggled with how to do that. This internship was the answer.

For the department blog, I reached out to students and faculty to discuss their academic career paths and sought ways to highlight their talent. I was instantly reconnected with the department I fell in love with 4 years prior, and discovered all of the different ways our people celebrate history, anthropology, and classics! It added whole new meanings to the events I saw pop up in notifications, and I found myself actively rooting for others in the department in their academic endeavors. This internship is an investment in the Butler University community, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to become involved again. 

Beyond the current community, I sought out Butler alumni from our department, and the skills I learned in searching and networking with people inspired me to pursue a career in recruitment and administration after graduation! Employers have been beyond impressed with how an internship with the department has exponentially expanded my skills with finding talent and connecting people. This internship has made a lasting impression on my career beyond Butler University, and it definitely will for the next set of interns, too.

But the internship’s benefits did not stop there! Despite the fact that for me it started as a writing internship to help with the department blog, through collaboration, our team has adapted to different roles to better help the department. In the more creative direction, I have made flyers for the events in the department and helped put together different methods to get student feedback. Now, I am helping make the bulletin boards for the department, and I am so happy with the direction our team led me. Under Amy’s amazing leadership and with Elly’s incredible help, I have been able to explore the different ways I can use so many untapped skills and interests! This internship has helped me in ways unimaginable, and I will be forever grateful.”

 – Chloe Meredith, Senior History, Political Science, and Business Law minor

Department Info

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Main Office: JH 349

Elizabeth Huselton – Dept. Administrator – JH 349A

Dr. Edwards – JH 245

Dr. Jorgensen – JH 249A

Dr. Germano – JH 249B

Dr. Cornell – JH 249C

Dr. Waterhouse – JH 353A

Dr. Overdorf – JH 253B

Dr. Mould – JH 253C

Dr. Nebiolo – JH 253D

Dr. Searcy – JH 253E

Dr. Paradis – JH 349B

Dr. Shahrokhi – JH 349C

Dr. Fletcher – JH 349D

Dr. Andrei – JH 349E

Dr. Hanson – JH 373

Dr. Catalan – JH 373

Dr. Gilmartin – JH 373

Dr. Sluis – JH 375B

Dr. Kvapil – JH 380

Dr. Scarlett – JH 382A

Dr. Deno – JH 382B

Dr. Bungard – JH 382C

 

Meet Dr. Sluis

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Biography 

Dr. Aegis Sluis (she/her/ella) is a professor of Latin American History in the department of History and Anthropology, and affiliate faculty in Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (RGSS) and International Studies (IS). She is also currently the Director of Global and Historical Studies at Butler University.

Areas of Research and Scholarship

Dr. Sluis teaches courses on a variety of subjects, but all deal in some way with the interplay of power, culture, identity formations and historical shifts. Her scholarship generally lands at the intersections of gender, space, and the history of the Americas. Her articles can be found  in The Americas, the Journal of Urban History, and the Journal of Transnational American Studies (among others). Her first book titled Deco Body/Deco City: Spectacle and Modernity in Mexico City (University of Nebraska Press, 2016) looks at how new ideas about femininity and female bodies influenced urban reform in Mexico’s capital city in the 1920s and 1930s. Her new project, Warrior Power: Dreaming, Drugs, Death and the Search for Alternate Spirituality in Mexico during the Sixties and Seventies (tentative title), focuses on the interplay between the books and appeal of Carlos Castaneda, the history of anthropology, New Age sensibilities, popular imaginings of Mexico, and indigenismo.

Upcoming and Current Butler Courses

  • HST 101: An Introduction to History & Anthropology
  • HST 213/TI 239-HST: Exploring Latin America
  • PCA 267-HST: Experiencing the City
  • GHS 204: Contact Zones: Latin America
  • HST 301: Historiography 
  • She teaches various topics in History, International Studies, RGSS, as well as directing GALA in 2018 and 2022

Meet Dr. Mould

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Biography

Tom Mould (he/him) is Professor of Anthropology and Folklore. He received his BA in English from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MA and PHD in Folklore from Indiana University. Mould is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society (AFS) and has served on the AFS Executive Board, Chaired the AFS Media and Public Outreach Committee, and serves on the Advisory Boards for the Journal of Folklore Research, and the Mormon Studies Book Series at Farleigh Dickinson University Press.

Before coming to Butler in 2019, he was the J.Earl Danieley Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at Elon University where he taught for 18 years and served in various roles including Director of the Honors Program, Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, and Director of PERCS: The Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies. 

Areas of Research and Scholarship

Tom Mould teaches and publishes  in the areas of folklore, language and culture, American Indian studies, oral narrative, religious and sacred narrative, contemporary legend, identity, ethnography, genre, and performance theory. In  addition to numerous journal articles, he is the co-editor of two books—The Individual and Tradition (2011) and Latter-day Lore: Mormon Folklore Studies (2013)—and author of four more ChoctawProphecy: A Legacy of the Future (2003), Choctaw Tales (2004), Still, the Small Voice: Revelation, Personal Narrative, and the Mormon Folk Tradition (2011), and Overthrowing the Queen: Telling Stories of Welfare in America (2020), which won the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Brian McConnell Book Award from the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research.

He has also produced video documentaries for public television on folk art and culture in Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina and has written articles, blogs, and radio stories for a general audience on a range of topics including perceptions of welfare, the American Dream,  unemployment and public assistance, fake news, and the confederate flag.  

For a complete CV, click here. 

Current Research Projects

  • Choctaw Traditions: Life and Customs of the Mississippi Choctaw: This book will explore recent and contemporary traditions among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians through the personal experience narratives and family histories shared by community members today. This research is based on current ethnographic fieldwork with tribal members as well as archival research. 
  • Internet Memes for Social Justice: This research explores the efficacy of internet memes to work towards social justice, specifically in the area of economic justice around issues of public assistance in the U.S. This research is a spin off from previous work studying the narratives people tell about public assistance in this country and how those stories shape perception and policy. 

Mentored Student Research Projects at Butler 

  • 2022—Ericela Sahagun. “Hispanic Hoosiers: Ethnonym use among the Hispanic population in Indianapolis.” Selected as a Butler Summer Institute Scholar. Departmental Honors Thesis.
  • 2022—Braxton Martorano, Cameron Ellison, Emily Fales, Donald Crocker. “Improving Racial Dialogue and Understanding through Stories.”
  • 2022—Kat Sandefer. “Bird’s Eye View: The Construction of Identity and Community via Social Media of Cirque du Soleil Performers.” Butler Honors Thesis.
  • 2022—Cameron Ellison. “Shaping Perspective: Analysis of Narrated Experiences of Students of Color at a Predominately White Institution..” Departmental Honors Thesis. 
  • 2022 —Kynnedy Masheck. “Russetid: Formal and Informal Rituals in the Norwegian Rite of Passage to Adulthood.” Departmental Honors Thesis. Presented at the annual conference of the Central States Anthropological Society April 25, 2021.
  • 2022—Christopher Luis Paez Reyna. “Land Acknowledgments and Resources for Butler University.”
  • 2021—Ericela Sahagun. “’Pero like…’: An analysis of the use of Chicano English among Hispanic populations in the Midwest.” Butler Summer Institute Scholar, 2020 and 2021. Presented at the annual conference of the Central States Anthropological Society April 25, 2021.
  • 2021—Kat Sandefer. “Constructing Local and Racial Identities Through Supernatural Legends.” 
  • 2021—Cecilia Januszewski. “Coding Choctaw Cultural Traditions.”

Upcoming and Current Butler Courses

  • FYS 101: The Power of Everyday Stories
  • AN 333: Folklore, Culture, and Society
  • AN 338: Language and Culture
  • AN 364: Native American Cultures
  • Topics: Video Ethnography
  • Thesis and Research Advisor

Meet Dr. Kvapil

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Biography

Lynne A. Kvapil (she/her), known by her students as Dr. K, is an archaeologist specializing in ancient Greece and Aegean Prehistory. Her research focuses on the Mycenaean Greeks, particularly farming, warfare, the manufacture of ceramics, and labor organization and management. As an active field archaeologist, Dr. K travels to Greece every summer, where she is the Assistant Director of the Nemea Center of Archaeology Excavations at the Mycenaean cemetery at Aidonia and the Petsas House Excavations at Mycenae. Dr. K has been awarded research funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust to support her ongoing research on the Mycenaean Greeks, and she has been a part of a successful grant-writing team that has been awarded funding from the Archaeological Institute of America and the Loeb Foundation to support the excavations at Aidonia.

Areas of Research and Scholarship

At Butler University, Dr. K teaches in all aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world, but most often she teaches about Ancient Greece, including Ancient Greek language courses, Ancient Greek Art and Myth, Ancient Greek Perspectives. She also teaches upper level courses in Ancient Greek and Roman Art and Architecture and Women in Antiquity. Dr. K is also a co-director of the Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and Classics (AMCA) lab, which won a 2015 Butler University Innovation Grant and which aims to help put the material culture of the ancient world into the modern classroom.

Upcoming and Current Butler Courses

  • PCA 262 CLA: Greek Art and Myth
  • TI 201 CLA: Ancient Greek Perspectives
  • CLA 322: Art & Architecture of Greece and Rome
  • CLA 323: Women and Antiquity
  • Topics: Archeology of the Dead
  • Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Ancient Greek
  • Independent Study Opportunities
  • Study Abroad and Archaeological Field School in Greece

Kat Sandefer and the Archaeological Research Institute

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Interview with Senior Multilingual Studies and Anthropology student, Kat Sandefer conducted February 2022

 

Q: How did you find the internship? Why was it interesting to you? 

This past summer I worked as an archeological intern at the Archaeological Research Institute (ARI) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. I heard about this internship through a Butler professor, Dr. Kvapil. As an anthropology major, I was very interested in learning about archeology and the lab work that goes along with working at a dig site. I learned so much about the time and patience that is required to do successful archeological research on a large scale here in the United States. I learned a lot about how to process artifacts and soil samples in a lab setting. I also learned a lot about the different unexpected aspects of archeology.  

 

Q: What was the central focus of your internship? What skills did you already have that you were able to use? 

ARI puts a lot of time and effort into making sure they are a public archeological institute, meaning they focus on including and educating the public. I had the opportunity to work alongside the children’s day camp, which helped educate the kids on what archeologists do in the field, as well as giving them a chance to dig themselves. All of the interns were also given a project that they were to work on over the course of the internship. Due to my background in corporate relations, I focused on raising money and improving the virtual reality prototype that was created of the Guard site, which was the site we were excavating. The virtual reality game prototype was created to give the public a way to see what the site would have looked like during the Fort Ancient period. My task was to interview the archeologists and interns at ARI during/after they used the Oculus to walk through the game, so that I could write up a report on ways to improve the VR. I also researched potential corporate sponsors.  

 

Q: What was the best part about your internship? What skills did you acquire through this particular internship experience? 

While ARI itself is a fantastic place to learn and work, the people I met there over the course of my 6 weeks as an intern were phenomenal. Students would be hard pressed to find a more welcoming, kind, passionate and educated community in this field. Even though I do not plan on going into archeology myself, I learned so many valuable skills that I can apply throughout my life. I plan on volunteering at ARI later on this year. I urge any students that are interested in archeology (even if they have never taken a class) to apply.

Classical Studies

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Classics is the study of the ancient Mediterranean with a focus on Greek and Roman culture, history and language to learn how these ancient civilizations valued knowledge and organized their societies to understand ourselves. Through the past we ask questions about our values and where they come from and why we hold on to certain ones. The Classics program at Butler offers students hands-on experiences both on campus and abroad. Locally, students can work for the Classics Lab, a curatorial and research position to develop the repository of physical artifacts for students to study. For students interested in travel, there is an archaeological field school in Greece or study abroad course in Rome. Classics students not only learn academic skills but develop an imagination of the past that helps them to see a broader future.

All of Butler’s Offerings

https://majors.butler.edu/?_ga=2.190916522.1607322230.1643036455-1766424400.1573842097

Official Department Page

https://www.butler.edu/arts-sciences/history-anthropology-classics/ 

Classical Studies (Major and Minor)

Ancient Languages Track –  Classes primarily focused around learning the ancient 

languages of Greek and Latin

Ancient Cultures Track – Classes have a wider scope of culture, language, and 

Influence of the Ancient Civilizations

https://www.butler.edu/arts-sciences/history-anthropology-classics/classics/curriculum/