Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS AR 590: Life Is a Bowl: Ceramic Studies in Archaeology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: sophomore, junior, or senior standing. - Before plastic, there was pottery -- pots and pans, cups and dishes, crocks and jars -- in every culture and in abundance. Research seminar studies pottery across time and space to elucidate personal habits as well as social, economic, and political developments.
• CAS AR 591: Theory in Archaeology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: at least two archaeological studies courses at the 200 level or above, senior status, or consent of instructor. - Seminar dealing with the intellectual history of the discipline, research methods, concepts, and problems in archaeological theory, and the formulation of research designs. Effective Fall 2024 fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Global Citizenship, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS AR 592: Archaeological Ethics and Law
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - In this course students examine archaeology and professional ethics; archaeology as public interest; legal organization of archaeology; international approaches to heritage management; looting, collecting and the antiquities market; maritime law and underwater archaeology; cultural resource management in the United States. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
• CAS AR 594: Scientific Applications in Archaeology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) and AR 307, or graduate standing. - Seminar exploring new ways of addressing archaeological questions through the application of scientific techniques, focusing on cutting-edge methodologies and the most recent literature in the field. Students pursue questions of individual interest through readings, discussions, presentations, and research papers. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS AR 595: Professional Futures in Archaeology
  A degree in archaeology can get you in the door at museums, the National Park Service, US Customs and other federal agencies, research laboratories, international NGO's, organizations focused on international art law, historical site management, heritage tourism -- and more. For such careers, you need skills that allow you to build on your understanding of archaeological remains and techniques, communicate to a wider public, and create pathways that link subjects and remains of the past to interests and needs in the present. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS AR 703: Seminar: Materials in Ancient Society
  Topic to be announced. Offered through the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology. (MIT Materials in Ancient Societies: course #3.984)
• CAS AR 704: Seminar: Materials in Ancient Society
  Topic to be announced. Offered through the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology. (MIT Materials in Ancient Societies: course #3.989)
• CAS AR 790: The Archaeology of Southeast Asia
  Examines the prehistoric and historic cultures of Southeast Asia, including the first arrival of humans, regional Neolithic and Bronze Age communities, early states, maritime trading networks, as well as political motivations in archaeology and the illicit antiquities trade.
• CAS AR 795: The Politics of the Past: Archaeology, Museums, and Identity
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Historical exploration of the interplay among political/nationalistic pressures and the design, implementation, and interpretation of archaeological research and its public presentation through publications, museum exhibitions, and international expositions. Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
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  • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
• CAS AR 901: Directed Research in Classical Archaeology
  Graduate-level directed research in classical archaeology.
• CAS AR 903: Directed Research in New World Historical Archaeology
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing. - Graduate-level directed research in New World Archaeology.
• CAS AR 905: Directed Research in Old World Prehistoric Archaeology
  Graduate-level directed research in Old World prehistoric archaeology.
• CAS AR 907: Directed Research in New World Prehistoric Archaeology
  Graduate-level directed research in New World prehistoric archaeology.
• CAS AS 701: Introduction to Astrophysics
  Introduction to astronomical and astrophysical nomenclature and concepts. Coordinate systems, celestial orbits, radiation, stars, stellar structure, stellar evolution, clusters of stars, galactic components, galactic structure, galaxy types, active galaxies, cosmology.
• CAS AS 703: Introduction to Space Physics
  Survey of physical phenomena in the sun, solar wind, magnetospheres, ionospheres, and upper atmospheres of objects in the solar system. Introduction to the physical processes governing space plasmas, solar-terrestrial interactions, and ionized and neutral media surrounding the Earth and other solar system bodies.
• CAS AS 704: Cosmic Gas Dynamics
  Gas dynamics as applied to astrophysical settings. Basic fluid mechanics. Ideal gases. One-dimensional gas flow. Supersonic flows and shock waves. Quasar jets and stellar winds. Fluid instabilities, turbulence, and convection.
• CAS AS 706: Radiative Processes and Spectroscopy
  Generation, propagation, and transfer of electromagnetic radiation. Spectral energy distributions, continuum radiation, atomic and molecular spectral lines. Energy levels in atoms and molecules. Interaction of radiation with matter, transfer of radiation through astrophysical media. Thermal and nonthermal radiative processes.
• CAS AS 708: Cosmic Plasma Physics
  Physics of space and astrophysical plasmas. Individual particle drifts in fields, electrostatic and electromagnetic waves and instabilities, magnetohydrodynamics, kinetic theory of waves, instabilities, and Landau damping.
• CAS AS 709: Observational Techniques
  Telescopes, light detection, and analysis tools and techniques of experimental astronomy. Signal-to-noise calculations. Photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation and applications. Use of the observatory, CCD light detectors, modern software analysis tools, image processing. Proposal writing and science writing.
• CAS AS 720: Graduate Research and Scholarship
  An introduction to the methods of research and scholarship required for successful graduate study and the associated ethical issues. Topics include choosing a research advisor, the research topic, the research record, scholarly writing and publishing, intellectual property, and research funding.