Claire Novotny is an assistant professor of anthropology at Kenyon. Her research interests include the archaeology of ancient Maya households and rural communities, the role of identity in social and political affiliation and public archaeology. While studying for her MA in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida, Claire became interested in how archaeological knowledge is created and used in contemporary societies, specifically among Indigenous communities. For her dissertation research at UNC-Chapel Hill, she worked with Aguacate, a Q'eqchi' Maya village located in southern Belize, to design and implement a community archaeology project that investigated ancient Maya archaeological sites on community land. The project was a collaborative effort that sought the participation of local people in the creation of knowledge about their history and heritage.
Claire comes to Kenyon from InHerit: Passed to Present, a cultural heritage nonprofit housed in the Research Laboratories…
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Claire Novotny is an assistant professor of anthropology at Kenyon. Her research interests include the archaeology of ancient Maya households and rural communities, the role of identity in social and political affiliation and public archaeology. While studying for her MA in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida, Claire became interested in how archaeological knowledge is created and used in contemporary societies, specifically among Indigenous communities. For her dissertation research at UNC-Chapel Hill, she worked with Aguacate, a Q'eqchi' Maya village located in southern Belize, to design and implement a community archaeology project that investigated ancient Maya archaeological sites on community land. The project was a collaborative effort that sought the participation of local people in the creation of knowledge about their history and heritage.
Claire comes to Kenyon from InHerit: Passed to Present, a cultural heritage nonprofit housed in the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at UNC-Chapel Hill. As program director for InHerit, she planned and implemented educational programs about archaeology and heritage for local communities in Yucatán, Mexico, and Petén, Guatemala. Claire initiated the ongoing Toledo Heritage Stewardship Program in southern Belize, in collaboration with the Maya Leaders' Alliance (MLA), as a way to empower local stewards to map heritage sites in Mayan communities.
Areas of Expertise
Mesoamerican archaeology, community archaeology, archaeology of households and identity, applied anthropology.
Education
— Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College
— Master of Arts from University of South Florida
— Doctor of Philosophy from University of North Carolina a
Courses Recently Taught
AMST 493
IS: Southern Material Lives
AMST 493
Individual study is an exceptional opportunity available to junior or senior majors who find that the ordinary course offerings at Kenyon do not meet their needs for the major. Individual study may be taken only for 0.5 units of credit. Students must have the approval of the department chair in order to apply to enroll in an individual study. Students must present a detailed reading list and syllabus, including a schedule of assignments/projects and due dates, to the American studies faculty member with whom they choose to work. The faculty member who agrees to supervise and direct the individual study will confirm the syllabus and schedule in writing to the director of the program. The student project must culminate in a public presentation. The overall evaluation is a combination of student self-evaluation and faculty assessment of the student’s performance, both of which will be reported to the department chair along with the final grade assigned in the course. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline. This interdisciplinary course does not count toward the completion of any diversification requirement.
ANTH 112
Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH 112
Today people increasingly live in highly industrialized and urban civilizations. But how long have humans had "civilization"? What is "civilization" and how can it be recognized? This course will address these questions through looking at the basic elements of archaeology and its place in anthropology. Topics we will cover include the history of archaeology, fundamental aspects of fieldwork and analysis and the prehistoric record from the first humans to the origins of civilization. This foundation course is required for upper-level work in archaeology courses. Offered every semester.
ANTH 256
Habitat and Humanity
ANTH 256
Humans often take for granted the spaces and places that frame our everyday lives. In this course we will make the familiar strange by asking: Why do most Americans live in square spaces? What would it be like to live in a cave? Can houses be spiritual places? In order to address these and other questions, we will explore how human habitats provide the very foundations of cultural practice and reproduction. This course takes a long-term perspective of humans and their habitats by starting our investigation in prehistory. We will explore social landscapes, dwellings and environments across different cultures, times and places. Our survey will include contemporary habitats as well as ancient dwellings and a consideration of sacred structures such as shrines and temples. This course emphasizes the form and meaning of architecture, its role in cultural formation processes, and explores long-term changes in how humans relate to their habitats and dwellings. As the material manifestations of culture and the building blocks of societies, having a place to dwell recursively makes us human while shaping us into bearers of culture. This counts as an upper-level elective for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every fall semester.
ANTH 291
ST: Habitat and Humanity
ANTH 291
ANTH 353
Engaged Archaeology
ANTH 353
Archaeologists often grapple with how their interpretations affect contemporary communities, some of whom are descended from the ancient populations whose material remains we excavate. In recent years, archaeologists have started to reframe their practice as a means by which to benefit living people, including descendent and local non-descendent groups. How and why should archaeologists interact with local people or descendent communities? Can archaeology contribute to social justice and social change? How can archaeologists effectively communicate with students and the public? This class will address these and other questions through an examination of recent efforts by archaeologists around the world to decolonize the discipline and involve stakeholders in archaeological research. Students will put these ideas into practice by designing and implementing archaeology education activities at Science and Play Intersect (SPI), a science education nonprofit in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. This counts toward the upper-level archaeology or cultural anthropology requirement. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 or permission of instructor. Offered every fall semester.
ANTH 370
Ideology, Power and Ritual in Mesoamerica
ANTH 370
What makes a good leader? Do the powerful manipulate ritual? How did social inequality start? This course will address these and other questions through an examination of ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica refers to a geographical area — spanning present-day Southern Mexico and Northern Central America — occupied by a variety of ancient cultures that shared religious, art, architecture and technology. We will analyze the rise of complex society in this diverse and vibrant region, from the domestication of corn and other agricultural staples to the seeds of social inequality and the rise of powerful leaders. In particular, we will focus on how ideology and ritual both sanctioned and fostered political and ritual economies throughout Mesoamerica. Drawing on examples from the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec cultural groups, we will analyze the relationship between ideology and power and how it affected the lived experience of Mesoamerican peoples. We will consider topics such as social and political organization, economy, trade, gender and everyday life. The final days of the course will examine contemporary Indigenous issues in the region, linking archaeology and heritage to language revitalization, land rights struggles and political autonomy. More than just a cultural overview of a geographic region, students will come away from this class with the ability to critically evaluate ideological strategies and a distinct appreciation for the material heritage of Mesoamerican descendant communities. This counts toward the upper-level archaeology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 or permission of instructor. Offered every other spring semester.
ANTH 391
ANTH 493
Individual Study
ANTH 493
The Anthropology Department reserves individual study for those students who are unusually motivated in an area of the field and who we believe are responsible enough to handle the challenge of working independently. Such courses might be research-oriented (e.g., students returning from off-campus study programs with data) but are more commonly reading-oriented courses allowing students to explore in greater depth topics that interest them or that overlap with their major course of study. To arrange for individual study, a student should consult with a faculty member during the semester prior to when the independent work is to be undertaken. The individual-study course may be designed exclusively by the faculty member or it may be designed in consultation with the student. For reading courses, a bibliography is created, and the student reads those works, meeting periodically (weekly or bi-weekly) with the faculty member to discuss them. Faculty directing the individual study will set the terms of course evaluation, which typically involve either a research paper or an extensive annotated bibliography with a short explanatory essay tying the entries together and situating the debates which they represent. Another option is for the student to write one- to two-page assessments of each book or reading at intervals throughout the semester. The faculty member comments on these assessments and may request periodic reassessments. The course culminates with a synthetic paper that pulls together all the readings. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek the departmental approval before the established deadline. This course can count toward the major or minor.