Kevin Crisman

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Kevin Crisman
Nautical Archaeology Faculty Fellow
Associate Professor

Email:	kcrisman@tamu.edu
Phone:	(979) 845-6696
Office:	131B Anthropology

New World Seafaring Anthropology 628
Course Overview

Course Syllabus

Course Description:

Cultural history of seafaring in the Western Hemisphere from the fifteenth century to the present; ship types and their uses; harborworks, commerce, naval warfare, sailing routes, maritime practices. Prerequisites: ANTH 615 and 616 and approval of instructor.

Requirements:

Class attendance & participation, reading assignments, several topics to research and present in class, and a publishable-quality term paper.

Texts:*

George F. Bass, ed. Ships and Shipwrecks of the Americas. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996. ISBN: 050027892X
Copies of this book are on reserve in the Nautical Library.

Other short readings are listed on the syllabus, and copies of those books or off-prints will be placed on NAP Library reserve.

Structure

An emphasis will be placed on the use of higher order thinking and reasoning in the acquisition and communication of new knowledge. You will be expected to critically read the assigned books and articles and analyze and synthesize this material in light of classroom lectures.

During the semester each student will be assigned several topics to research and present in class (the number of presentations you make will depend upon the size of the class). Presentations must be no more than one-half hour in length. Stay within this time limit. Please prepare and distribute a bibliography of the sources consulted for your seminar presentation. Use of visual aids such as slides, photocopied handouts, Powerpoint™ projections, or chalkboard illustrations is strongly encouraged.

Grades:

Each student's grade will be based 50% class presentations/participation and 50% on a term paper.

Grade scale: 100-90: A, 89-80: B, 79-70: C, 69-60: D, 59-0: F

Schedule:

Week	Topic
Week 1	Introduction.

Week 2	European Exploration and Colonization of the Western Hemisphere.

Week 3	The Spanish Seaborne Empire in the Seventeenth Century.

Week 4	Northern European Colonization and Trade.

Week 5	Anglo-French Conflicts in the Americas.

Week 6	Naval Aspects of the Revolutionary War.

Week 7	Freshwater Fleets: The Naval War of 1812.

Week	Topic
Week 8	Afloat and Ashore: The Life of the Sailor.

Week 9	Canal Mania.

Week 10	Steam and Horsepower on Inland Waters.

Week 11	The Golden Age of Sail in the United States, 1815-1860.

Week 12	The Civil War.

Week 13	Out with the Old, In with the New: Wood to Iron, Canvas to Steam.

Week 14	Final Session. Presentation of Term Paper Research.