ALBANY, N.Y. (March 16, 2007) -- University at Albany faculty will present a series of lectures and presentations to anthropology students at Albany High School. The series is being held in conjunction with the high school's anthropology class taught by John Doran.
The series will begin March 19-22 with lectures and presentations by biological anthropologist and UAlbany professor Sharon DeWitte and her graduate students. They will discuss human biology, including DeWitte's work on the Black Death in Europe. DeWitte has studied the mortality patterns of the Black Death of 1347-1351 using large skeletal samples from England and Denmark.
UAlbany professor and archaeologist Sean Rafferty, director of the Archaeology Field School in Schoharie, will offer a sequence of archaeology lectures and presentations, along with three of his graduate students, on April 16-20. Rafferty's work includes Smoking and Culture: The Archaeology of Tobacco Pipes in Eastern North America.
Albany High School students will also participate in a field trip to the New York State Museum archaeology labs April 19. The program will conclude with a trip to the Archaeology Field School in Schoharie on May 28-30, where students will partake in excavation work under the supervision of UAlbany archaeology faculty and students.
"This is another concrete example of a way to combine our resources to enhance the educational experience of local students," said Provost and Officer in Charge Susan Herbst.
"We hope that this will be a positive learning experience for everybody involved. It's very unusual for high school students to be exposed to this sort of material, so this is a unique opportunity," said Rafferty.
"These are the kinds of experiences that will engage our students and allow them to go beyond their textbooks and see what they are learning put into practice. Once again, our partners at the University at Albany have come through for Albany High School, and we appreciate their steadfast dedication to our students," said Joseph Dragone, assistant superintendent for secondary education at Albany High School.
The University is already an engaged partner in the community with efforts such as its alliance with Albany High School to develop young talent, increase the college-bound focus of Albany High students, increase access to the University and strengthen faculty collaborations and professional development.
