Bahamas

History and Archaeology

December Program
Courses
Living Arrangements
Expenses
Application

Off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas are one of the United States’ closest neighbors but they provide a wealth of experiences, a world apart.

The Bahamas played a pivotal role in the beginning of what is called the contact period. In 1492, the shout ‘Tierra’ went up when one of Columbus’ sailors spotted the Bahamian Islands, changing the lives of both the Europeans and Native Americans forever. Although sharing elements of a common British colonial past, the history of the Bahamas as a member of the British Commonwealth with Black majority rule, has important contrasts in its historical development to the United States. Loyalists, fleeing mainland America after the American Revolution, settled many of the Islands of the Bahamas, bringing their slaves with them. With Emancipation in 1834, many of these slave plantations were abandoned. Today, the Bahamas are rich in archaeological sites from the nineteenth century providing DePaul students an excellent opportunity to have first hand experiences with the past.

COURSES

Course Equivalencies and Liberal Studies Domains

This program is led by three DePaul professors: Dr. John Burton of American Studies, and Dr. Jane Baxter and Professor John Mazzeo of Anthropology.

The trip includes two coordinated courses, one in history and one in anthropology. Students will register for one of the course during the Fall quarter and for the other course during the Winter quarter. For anthropology, students much choose between ANT120/397 with Dr. Baxter or ANT328 with Professor Mazzeo. For history, all students will register for HST245/398 with Dr. Burton.

ANT120/397: The Science of Archaeology

This course, taught by Dr. Baxter, focuses on the many uses of science and quantitative methods within the field of archaeology. Teaching in this course will be primarily through hands-on learning experiences, including the analysis of historic cemeteries and the survey and excavation of a former plantation site. These experiences will be used to address questions about the emergence of a unique Bahamian identity as reflected in the material remains of different time periods and cultures. This course may be taken for Scientific Inquiry: Lab Liberal Studies credit.

Note that students registered for ANT 120/397 will NOT be registered to take ANT 328 with Professor Mazzeo.

ANT 328: International Applied Practice in the Bahamas

ANT 328, taught by Professor Mazzeo, is an experiential learning course that is part of the Anthropology Major's applied practice sequence. Through the process of conducting ethnographic fieldwork, students will examine various processes of sociocultural change, with an emphasis on peoples undergoing or emerging from cultural, political, or economic oppression. The course involves the collection of primary data, analyzed from the disciplinary perspectives of cultural anthropology. Students will appreciate the ways that anthropological skills and knowledge can be applied to issues of social justice and community development. In addition to learning about the professional and ethical responsibilities of practicing anthropologists, students will gain practical experience working on a project. Students will work in small groups to produce an original research paper that utilizes primary ethnographic data. Pre-departure meetings during the fall will intellectually prepare students for the trip and post-visit meetings in the winter help them to reflect upon their experiences and conduct data analysis.

Note that students registered for ANT 398 will NOT be registered to take ANT 120/397 with Dr. Baxter.

HST245/398: History of the Bahamas: Loyalists, Slaves, and the Creation of an Afro-Bahamian World

Taught by Dr. Burton, this course examines the history of the Bahamas in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Emphasis will be placed on the arrival of the Loyalists and their slaves, the nature of slave life, emancipation, and the expansion of free Afro-Bahamian culture in the 19th century. This course may be used to satisfy the Understanding the Past: North America domain Libral Studies requirement.

Either course can also satisfy the Junior-year Experiential Learning requirement.

Students will conduct a variety of field-based projects including an archaeological excavation of a nineteenth-century slave plantation, and visits to historic sites on the islands of New Providence and San Salvador.

There is no language requirement. In addition to the meetings that take place in the Bahamas, students must attend additional lectures prior to the departure of the group and after the group returns.

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

Students stay overnight in local hotels and field stations. Students will be spending a significant portion of the trip out-of-doors and should be able to participate in physical activities such as hiking, and daily work on an archaeological dig. The itinerary is three weeks. The trip includes two sites in the Bahamas: Nassau on New Providence and San Salvador. Each of the sites allows for a mix of activities, both historical and anthropological.

Circumstances, such as an unexpected event abroad or a curriculum change at a host institution, may require DePaul University to make changes to the program. DePaul University reserves the right to cancel or alter programs and courses without notice.

EXPENSES

The expected cost of the study program is DePaul tuition for 8 credit hours plus a specific program fee. For updated information on specific program expenses, click here:

Cost Information

For this program, the fee covers round trip airfare, insurance, all hotel and other accommodation expenses (double occupancy), daily meals in San Salvador, ground transportation, and visits to cultural sites.

Students must plan their budgets to cover textbooks, additional meals, passport fees, local transportation, supplies, and personal expenses.

Program fees are based on actual costs of the prior year and projections for the current year. Inflation and fluctuating exchange rates make it impossible to state a fixed cost. DePaul University reserves the right to adjust program fees without notice.

APPLICATION

Participants must have reached sophomore status with at least a 3.0 GPA. To apply to this DePaul Study Abroad Program, students must submit the following:

· A complete DePaul Study Abroad Program application form

· Two academic recommendations

· An ID sized photo

· A copy of the DePaul Unofficial Transcript. This may be found on Campus Connect in the Students section under Records and Registration.

DePaul University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex or handicap in admissions, employment or the provision of services. Inquiries regarding this policy should be addressed to the Director of Human Resources, 1 East Jackson Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604.