Anthropology Graduate Teaching Assistant Position
UGA Interdisciplinary Field Program
The University of Georgia’s Interdisciplinary Field Program (IFP) is an eight-week course in introductory Geology, Anthropology, and Ecology that travels throughout the Western U.S. during summer semester. It integrates basic concepts from each discipline and applies them to North American landscapes through hands-on learning in a mobile, outdoor classroom. The IFP is a rewarding and challenging program co-sponsored by the UGA Geology Department and Honors Program. Students learn to balance life and learning in the field, while developing important technical skills useful to career and professional development (e.g., maintaining a field notebook of academic observations, producing written reports, and creating maps).
The goals of the program are to 1) provide students a science-based, interdisciplinary understanding of the natural processes that formed and continue to shape our environment, 2) understand how humans and other organisms are dependent upon, interact with, and alter the Earth’s landscape, and 3) predict how variation in environmental changes and adaptations will reshape life on Earth. The IFP fosters critical thinking skills by presenting multiple working hypotheses in discussions of past and current scientific questions and environmental issues.
We are seeking a graduate teaching assistant for the anthropology courses (Intro Anthropology and Anth of Native Peoples of N. America). As part of the IFP, these courses are integrated, and weave together both a field component (in which students visit and engage with sites of geologic, ecologic, and/or anthropological importance), and a thematic component, in which students develop an understanding of the four fields of anthropology. As we move through the landscape, students also develop an understanding of the diversity of Native Peoples of North America, and the political-ecological factors that have influenced North American populations over time.
The Grad Assistant will work with the Instructor to facilitate student learning. This includes leading ongoing discussions about the relevance of students’ field experiences to themes that crosscut the four fields of anthropology, as well as geology and ecology, as well as grading assignments and exams. At times the Grad Assistant will be independently responsible for leading the anthropology component of the course, with the guidance of the instructor (and the assistance of experienced instructors for the Geology and Ecology courses).
The Grad Assistant will also need to work as a team member with the other faculty and program staff. This will include driving, camp chores, and other responsibilities associated with safely and efficiently running an extended field/camping/hiking trip.
Required:
Enthusiasm about travelling, living, and working closely with a small group of motivated students who are learning anthropology as part of an interdisciplinary conversation in the field.
Able to comfortably camp outdoors for the entire trip.
Excellent time management skills and flexibility needed to teach collaboratively
Ability to participate in the IFP for the duration of the course, which runs June 3-August 1, 2015.
Preferred:
Experience as a teacher or TA for Introduction to Anthropology
Knowledge of the archaeology and environmental/cultural anthropology of North America, especially the Southwest and Western US.
All travel, food, and lodging expenses are covered. Pay is TBD, depending on student enrollment, but it is expected to be around $3000 for the entire trip.
More information about the IFP can be found at ifp.uga.edu.
Interested students please send a CV, brief statement of interest, and contact info for 2-3 recommendations as a single PDF to Dr. Jennifer Jo Thompson (jjthomp@uga.edu).
Recent graduates are also welcome to apply.
Submit materials by March 2, for best consideration.