"Forbidden Archaeology": Some Data From Day 1

8/19/2016

This morning was the first meeting of my Forbidden Archaeology course. I had the students (n = 18 in attendance today) anonymously fill out simple "pre-course" questionnaires to help me gauge something about their level of familiarity with the various non-mainstream claims about the past that we'll be discussing. It was one of the first things I did other than turn on the lights and make sure I was in the right classroom. In other words, my blathering didn't influence them at all. Here are some of the results.

They're Not Watching What's on The History Channel

Each student described his/her familiarity with four television programs (America Unearthed, Ancient Aliens, Search for the Lost Giants, and the classic In Search Of . . .) using an ordinal scale going from "I've never heard of it" to "I've seen every episode." Ancient Aliens was the clear winner in terms of familiarity, with over half of the students reporting that they'd seen at least one episode. Several students had heard of America Unearthed and Search for the Lost Giants, but only a few reported actually watching an episode. Almost as many students reported familiarity with In Search Of . . . (which ended production in 1982) as with Search for the Lost Giants.

It's pretty clear that the students in the class aren't watching what's on The History Channel. These results are consistent with informal polls I've taken in my classes in the past. Asking for a show of hands of "who has watched this?" and "who knows about this show?" has produced little positive evidence that these programs are penetrating into traditional college-age markets. I just don't think people in their twenties are paying much attention to them.

Most of Them Have Heard of Atlantis, but . . .

I gave the students a list of some things that we'll be discussing over the course of the semester, asking them to simply circle the ones they were familiar with. Not surprisingly, Atlantis was familiar to most of the class. Downhill from there, the majority of the students had heard of the Knights Templar (not necessarily in connection with current "fringe" claims about them, however) and the "Mound Builders." Recognition of terms connected to giants was at less than fifty percent. A smattering of students had heard of some of the terms associated with current claims for pre-Columbian transoceanic contact. Lemuria and OOPArt struck out completely.

So that's where we're starting. It doesn't look like this group of students has paid a lot of attention to the stuff on TV, and most of them are not familiar with many of the basic ideas and things we'll be discussing. I'll be interested to find out what they find compelling (or not, as the case may be) about engaging with the various claims we'll be talking about.

Next week we'll be talking about science vs. pseudoscience, how archaeology can be done as a science, and what constitutes archaeological evidence. And I'll be giving them a whirlwind 45 minute tour of the "mainstream" view of human prehistory and history, from hominin origins 5-7 million years ago to the Industrial Revolution.

23 Comments

Irna link

8/19/2016 10:18:33 am

Don't you think they may have been shy of confessing a regular interest in Ancient Aliens and such, knowing that you are an archaeologist AND their professor?

Andy White

8/19/2016 10:22:09 am

It's possible, but I don't think so. I made the questionnaire anonymous to try to mitigate that.

I think Ancient Aliens is clearly the program that's been the most successful at penetrating popular culture, but I just don't get the sense a lot of college students are watching it. Jason Colavito probably has demographic viewership data that could address that question.

Jason Colavito link

8/19/2016 11:16:52 am

Last Friday Ancient Aliens had 1.093 million viewers, with a rating 0.14 among adults 18-34. Keep in mind that there are 75 million adults 18-34 in the U.S., so even if every Ancient Aliens viewer were one of them, it would still represent less than 2% of all people in that bracket. The long and short of it is that the audience for Ancient Aliens, like nearly all History Channel shows (and most TV in general) skews overwhelmingly into the 34+ demographic, and especially the 50+ demographic. The real danger is that the existence of such programs normalizes ideas through what communication scholars call the four elements of selective exposure (proximity, utility, involvement, and reinforcement) rather than directly influencing a large batch of weekly viewers. Thus, for example, more people will be familiar with the idea that "aliens built the pyramids" than with either Giorgio Tsoukalos or the details of the Ultra-Terrestrial Hypothesis.

Andy White

8/19/2016 11:27:46 am

Thanks Jason.

Jason Colavito link

8/19/2016 11:44:27 am

The disheartening thing when you look at ratings for TV is that between 94% and 99.9% of Americans are not watching anything you watch, no matter what your favorite program is. It's the down side of too much choice: You lose a common culture. The most watched primetime drama, NCIS, has 17.6 million viewers, which is just 5.5% of the U.S. population. Some programs I watch, I literally have never met another person who has ever seen them, and statistically, I might never.

Incidentally, Andy: I'm sure you're familiar with Ken Feder's surveys of college students on their fringe beliefs, but you might find an interesting comparison to your own results in the analysis he offers in his paper in Garrett Fagan's Archaeological Fantasies (2006).

Mike Morgan

8/19/2016 01:12:21 pm

I had been hoping that would gather some data such as this, it is interesting, thank you. Other data that I would find interesting to gather, would be find whether the students familiar with the subjects or objects. believed the in the information or in the authenticity of the objects now at the beginning of the class and again at the completion to see if any change in their beliefs. Obviously, the ones without knowledge of the subject or objects would not need to be included in the data gathering at the beginning, but should be included at completion. Just a thought.

Graham

8/19/2016 06:59:20 pm

I'm surprised you didn't ask who reached America first after the ancestors of the Native Americans. That was one I'd love to get some good numbers for as heard some very strange stories about what students are being taught.

John (the other one)

8/19/2016 07:43:16 pm

Well I am glad none of them were familiar with Lemuria and saddened that any had heard of Burrow's Cave.

It's nice your class is that small, you can have a good discussion of pros and cons and really do some small group work. I only went to larger schools so we always had 30 in the smaller classes and it would have been hard to manage.

Peter Geuzen

8/20/2016 07:04:17 am

Ask them to answer the simple question "Why did you take this course?", in a couple hundred words. Can you figure out if they are all majoring in Arch or Anthro or is this not a core course, or however it works these days?

Andy White

8/20/2016 08:08:42 am

I asked them that question in short form, and got a range of answers. I'll see if I can get some of them to come on here and comment.

Chuck

8/21/2016 06:18:50 am

Hi Peter, I am a student in Dr. White’s class and I enrolled because the topic sounds really interesting to me. It’s not a required core class for all students but I’m an anthropology major and am therefore required to take an archaeology class. I decided to sign up for this class in particular because I enjoy studying myths and legends in my free time and I’m really excited to learn about all of these “historical” stories and examine the evidence that has proven them wrong. I’m also interested to learn how these stories have stood the test of time, especially considering that an important part of science as a discipline is skepticism. I can already tell I’m going to get frustrated by all of this pseudoscience and those who attempt to spread these false claims about history as true, but it’s going to be a fun class and I’m looking forward to broadening my knowledge on the topic.

Freddy

8/21/2016 09:45:44 am

I am also a student of this class. This class seems like it will be very interesting. I not only took this class to broaden my knowledge of various ideas of archaeology, but to also build better research, writing, and argumentative skills. I look forward to this class.

Anne

8/21/2016 10:09:17 am

Why did I take this course? To answer your question fully, after core course completion I've been more or less left to my own devices in course selection. For me it a has been a process of sifting online through the available courses that fit my work schedule, and still advance my degree. Honestly, the name "Forbidden Archaeology" was enough to grab my attention. The catalog entry was brief but intriguing, and ultimately when I reviewed the book list I felt myself commit to the course out of curiosity. Obviously I want to leave with a well rounded yet focused undergraduate transcript and this fit the bill as I am an Athro major.

Indiana

8/21/2016 10:36:19 am

For me, personally, I've always been curious in what all archeology entails, so to quench that curiosity, I signed up for an introductory course regarding the subject. However, when I scrolled through the course listings, the title of this class immediately captured my attention. As the other students, I read the description and instantly added it to my list, gladly surrendering the last bit of free time in my semester's schedule. Even within the first day, there was great enthusiasm projected not only from Dr. White, but from my fellow students as well. I can tell, reading through the syllabus, that this class will push me to better my writing and critical thinking skills, all the while engaging in very interesting material.

C. Johnson

8/21/2016 01:06:40 pm

I'm a student in Dr. White's Forbidden Archaeology class. I'm an anthro minor, so I'm not just taking it as a core course. I took it for a few reasons. Primarily, because I thought it was going to be really interesting, but I also took it because I've had a class with Dr. White before and I really enjoyed it. I've been focusing in archaeology in all my minor courses, so that's why I took this one in particular instead of just any 200+ anthropology. Hope this helps!

Dominic

8/21/2016 02:11:08 pm

I am a student as well in this class and i think taking this class answers a lot of questions about the unknown and also pushes the boundaries of things considered controversial. In todays society, people are afraid to say what they believe, especially if it conflicts with a well known writers ideology. People are afraid to hurt others feelings and i feel that, as well as broadening my knowledge of the all things anthropological, it will also cause me to think critically and question/argue things that may seem fishy.

Elena

8/21/2016 04:27:01 pm

Why wouldn't I take this course? I am an anthropology major at USC, and I enrolled in this class because it's a perfect opportunity to get a good background on archaeology while also incorporating a conspiracy theory based background.

Dewyn

8/21/2016 06:28:49 am

I took this class because I, like most human beings, have been on an ongoing search to answer the questions of where did humans come from and what are we to do while we are alive. This class hopefully will answer some of those question or at least open new doors and understandings. I am way over the normal college age and I have been introduced to several new age ideas however I am not a huge fan of television so I havent watched anything in particular on a regular basis. I have yet to find any factual answers. I was raised in a religious but sometimes harsh and worldly home, so my emotions tend to lead my decisions. I have fallen in and out my core beliefs so I am open to new ideas. I am interested in seeing if I come to love or hate this class and my professor :)

Peter Geuzen

8/21/2016 09:38:30 am

Good answers. Thanks.

"I am interested in seeing if I come to love or hate this class and my professor " - this applies here on the blog as well....it's a journey :)

Dewyn

8/21/2016 10:59:40 am

LOL, it is a journey to become a well rounded individual but also to stick to my guns as a spirited individual. I may be a bit argumentative at times in my own belief system but to succumb to the teachings on a graded course is quite a bit more literal.

Rachel

8/21/2016 03:34:18 pm

I am also an Anthro major and needed an archeology course to complete my degree. This course might be a little out of my element considering my concentration is in forensics but I was still interested based on the course description. After reviewing the syllabus and seeing the construction of the course I feel I will learn many new facts in regards to the topics discussed throughout the semester.

Aurora

8/22/2016 04:56:58 am

I have taken Dr. White's other classes at USC, such as ANTH 101 and also South Carolina Archaeology. He always has interesting things to say about pseudoscience and even in those other classes he incorporated the questionnaire about whether we have watched Ancient Aliens, etc. I knew I would be taking Forbidden Archaeology when he told us he wanted to offer it in the Fall. So here I am. I took this course because there are interesting topics and it's probably the only course with this kind of subject matter. I'm sure other classes don't discuss Giants and other pseudoscience claims on a regular basis. As an Anthro major, focusing more on Archaeology, this class was perfect to discover the many pseudoscience claims that people have made throughout time.

Gunn

8/22/2016 07:18:19 am

Andy, I didn't appreciate the novelty of your idea for this "Forbidden Archaeology" class enough. It seemed like a good idea to me right after I heard about it several months ago, but now reading students' comments about their expectations for the course has made me realize just how special--ground-breaking, really--this class will likely be.

I, myself (as a wrongfully perceived "pseudoscience" or "fringe" person), am delighted to hear young, open minds expound on the virtues of unhindered enquiry. I'm looking forward to this class and I hope to learn from it, too. I understand it's about the search, not verdicts...but, it is nice to see "political correctness" in the field of archaeology possibly get a black eye.

The word "hidebound" comes to mind, as an old word describing old, stodgy attitudes...but, I think your students will see through some of the present darkness being presented by the academic world, at the present time. I think it will be a pleasure for me to possibly see academia at USC taking a new and fresh approach to an awkward subject. What, exactly, is fringe history...and who gets to decide...based on what?

(In my mind, science and evidences are called for, from any source, with history truth being the goal.)

"Forbidden Archaeology": Some Data From Day 1

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