Associate Professor of History Darlene Brooks Hedstrom knows that a transformative learning environment creates lifelong learners. Emphasizing the discovery of new knowledge by unearthing the past, the archaeologist used the summer to get students out of the classroom and make them dig a little deeper, literally.
Thanks to Wittenberg鈥檚 unique summer programs, students had the rare opportunity to engage in a collaborative, hands-on archaeological excavation right on campus.
鈥淎rchaeology is the ultimate group project in the liberal arts setting,鈥� Brooks Hedstrom said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 already know what we鈥檙e going to find, so students learn how to look for the answers. They work together as a team and rely on each other鈥檚 work and effort to make the project a success.鈥�
As part of Wittenberg鈥檚 new Maymester program, May 13颅鈥揓une 1, Brooks Hedstrom selected Lot 3777, a late 19th century property on the corner of West College and North Wittenberg avenues, for the excavation site. The original property was purchased from Wittenberg College in 1882. The house built there was remodeled in 1936 and demolished in 2012. Over the years, the house has most notably been home to the Rev. Michael Wolfe Hamma, the Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
After studying local excavation reports from the 1930s at the Clark County Heritage Center, the 鈥淎rchaeological Field Methods鈥� class met on-site daily. The four students surveyed the lot and used hand picks, trowels, brushes and screens to carefully unearth nails and pulleys dating back to the original Victorian-style structure.
鈥淲e bring together scientific recording with a desire to study the past, and students can see how geology, geography, history, and literature studies go hand-in-hand,鈥� Brooks Hedstrom explained.
Following the Maymester class, Wittenberg鈥檚 Summer College program then enabled 16 incoming students to excavate Lot 3776, where the property鈥檚 garage once stood.
Co-leaders Associate Professor of English Carmiele Wilkerson and Brooks Hedstrom designed the 鈥淒igging Up Our Past鈥� course to introduce students to using archival research, artifacts and writing to tell stories about Wittenberg鈥檚 past and their own. The class began removing the original 19th century brick floor and unearthed timbers used to support the surface. Volunteers from the class will continue brick removal and excavation, even though the course has concluded.
Brooks Hedstrom sees opportunities like these as true examples of collaborative student-faculty research. The students see abundant opportunities for lifelong learning.
鈥淭his class has been a great start to my college experience,鈥� Jayde Glaser, class of 2017 from Shadyside, Ohio, said. 鈥淚鈥檓 learning by researching in new ways and seeing how two very different subjects work together, and that鈥檚 what you have to be ready for at a liberal arts school.鈥�
鈥淢y greatest joy,鈥� Brooks Hedstrom said, 鈥渋s teaching archaeology for this very reason鈥攖ogether we rediscover the past.鈥�
Written By: Leigh Hall '13
Video By: Megan Conkle '14
Students who participated in the Maymester course include Mark Swope, class of 2014 from Fairborn, Ohio; Deanna Iwanyckyj, class of 2015 from Water Mill, N.Y.; William Hennigan, community education students from South Charleston, Ohio; Caitlin Lobl, class of 2016 from Springfield, Ohio.
Students in the class of 2017 who participated in the Summer College course include Addison Coldren, from Gallipolis, Ohio; Michaela Freeman; Jayde Glaser, from Shadyside, Ohio; Davante Goins, from Columbus, Ohio; Lauren Hickey, from Lexington, Ky.; Karina Kowalski, from Put-In-Bay, Ohio; Connor McCarthy, from Sandbornton, N.H.; Kyle Monyem; Chrioni Morcom; Erin Murray, from Yorktown, Ind.; James Robertson; Kristina Schopper, from Waukegan, Ill.; Kyle Sowa, from Carol Stream, Ill.; Celina Thompson, from Toledo, Ohio; Justin Wilhite, from Cleveland, Ohio.
