06/06/2009 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM Location: San Marino Room, Hilton The Cultural Astronomy Summer School [CASS] will explore the place of astronomy in human culture, including the history of astronomy, ethnoastronomy, and archaeoastronomy, and topics such as time finding, calendars, and navigation by the stars. The course will enrich the current training of professional astronomers by giving them tools and themes to use in undergraduate education or public outreach programs. It also will make them more familiar with the wonderfully rich heritage of their profession and the historical importance of astronomy in people's lives. CASS will include a director, faculty, and students. CASS will be arranged and supervised by a director who reports to the HAD Committee. During CASS itself, the director will handle practical matters and serve as facilitator, welcoming students and faculty, and presenting completion certificates. The target audience will be graduate students in science, with precedence given to astronomy students. Early career professionals might be included as well. On a room-available basis, further open enrollment can be made available to natural-history interpreters and in-service astronomy teachers. AAS membership will not be required. This audience will allow us to leverage the contribution of CASS for years to come. The most important element to the success of CASS will be its faculty. The curriculum ultimately will be decided by it teachers. CASS faculty will be invited by the director in consultation with the HAD Committee. Ideally, they should be AAS members. The Faculty Stephen McCluskey, Professor Emeritus at West Virginia University, has been investigating the astronomies of various cultures since the publication of his “Astronomy of the Hopi Indians” in 1977. He has served the AAS as founding chair of its Working Group on the Preservation of Astronomical Heritage and is a founding member and past president of ISAAC (The International Society for Joann Eisberg earned her PhD. in the History of Astronomy at Harvard University, and she is now Associate Professor of Astronomy at Chaffey College. She is most interested in the history of modern astronomy, issues of science teaching, women in science and the role of science in modern society. An active agent of public astronomy, E. C. Krupp is a professional astronomer and Director of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. He is the author and editor of five books on ancient, prehistoric, and traditional astronomy, has written of four children's books on the sky, and has published hundreds of articles and dozens of research papers on these topics. Searching for astronomical connotations of culture, he has visited over 1800 ancient and prehistoric sites throughout the world. CASS will conclude with a field trip to the Mount Wilson Observatory. You may register for this workshop at http://aas.org/meetings/aas214/registration.php. The fee for this 2-day workshop is $50. Organizer: Thomas Hockey, University of Arizona |
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American Astronomical SocietyAdvocates for science since 1899 |
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