UF Honors course heightens awareness of indigenous culture

The Midwest is rich with indigenous history, and University of Florida students are exploring this archeology and culture firsthand in the honors course “Past Indigenous Cities of the Midcontinent.”

Guided by doctoral candidate and Department of Anthropology Adjunct Lecturer Anthony P. Farace, this inaugural course offers an immersive, in-person look at archaeological sites and museums outside of Florida. Inspired to blend academic study with hands-on learning, Farace partnered with the UF Honors Program to create an (Un)Common Classrooms course based in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

And students in the course have been stepping out of their textbooks into real-life explorations. Farace recalls students’ amazement upon arriving at Cahokia Mounds – a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in Illinois, just outside St. Louis.