Cultural Significance at CSUCI

Abstract

This project investigates the level of knowledge the CSUCI community has on the campus history in order to help the community create a connection to the campus. California State University Channel Islands was established in 2002 but it has a longer history than being an academic institution. The campus has a history that can be divided into three main time periods, the Chumash Era, the Ranching Era, and the Hospital Era. With an evolving and growing campus, there is constant renovation and construction going on that disrupts historical cultural resources. Archaeologists in CSUCI’s Anthropology department have dealt first hand with artifacts that have disturbed or damaged by untrained hands. While the Anthropology department has knowledge on campus history, the general CSUCI community does not. Through conducting surveys and informational interviews, information on the levels of historical knowledge of the CSUCI is found. This information helps us understand where the CSUCI community needs a better understanding about campus history in order to fill in the gaps. Results show that members of the CSUCI community believe it is important to understand campus history but they don’t have much knowledge on the topic. The goal in the future would be to teach the community members the history in order to develop a level of respect when dealing with cultural resources on campus.

Details

Session 1

9:30am – 11:00am

Grand Salon