Anthropology » Bill Schindler, III

Bill Schindler, III

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Education

B.A., The College of New Jersey, 2000
Ph.D., Temple University, 2006

Photo Galleries

Interpreting the Past

The ethical, political, and economic factors influencing how our history is portrayed

Summer 2012

During this 3-week course Washington College students were immersed in the interpretation of the past by exposure to various institutions, researchers, re-enactors, actors, scientists, archaeologists, historians, and staff that are responsible for this important role. Students visited and were given “behind the scene tours” of a variety of museums (the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian and the Museum of Natural History, the National Museum in Copenhagen), open-air museums (Williamsburg, Lejre: Land of Legends in Denmark, the Roskilde Viking Ship Museum in Denmark), conservation labs (Winterthur, MAC lab), Medieval Times, a Society for Creative Anachronism group, a civil war re-enactment group, an international primitive technology gathering (the Athraa gathering); and, learned in a lecture/discussion format. After spending a considerable amount of time learning about how the past was interpreted to them, the students embarked on a culminating experience where they were required to put into practice all that they had learned by becoming interpreters themselves. During the final fours days of the course, students inhabited a reconstructed Iron Age Village, cooked and ate only period correct food, wore period correct dress, and use only period correct tools while interpreting Iron Age life to the public.
Grav Lox, Gelatin, and Kombucha

Students in Dr. Bill Schindler’s “Food, People, & The Planet” class learned how to prepare grav lox, gelatin, ground corn, tomato sauce, cassoulet, and kombucha as part of a multi-course meal.
Kimchi, Mustard, Head Cheese

Students in Dr. Bill Schindler’s “Food, People, & The Planet” class learned how to bottle beer and prepare kimchi, mustard, kombucha, and head cheese as part of a multi-course meal.
Food, People, and the Planet

President Mitchell Reiss and wife Elisabeth opened their home to students in Dr. Bill Schindler’s “Food, People, & the Planet” class, who served a multi-course meal of traditional human foods that they had prepared over the course of the semester.
Locavore Lit Fest

The second annual Locavore Lit Fest brought national and regional writers to Chestertown from March 30 through April 1 for a series of talks about seafood, foraging, fermentation and the wonders of “wild” foods. The Center for Environment & Society at Washington College sponsors the Locavore Lit Fest and supports the free exchange of ideas. Other community sponsors include Chestertown Natural Foods, the Rose O’Neill Literary House, Colchester Farm CSA, the Chestertown Spy, and the Kent County Arts Council.
Human Evolution Class

Students in Dr. Bill Schindler’s Human Evolution course met at the outdoor classroom to make and use 2.5 million year old tools for bone extraction, chopping wood, cutting leather, and peeling roots.
Pig Butchering

Dr. Bill Schindler teamed up with Kevin McKinney, Chef/Owner of Brooks Tavern restaurant in Chestertown, to demonstrate how to butcher a pig in preparation for a multi-course meal in his “Food, People, & The Planet” class.
Beer Making

Dr. Bill Schindler introduces students to beer making, preparation of a traditional beverage as part of a multi-course meal in his “Food, People, & The Planet” class.
Camembert Cheese Making

Dr. Bill Schindler introduces students to Camembert cheese making, the first dish prepared as part of a multi-course meal in his “Food, People, & The Planet” class.
Stone Age

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Bill Schindler shows students in his Experimental Archaeology class how to use primitive technology in food production by making stone tools and using them to skin and butcher four deer donated by alumni Katie Eckenrode ’11 and Doug Pfaff ’10.