When I ask students in face-to-face (f2f) classes "What would you like to know about your professor?" they usually uniformly ask "safe" questions (which anthropologically-speaking is probably a good approach, although it's difficult for the last person to think of a "safe" question that hasn't been asked by one of the other students). They ask questions like, "Where were you born?" . . . "Where did you go to school?" . . . "How long have you been teaching at UMD?" . . . and so on.

To me, (judging by the looks on the faces of most in class) those questions, while safe, are actually pretty boring. But one or two folks seem to like to know about that sort of thing. If you do, more than you probably really want to know is on my UMD biography page.

My "career" in American-style Anthropology began in second grade.

Most students are curious about that.

One of the Main Characteristics of American Anthropology is that it encompasses a "four-fields approach," incorporating Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Bio-Physical Anthropology, Archaeology, and Linguistics.

It was in second grade of Holy Trinity Grade School that I really began to learn some of the important things in life—and important things in anthropology.

By the end of third grade I had done fieldwork in all four fields of anthropology.

The "Introduction" slides will talk about these "early" days in anthropology, and, why I'm here.

And you will hopefuly see in this course why in more recent years I have been called one of the "Pioneers in Online Instruction" (Surfing the Syllabi: Online Resources for Teaching Archaeology) <pioneer>.

Why should you care?

A long-time mentor, Helen Mongan-Rallis, says that research shows that three good things happen when you take time to find out a little about your teacher as a person: (1) You learn more. (2) You remember it better. And (3)—and equally important, I think—you have more fun learning.

So have a look at the "Introduction" materials to, according to Helen, help you learn more, remember it longer, and (at least eventually) to have more fun. And you'll see some interesting pictures of Winsted, MN, as a bonus.

And you'll see some interesting pictures on Duluth "Stonehenge" page, which is actually about my prehistoric wood-fired black oven.

You might also find the "The Wisdom and Ways of Paul Buffalo" segment of WDSE/WRPT TV's Native Report of interest (Season 6 Episode 10), as well as the Paul Buffalo Trilogy on Anishinabe life in the early 20^th century. More recently Britney Leanos and Cheryl Reitan have reported on Ojibwe Lessons.

Or you might find something delectable in Sweet Treats around the World, a cross-cultural work that my wife, Kim [Kathleen], and I completed in 2014.

And on the more academic side (for those of you who might be interested). . .

I teach Anthropology of Food, Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Europe, Culture and Personality, Understanding Global Cultures, and Ancient Middle America. And for more than a quarter century I also taught Advanced Writing: Social Sciences.

Specializations include cultural anthropology, anthropology of food, Middle America, culture and personality, sociocultural change—applied, and prehistoric cultures.

The Roufs Family in the Food "Business"

My family has been in the food "business" since at least the early 18th century, first as farmers and millers in the Sittard-Nieuwstadt area of The Netherlands. Roufs Mill, Sittard, Netherlands Built in 1582, it became the Roufs Familly property in 1846 (photos) In the 19th century the Roufs became the town butchers in Winsted, MN, later operating the City Meat Market in Winsted from the late 19th century until mid-20th-century. The City Meat Market became known for its "famous Winsted Bologna"--"a familiar name throughout the the upper Midwest" . . . "Have you had your Winsted Bologna?" -- Brian Haines, McLeod County Chronicle (26 July 2024) (original) "The 'famous Winsted Bologna' recipes comes to Howard Lake" -- Jennifer Gallus, Herald Journal (August 2007) (original) In the early 1950s they added and also ran the Coffee Shop, a small popular diner in Winsted. In 1972 my brother Tom sold the businesses and joined Wilson and Company (purchased in 1967 by Jim Ling of the Ling-Temco-Vought [LTV] conglomerate), working there as an executive until he joined John Morrell and Company in a similar capacity. Switching to the "non-perishable" segment of the food industry, Tom later joined the Sunburst Food Service Program specializing in products for retail food outlets.

Fieldwork locations include Mexico, Hungary, and the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota. A major project from Leech Lake has been the preparation of a biography of Paul Buffalo which was published in three volumes in 2019, which has been profiled by Britney Leanos and Cheryl Reitan in Ojibwe Lessons.

I was priviliged to be included as one of the founding members, and initial Acting Director of the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Three times I served as Director of UMD's Study in England Programme at the University of Birmingham.

In 1989 I was a Visiting Fulbright Professor at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, and later gave a Keynote Address, at the 13^th Annual microCAD International Computer Science Conference, University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary, 24 February 1999: "inter-Facing the Inevitable: Appropriate Technology in the 21^st Century".

You will find the normal Instructor Contact Information on your Canvas "Home Page".

Thanks for joining in.

I hope you enjoy your stay.

Tim Roufs