Amen to what Sarah May had to say. In the US many historical archaeologists are
wringing their hands over whether what we do is worthwhile & whether it all a
waste of public monies & worrying about why historians don't take us seriously
(and there are those who worry because prehistorians don't take us seriously,
others like Liz Brumfield who worry because anthropologists don't take
archaeologists seriously). My goodness, if we don't hold our heads up and show
that we KNOW that what we do, most particularly contemporary historical
archaeology, is vital, fascinating, and worthy, we deserve to be treated as
nothing but a bunch of quirky oddballs.
Sometimes I think archaeologists, especially historical archaeologists, are
there own worst enemies.
Let's at least be self-confident, pro-active, interesting quirky oddballs!
I'm so pleased to see things moving forward in the UK. Over here we even get
certain institutions stipulating in their job adverts that they want historical
archaeologists who do NOT study the 20th-century. Short-sighted,
self-defeating, condemned to mediocrity, in my opinion. Which I would never
characterize as humble.
M.
Mary C. Beaudry, PhD, RPA, FSA
Department of Archaeology
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215 USA
tel. 617-358-1650
email: [log in to unmask]
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