Hi Dan (and the rest of CHAT), thanks for the interest.
The language of that message was, as you put it, a turn of phrase, specifically by me, as the Development Committee Chair for SHA, and not an official statement of policy. However, as was announced in the last SHA newsletter, the Society is proposing a new mission statement for the consideration of our membership, which is as follows:
"The Society for Historical Archaeology [an educational not-for-profit organization] advocates for a global perspective in the study and protection of historical and underwater cultural resources by educating the public and policy makers and providing a valued resource for knowledge exchange, professional development, and the maintenance of high ethical standards."
The focus of the mission statement seems more broad here, and is particularly focused on activism and advocacy, which reflects priorities of many of our members. It does appear that many such societies are considering their placement and purpose to accommodate new realities, among them the turn to focus on "Modern materials" as the recent CHAT program put it, and also the political and economic realities of archaeological practice which makes public communication important.
Perhaps a topic for discussion at our next CHAT?
John Chenoweth,
UC Berkeley
SHA Development Committee Chair
--- On Mon, 11/30/09, dan Hicks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: dan Hicks <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: SHA Announcement - on Advertising
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Monday, November 30, 2009, 10:53 AM
> On Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:33:08 +0000,
> Krysta Ryzewski, List Moderator
> <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> >The SHA is one of the world's leading scholarly
> societies devoted to the
> >archaeology and material culture of the modern world.
>
> I had not read this more inclusive description of the SHA
> before. I wonder whether
> anyone knows if this is a new statement of purpose, or just
> a turn of phrase in the email?
> SHA used, at least until very recently, to describe itself
> as follows, without any mention
> of 'material culture':
>
> "the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is the
> largest scholarly group concerned
> with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D.
> 1400-present). The main focus of the
> society is the era since the beginning of European
> exploration"
>
> I ask partly because a colleague mentioned the other day
> that the SPMA has recently
> rewritten its "focus statement" to include 'the present
> day' among its concerns.
>
> Such changes in how this field in which we all find
> ourselves is understood or defined are
> always of interest,
>
> DH
>
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contemp-hist-arch is a list for news and events
in contemporary and historical archaeology, and
for announcements relating to the CHAT conference group.
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For email subscription options see:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/archives/contemp-hist-arch.html
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Visit the CHAT website for more information and for future meeting dates:
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