Having had long experience in academia, I respectfully submit that it is
highly unlikely that historians will grant reappointment, much less tenure,
to an archaeologist or material culture specialist.  Most history
departments have no brief for "material history" in any guise.  I am
delighted that Carl Barna has such an optimistic view of where historical
archaeologists belong.  I find myself rather happily ensconced in a
Department of Archaeology, despite having 3 degrees in Anthropology.  I get
to be as interdisciplinary as I want to be, and get to work across
departmental boundaries to collaborate with American Studies folk,
preservationists, cultural geographers, etc. (I consider myself an
anthropological archaeologist).

One issue about appointments in different departments is, what will the home
department require in terms of teaching as well as what is expected for
reappointment and tenure.  Historians tend to think single-author monographs
are the end-all and be-all, and to deprecate the tendency for others in the
social sciences to collaborate and publish with multiple co-authors.  They
also have no brief for technical reports:  if it is not in print, it doesn't
exist.  Period.

But then I have only passing familiarity with Montclair State, having had as
one of my graduate students a graduate of that institution who has proved to
be an excellent scholar and has gone on to what I hope are great things.

I wish you well with this endeavor; it is timely and highly appropriate in
the current climate.  I think that whoever gets the job should have
multidisciplinary appointment, but I realize that could cause all sorts of
problems down the line re reappointment and such.  But what's really needed
is for the search committee and the Deans and such to be in full accord as
to what is expected of this new hire and what master/master or
mistress/mistresses he/she should serve.

All best,
Mary B.

On 7/16/07, Timothy Renner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear listmembers,
>
> I'm the chair of an interdepartmental faculty committee for archaeology
> at my university, Montclair State University in northeastern New
> Jersey.   I'm an Old World specialist, and I could use your help. We are
> planning to develop a Center for Heritage and Archaeological Studies are
> in the process of getting--we hope--a faculty line in U.S. historical
> archaeology, with emphasis on the Northeast and the Atlantic region,
> approved by our administration.   For reasons that are too complicated
> to go into here, the administration plans to place this position in the
> History Department rather than in Anthropology or in some type of
> crossover appointment.
>
> I'd appreciate any thoughts you all may have on
> (a) How often are such positions in History as opposed to Anthropology,
> in your experience?
> (b) Which departmental environment do you think would be better for the
> person (bearing in mind, of course, that not all  North American
> archaeologists are cut from the same cloth)?
>
> Thanks very much.
>
> Tim Renner
>



-- 
Mary C. Beaudry, PhD, RPA, FSA
Professor of Archaeology & Anthropology
Department of Archaeology
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215-1406
tel. 617-358-1650