I apologize for the incomplete and somewhat terse previous email. I accidentally sent it when I realized a diaper needed changing. My point, which others seem to be making as well, is that the expenses of conferences make them practically unavailable to anyone who is not already well funded or well connected. Simply attending a master's program has been a revelation in the major socioeconomic hurdles of academia. If I choose to enter the field with only a BA I am forced to be a migrant worker with no stability or job security. I met men who had been estranged from their wives for thirty years simply by the nature of CRM work. Even taking this next academic step has nearly destroyed my own marriage and guaranteed my financial bondage via further loans. Despite these facts, my lack of outside funding means that I don't have a chance to develop a strong CV because I can't afford to attend conferences in Hawaii and Canada. I have a bleak outlook on my career despite being passionate about both anthropology and archaeology. So long as our discipline continues to mire students in inescapable debt without using our positions to address the larger social issues that are plaguing this planet, we will be a dying breed that will become further estranged from the people we hope to serve. Again, as a relative neophyte I apologize for my tone, but not for my content. My heart is heavy as I write my thesis whilst applying for TANF.

Best,
David L Cook

On May 15, 2013, at 10:05 AM, David L Cook <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I lament the elite nature of our discipline. As a graduate student with small children and a partner who works full time I can barely afford to attend my local grocery store, much less a conference in Canada. As much as I would love to attend an SHA conference, or any archaeological conference, and as useful as it would be 
> 
> Best,
> David L Cook
> 
> On May 14, 2013, at 9:17 PM, "Moss, William" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> See the Society for Historical Archaeology’s latest blog, “Why YOU should come to Quebec in 2014” http://www.sha.org/blog/index.php/2013/05/why-you-should-come-to-quebec-in-2014/
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> William Moss
>> Conference Chair    /   47th  Conference on Historic and Underwater Archaeology
>> Président du Comité organisateur   /   47e Colloque sur l'archéologie historique et subaquatique
>> www.sha2014.com<http://www.sha2014.com/>