Good point, Ron. Over the last 25 years in archaeology, believe it or not, I
have worked for a number of people who were theatre majors or had a
background in that field, including SHPOs and Ivor Noel Hume.  Thinking
back, I must say that, as a rule, they were better paid and more powerful
within each organization.  So perhaps you are right, drama training might
provide some very good tools for archaeologists that hope to "make a
difference" or just provide well for their families!

The subjects I wish I would have learned about in college, are learning
theory or interpretive theory (found in education & recreation departments).
I've tried to compensate by reading as much as possible on these subjects.
Knowing how people learn, or how to entice a non-captive audience to
learn/listen is a very useful skill for a responsible, ethical
archaeologist.  Face it, lots of tax payers could care less about what
"ivory tower" archaeologists care about, so it is important for us to be
able to make our message relevant to our consumers. I happen to think that
in the current political situation that "becoming relevant" is rapidly
becoming a do or die situation.

(of course a really good anthropology department would offer a
cross-cultural perspective on learning.)  By the way, there is a department
in Indiana that offers a graduate degree in something called "Archaeology in
the Public Interest" and there is now a variant of the tried and true
"Applied Anthropology" called something like "Public Anthropology."

(Well... having harped on "relevance', I'm now not at all sure that my
comments are "relevant" to the original question :-)  !)


Linda Derry, Director
Old Cahawba - AHC
719 Tremont St.
Selma, AL 36701 - 5446
ph. 334/875-2529 / email: [log in to unmask]


> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ron
> May
> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 6:55 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: WHAT TO MAJOR IN
>
>
> Think how effective an archaeologist could be with legal and
> drama training
> when they make presentations before elected officials, government
> planners,
> and hearing boards. Hey, what about courses in public administration,
> planning, geology, engineering, hydrology, acoustics, and public
> health too?
> The thing students do not realize is that all these fields come into play
> when dealing with archaeology and historic resources.
>