Dear Historical Archaeologists,

We write with the hope that you will consider participating in "Archaeological Practice and Community Service Learning", a symposium we are organizing for the 2007 Society for Historical Archaeology meetings. This timely session will explore the various ways that historical archaeologists have engaged with service learning, a form of experiential learning where students learn through active participation in organized service that is coordinated with the community. The conference will be held January 9-14, 2007 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Please contact us at your earliest convenience if you are interested in presenting a paper in what promises to be a very exciting session. A copy of the abstract can be found below. We look forward to hearing 
from you before the end of the month.

Sincerely,

Michael Nassaney
Mary Ann Levine



Abstract for Archaeological Practice and Community Service Learning

Organized by Michael Nassaney (Western Michigan University) and Mary Ann Levine (Franklin and Marshall College).

In the last decade archaeologists have begun to expand the scope of learning opportunities for their students. Moving beyond the rhetoric of public archaeology and the experiential benefits of formal field schools, some archaeologists have attempted to engage the public by embracing the epistemology of service learning in archaeological practice. Unlike conventional field schools or public archaeology programs, service-learning practitioners emphasize research problems that emanate from the community and the learning experiences of students who are committed to help solve the problems. In this session we examine new ways of teaching, practicing, and learning archaeology that connect formal learning with real-world experiences and demonstrate the benefits that service learning can have for archaeology and the world in which it operates.

Michael S. Nassaney, Ph.D.
Secretary, Society for Historical Archaeology
Professor of Anthropology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5032
Phone: 269.387.3981
Fax: 269.387.3970
e-mail: [log in to unmask]