Thanks for the correction, that's what I get for trying to think when I first
get up. I had the same issue (no historical archaeologists) when I was at UC
Davis. In part that is why I had a major in history and a minor in
anthropology as an undergraduate.
Morgan Blanchard, MA, RPA
University of Nevada, Reno
Quoting Robert Chidester <[log in to unmask]>:
> Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that there are no other historical
> archaeologists in the entire state of Michigan--that would have been silly.
> Of course there are historical archaeologists at Michigan Tech--as well as
> Western Michigan University, Michigan State University, Wayne State
> University, and Oakland University. (There may very well be others I'm not
> aware of.) What I was saying is that there are no other historical
> archaeologists specifically at the University of Michigan.
>
> Bob
>
> >>> Morgan Blanchard <[log in to unmask]> 03/07/09 12:01 PM >>>
> I think the fact that there are no other historical archaeologists in
> Michigan might come as something of a surprise to the folks at Michigan Tech.
>
> Putting that aside, as someone who intentionally got a degree in history
> as a
> foundation for a Ph.D. in Historical archaeology, I think that both fields
> have
> something to say on any given topic. They can be highly complementary, but
> they ask different questions, in keeping with their training and the
> philosophies which underlay that training. Neither is in itself "right."
>
> At the moment I am writing an historic context for my dissertation. I am
> working on sites associated with the first communication system in Alaska and
> have thousands of pages of primary source material and 11,000 artifacts
> excavated at 4 sites. To do the project justice will take the skills of a
> historian and an archaeologist. Will I be asking different questions than a
> historian? Sure, but then another archaeologist tackling the project might
> ask
> entirely different questions as well.
>
> I think we need to learn more about each other and respect the differences
> in
> approach. If nothing else it would be an act of self preservation. After
> all,
> if we all thought alike we would be competing for the same jobs and there are
> way to many historians out there!
>
>
> Morgan Blanchard, MA, RPA
> University of Nevada, Reno
>
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