As both an SHA officer and the Program Chair for Leicester I'm obviously exceptionally biased, but I would reiterate what Philip Levy notes (see below).

On a purely personal 'speaking only for myself' level, I recognise that the Leicester conference represents a significant expense for many North American colleagues.

But while holding the SHA conference in Leicester may present challenges for some of our North American members, it represents an excellent opportunity for British and continental European colleagues to participate in an SHA conference, and for North American and European colleagues to engage with each other in a manner that's usually impossible at a North America venue that usually represents a significant - often impossible - expense for Europeans.

Given that this is only the second time that SHA has left North America (I'm imperfectly including Jamaica as 'North American'), I hardly think that 2 non-North American conferences in the almost 50 year history of our society represents a wholly unfair geographical balance given the international nature of our discipline.

And historical archaeology is genuinely international.  On a personal level I've just returned from the truly excellent Argentinian Historical Archaeology Congress in Buenos Aires, SPMA often travels outside the UK (including conferences in North America), I'm presenting in a historical archaeology session at the EAA meeting in Helsinki this September, and I always enjoyed ASHA conferences when I was living and working in Australia.

We look forward to warmly welcoming as many as possible of our North American colleagues in Leicester this coming January, and hope you'll enjoy the extensive opportunities to network with colleagues from other continents.  We've already received several excellent symposium submissions from colleagues in both North America and Europe, and this promises to be an exciting conference for everyone who attends.

If nothing else, we can promise you significantly better beer than we usually get at an SHA conference ;)

Alasdair Brooks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:    Fri, 4 May 2012 14:56:13 -0400
From:    "Levy, Philip" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: SHA Session on Traveling

And, to be fair--it is cheaper this year for our British friends and
colleagues who normally have to pony up more than we Americans do year by
year. 
PL