Hello one and all,
 
Well I suppose it's time for this lurker to de-cloak.  I'm not
lurking very well anyway as I keep opening my mouth,
metaphorically, that is.  (Please, stop me before I post again.)
 
My name is Martin Perdue (call me Marty) and I'm a doctoral
candidate in architectural history at the University of
Virginia.  I have a couple of chapters completed for a
dissertation which can be vaguely described as an examination
of the uses, contexts, and meanings of rustic architecture in
America from about 1830-1930.  My chief field is American
architecture and I am particularly interested in the study of
vernacular architecture and "folk" and "popular" material
culture.
 
I compile the bibliographies for the quarterly newsletter of
the Vernacular Architecture Forum.  I have managed to put all
of the citations from past newsletters onto a bibliography
database which we plan to install on a gopher in the near
future.  Our readers have pretty eclectic tastes, so if you
know of some references which might be of interest, please drop
me a line.
 
My interest in archaeology goes back to my undergraduate days
(Anthropology BA) when I took classes with Bonnie Styles and
observed the late egyptologist, Michael Hoffman, at work in the
Shenandoah National Park.  In graduate school I worked
part-time and full-time as an excavator at Monticello (I
believe it was 1980-82).  I am an architectural historian and I
make no pretentions to being an archaeologist (I know some
people are touchy about this).  I hope this will add some
context for my ocassional posts.
 
I have enjoyed reading the HISTARCH mail and I look forward to
more discussions where structures, both above ground and below,
meet.  Sincerely,
 
Marty Perdue
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