>Gang:
>
>I proably won't be very popular for saying so, but...
>
>Lets call a spade a spade. The Williamsburg Conference is largely, IMHO,
>an elitist, academic old boys club (with, perhaps, the exception of
>Charles Cheek, who is one of us CRM consultant types).
>
>No call for papers was issued and no open, competitive evaluation of
>proposals took place.
>
>While I am sure that most of the presentations will be of very high
>quality, I am far less sure that the presentors represent the range of
>scholarly activity and professional practice our field now commands.
>
>Regards,
>John
>
>John P. McCarthy
>Institute for Minnesota Archaeology/
>IMA Consulting, Inc.
>Minneapolis
John,
You're not far off the mark, and I've heard plenty from disgruntled
colleagues in England about being excluded from the joint meetings on both
sides of the Atlantic. I was favored with an invitation to speak at the
meeting in London. Does this make me one of the elitist old boys? I never
thought I'd see that come to pass!
My feeling is that we all need to make our presence known, along with our
willingness to participate in the activities of the SHA, if we ever hope to
break the stranglehold of the entrenched old guard. I'd urge everyone who
can afford it to attend the conferences, though I admit that if I couldn't
stay with my mother or other nearby relatives, the Williamsburg conference
would be well beyond my means. It is typical of Bob Schuyler to be
democratic and inclusive in all he does and to consider the needs of
students & those of us who don't earn very much money; I only wish this
were true of the organizers of the joint conferences!
Best,
MCB
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